Drought? What drought?
After thunderstorms ripped through the Triangle over the weekend, residents may be wondering what has become of the oft-mentioned drought that led Raleigh and other cities to impose mandatory water use restrictions in November.
Don't get your hopes up, meteorologists say. The drought hasn't gone away -- for now at least.
The Triangle lucked out with the recent wave of thunderstorms, which have provided some relief from a long dry spell, said Jonathan Blaes, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Raleigh.
In fact, rainfall totals for June have been nearly double the average amount so far.
The drought, however, is the result of a shift in the jet stream that has been sending storms north of the state since last year, Blaes said.
"We're still not out of the woods," he said. Rainfall totals for the year are still 5.4 inches below normal, a significant deficit.
The drought originated from a ridge of high pressure sitting over the southeastern United States. It diverted the main storm track away from North Carolina, Blaes said. As a result, areas such as New England have been hit hard with precipitation over the past few months, while North Carolina remained relatively dry.
Recent storms have been a big help, said Terry Brown, Water Control Manager at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The levels of water flowing from streams into Falls Lake -- Raleigh's biggest water supplier -- are above average for the month of June, following five months of below average inflows. According to the Corps of Engineers, water levels at the lake have been more or less average since the end of April.
The most recent weather system, however, was an isolated front that should finish passing through the area tonight. Meteorologists say they don't expect the recent flux of precipitation to last.
Summer storms tend to be sporadic, dumping large amounts of rain on small areas for a short time, Blaes said.
Although Tropical Storm Alberto is on a path to move up the eastern coastline toward North Carolina, its effect on the Triangle should be limited to wind and scattered thunderstorms late Wednesday and early Thursday, with more severe weather toward the coast.
"I would be surprised if we keep up this level of rainfall through the month," Blaes said.
This could mean a return to mandatory water restrictions this summer, said Robert Massengill, Raleigh's assistant public utilities director.
Restrictions were lifted in May as reservoirs returned to normal levels.
"If we have a dry summer, we could be in a similar situation where mandatory restrictions are needed," Massengill said.
"People need to be cognizant that water is a precious resource, and we can't take that for granted," Massengill said.
