Drought conditions across South Carolina continue to intensify, with nearly the entire state experiencing severe to extreme levels of dryness.
According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor, more than 97% of South Carolina is now experiencing drought conditions, putting the event within range of notable droughts in 2002, 2007, 2011 and 2012.
Without any significant rainfall in the short-term or long-term forecasts, conditions are expected to worsen, with some water sources even facing depletion.
Observational reports also paint a dire picture of the drought situation, particularly in rural, agricultural communities.
In Allendale County in the Lowcountry, a longtime resident described conditions as “severely dry” and even unprecedented.
“It is widespread across my farm...I’ve seen similar conditions throughout the entire county. We can’t plant corn in fields without irrigation (about 50% of our total acres) because there isn’t adequate moisture in the soil. In the fields where we have irrigation, we had to irrigate just to be able to plant,” a local farmer reported.
In Berkeley County, outside of Charleston, another observer reported declining water levels in wetlands and increasing stress on vegetation.
“The swamps here are the lowest I have seen them since May/June 2019. This report is mainly based on water levels, since I have observed the conditions regularly for many years. The black gums do not seem particularly stressed, but red maples appear quite stressed and had delayed or poor seed production this spring. Our rainfall deficit is approaching 15 inches,” the observer noted.
Due to expected windy conditions and drier air associated with a frontal boundary, the South Carolina Forestry Commission issued a burn ban for all counties in the state.
The ban prohibits all outdoor burning, including yard debris burning, campfires and other recreational fires.
Debris burns that escape their containment lines are considered to be the number one cause of wildfires across the state.
“When it’s this dry - energy release component values are at high-to-critical levels 0 we’re just as likely, if not more likely, to see wildfires that are fuel-driven rather than wind-driven. Add the other volatile conditions of increased wind and lower relative humidity, and it becomes an especially precarious situation,” SCFC Fire Chief Darryl Jones said in a statement.
The statewide ban remains in effect until further notice with officials unlikely to relax restrictions anytime soon.
