Rainfall helping sustain Drought Recovery

The drought is officially over for all South Carolina counties and recent rains are helping to sustain recovery from the drought.  On April 24, the S.C. Drought Response Committee for the first time in three years declared the entire state drought-free.  The Committee downgraded the drought from moderate to no drought for 22 counties and from incipient to no drought for the remaining counties.  According to SC State Climatologist Hope Mizzell, the rainfall over the first few days of May accompanied by the unseasonably cool temperatures have helped the state recover from the drought conditions of the past few years.  Most stations across the state reported 100% to 225% of normal rainfall over the past 60 days. The most important factor ending the drought; however, has been the state’s adequate rainfall for an extended five-month period. Mizzell says significant rainfall has occurred over the past week in the Upstate, which is one of the areas that was hit hardest by drought conditions over the past few years.