Rain Dance? Eight weeks without rain and counting/EDITED 10-14
New Albany, MS– Edited 10-15-2016: We are told by Joe Wilson that the final total in his rain gauge in New Albany for Friday October 14th was 1.25 inches.
New Albany, MS– Friday, October 14th- This day marked the end of an 8 week dry spell in New Albany. Most people welcomed the sight and the sound of the rain, though the area still needs much more moisture to catch up with its normal levels.
According to the ever-observant Mr. Joe Wilson, of New Albany, our fair and friendly city had received 0.6 inch rain by 1:00PM today.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
New Albany, MS- The last significant rain we had in Union County was 1.3 inches on August 16th — eight weeks ago today.
That’s according to the always observant Joe Wilson, who lives on the north side of New Albany. He says he recorded just 1/10th of an inch in his gauge on September 9th, but not even a sprinkle since then.
Many young trees, including several 8 – 10 foot magnolias at the tennis complex, appear to be in serious trouble.
Local clinics report they are slammed with patients with allergy and other upper respiratory complaints.
Sad sights such as this are becoming disturbingly common in our area.
Although the whole Mid-South is abnormally dry, north Mississippi remains the bullseye of the drought. Drought monitoring sites on the internet indicate that the northern 2/3 of the state is significantly behind in rainfall for 2016. All of Union County is in “moderate” drought; significant portions of Lee and Pontotoc counties are in “severe” drought.
This pond in an area lake is “getting worse every day” according to the property owner.
In an effort to reduce risk, the Mississippi Forestry Commission has placed most of Mississippi under a burn ban through the end of the month. This makes it a misdemeanor to purposely violate a burn ban, and the person can be fined $100 to $500.
A forecast we saw late yesterday said there is a chance of rain Friday of this week. There is a low chance for scattered showers at the end of this week, but the highest rain chances will be for areas along and north of I-40, which means the areas that need it most likely won’t have enough measurable rain to eliminate the drought.
MS drought Monitor: http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?MS
US Drought Monitor: http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home.aspx
As cotton farmers, we need the rain to wait at least another week. Sorry!