982 AXUS73 KJKL 281655 CCA DGTJKL KYC011-013-025-051-063-065-069-071-095-109-115-119-121-125-129-131- 133-147-153-159-165-173-175-189-193-195-197-199-203-205-231-235-237- 311500- Drought Information Statement...CORRECTED National Weather Service Jackson KY 1255 PM EDT Mon Oct 28 2019 ...Widespread Soaking Rainfall And Seasonal Temperatures Over The Last Week Have Continued To Improve Drought Conditions... ...A One-Category Improvement in Drought Status Was Made Across All Of Eastern Kentucky, Including The Removal Of The Bluegrass Region And The Far Northeast Portion Of The State From Drought Status All Together... Synopsis... A more active pattern has been in place across much of the country, bringing multiple rounds of soaking rain to the region and eastern Kentucky. In the last 7 days, much of eastern Kentucky has picked up an average of 0.5 to 2 inches of additional rainfall. This, coupled with the heavy rain received by many early in the month, has led to a surplus in rainfall across much of eastern Kentucky compared to October normals. In addition, average daily temperatures have remained at, if not just below, seasonal normals for the last week. Overall, both these items have resulted in vast improvements in our current drought situation. Drought classifications were improved by one category across all of eastern Kentucky, and much of the state as a whole. The Extreme Drought (D3) that was in place across far SE Kentucky last week has now been improved to D2 (Severe Drought). Moderate Drought (D1) conditions now surround the area of extreme drought and encompasses counties along and near the Virginia and eastern Tennessee border, stretching northward into Breathitt and portions of surrounding counties. Abnormally Dry (D0) conditions encompasses the Moderate Drought region and is generally located along and south of the Mountain Parkway. Much of the Bluegrass region and northeast Kentucky have now been removed form the Drought Classifications all together. See the latest U.S. Drought Monitor for more information on classifications. Summary of Impacts... Only one county in eastern Kentucky (Owsley) remains under a burn ban at this point. According to the United States Forest Service, wildfire danger has improved throughout the week, with Low fire danger now overspreading a much larger portion of eastern Kentucky. However, some Moderate areas are still in place. The Daniel Boone National Forest is now advertising Low Fire Danger threat as well, and has lifted fire restrictions as a result. Even with improved conditions, the public should still always check with local officials before attempting any outside burning. Citizens may be liable for damages and suppression costs of any wildfire they may start. Soil moisture has also shown more improvement with the rains over the last week and throughout the month, with much of eastern Kentucky now sitting at the 50th percentile (average) during the month of October. The Ag Weather Center at the University of Kentucky reported that the rains were an impedance to the row crop harvest, but much needed none-the-less, and will continue to promote pasture growth and replenish ponds. Despite pasture conditions beginning to improve, farmers with livestock are still needing to supplement with hay, which is putting stress on winter supplies. In Harlan County, the community of Benham continued to experience water shortages during the last week according to local WYMT Mountain News. After dry conditions resulted in low flow of water into the town, the town then got an approval to begin pumping water from the nearby Kentucky River. However, upon hooking up to the river, pressures within the pipe lines increased to a level that they could not handle, resulting in multiple line breaks and loss of water to the city once again. Several closures, including a local elementary school, resulted because of the lack of water. The city currently does not have funds to replace the out-dated and broken piping, but is working to fix the problem. No updates have been received since October 21st. This appears to the be the only water shortage impact in the region. Climate Summary... The following table illustrates the longer range precipitation deficits and some surpluses now being observed at various area Cooperative Weather Observing Sites from September 1st through 8am, Thursday, October 24th. SINCE DEPART % Station ID County SEP 1 NRML NRML Flemingsburg 2N FLEK2 Fleming 4.91 -0.61 89.0% Cave Run Lake L CRLK2 Rowan 5.07 -0.49 91.2% Stanton 2W STAK2 Powell 5.89 +0.11 101.9% Beattyville 4N BCAK2 Lee 4.50 -1.33 77.2% WFO Jackson KJKL Breathitt 3.62 -2.14 62.8% Paintsville 1E PNVK2 Johnson 5.28 -0.28 94.4% Inez 2E INEK2 Martin 4.77 -1.14 80.7% Skyline 1SE SKLK2 Letcher 3.00 -2.29 56.7% Hazard Water HAZK2 Perry 4.38 -1.13 79.5% Buckhorn Lake BUCK2 Perry 4.58 -0.75 85.9% London Airport KLOZ Laurel 5.67 +0.12 102.2% Precipitation/Temperature Outlook... We will continue to see a more active weather period over the coming week, along with generally seasonable temperatures. An area of low pressure to our SW will move towards the region today and through the weekend, bringing generally between 0.75 and 1.5 inches of rainfall across eastern Kentucky through Sunday. Highest amounts are forecasted to be across the central and western portion of the state. Another system is poised to bring rain through the state by mid-week next week, followed by unseasonably cooler temperatures. According to the Climate Prediction Center, the outlook for the end of October is favoring slightly below normal temperatures across eastern Kentucky, along with slightly-above normal rainfall. However, for the month of November, outlooks show a turn to slightly above normal temperatures across much of the conus, along with equal chances of below or above normal precipitation for eastern Kentucky. The monthly outlook was last produced on October 17, so there may be some changes with the next issuance. The Seasonal Drought Outlook, also released on October 17, shows Drought Removal Likely across much of the southeast portion of the state. Hydrologic Summary and Outlook... The majority of streams across Eastern Kentucky are running at normal flow as of 5 AM Friday, October 25, however a handful of gauges are reporting below-normal flow. One gauge in Wooton, Kentucky is reporting much-below-normal flow. Rainfall over the coming week will continue to support increased streamflows, and will hopefully improve the below-normal flows back to the normal range. Next Issuance Date... This product will be updated bi-weekly as long as the Severe Drought (D2) conditions continue. Look for the next update around Thursday, November, 7th. However, in the event that the Severe Drought (D2) improves during this time, this product will no longer be issued. && Related Web Sites... The following web addresses are available for further weather and drought information: NWS Jackson Page...weather.gov/jkl Additional River Information USGS - http://water.usgs.gov COE - http://www.mvr.usace.army.mil National Integrated Drought Information System: http://www.drought.gov US Drought Monitor: http://www.drought.unl.edu Climate Prediction Center: http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service: http://www.nass.usda.gov Midwest Climate Watch: http://mrcc.isws.illinois.edu/cliwatch/watch.htm University of Kentucky Agricultural Weather Center: http://wwwagwx.ca.uky.edu/drought.html Kentucky Mesonet: http://www.kymesonet.org Kentucky Division of Water: http://www.water.ky.gov Kentucky Division of Forestry: http://www.forestry.ky.gov NWS Ohio River Forecast Center: http://www.weather.gov/OHRFC Acknowledgments... The US Drought Monitor is a multi-agency effort involving the National Weather Service, the National Center for Environmental Information, the United States Department of Agriculture, state and regional center climatologists, and the National Drought Mitigation Center. Information for this statement has been gathered from NWS and FAA observation sites, cooperative network stations, the United States Geological Survey, the Kentucky Mesonet, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Questions or Comments... If you have any questions or comments about this drought information Please Contact: National Weather Service 1329 Airport Road Jackson Kentucky 41339 Phone: 606-666-2560 w-jkl.webmaster@noaa.gov $$ JMW