The parched South and Southeast will finally see relief as a pattern change will bring days of rainfall to much of the region.
While it will take many more rounds to remove the drought completely, the parched region will take what ever Mother Nature can provide.
The Forecast
Multiple factors are leading to the days of rainfall for the South and Southeast.
Below is a day-by-day forecast. Scroll through the maps to show the progression of rain through the weekend. Florida finally gets in on the act this weekend.
How Much Rainfall?
The rainfall each day isn’t expected to be a massive drought buster, but this setup could be the most efficient.
You want days of light to moderate rainfall to make the most of the situation, rather than heavy rain falling on drought-stricken land, which creates runoff and excessive flooding.
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It won't completely quench the drought, but your gardens and lawns will take all the rain they can get.
We expect the heaviest rain to fall from eastern Texas into Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. In these areas, expect at least 2 inches of rain, with locally higher amounts.
In Florida, most rainfall amounts should be less than an inch, but a few areas could pick up locally higher totals.
And Beyond?
There could even be some more good news.
According to the Climate Prediction Center, the 8- to 14-day rainfall outlook shows above-average precipitation expected for Florida and much of the Deep South from mid-late next week.
How Bad Is The Drought?
Long story short, it’s bad.
Every part of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Alabama is experiencing drought conditions. Arkansas and Florida are both 99% in drought.In fact, Florida is experiencing the worst drought in 25 years,writes senior meteorologistJonathan Erdman.
(WATCH:Fires Spread Across Southeast In Midst Of Widespread Drought)
Many cities, including Atlanta, Savannah, Tallahassee, Charleston, Charlotte, Raleigh, Richmond, Memphis, Nashville and Montgomery, are currently experiencing one of their 10 driest spring seasons to date,according to the Southeast Regional Climate Center.
Here are the latest drought conditions:
And here's what it looked like back in January:
Rob Shackelfordis a meteorologist and climate scientist at weather.com. He received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Georgia studying meteorology and experimenting with alternative hurricane forecasting tools.
