Abnormally dry conditions across Alabama, drought may soon develop

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - After a very wet August the story has been much different here in September. The month started wet, but that switched around to very dry around the 13th.

Since September 13th, Montgomery has only recorded rain one time -- back on the 20th. The city has a rainfall deficit of more than 1.70″ for the month.

Abnormally dry conditions have developed across parts of Alabama.(WSFA 12 News)

The dry ground, lack of rain, breezy conditions, and low relative humidity actually led to multiple fire weather alerts this week. Those aren’t unheard of in Alabama, but they don’t happen often. It’s impossible to say whether or not additional fire weather alerts will be issued going forward, but we can say that the dry forecast will continue.

There are no signs of rain for at least the next 7-10 days. That will likely result in parts of the state being upgraded from “abnormally dry” to “moderate drought” on next week’s U.S. Drought Monitor update.

Abnormally dry conditions have developed across about one-third of Alabama.(WSFA 12 News)

That isn’t a guarantee, but based on the lack of rainfall I would be shocked if we remained entirely drought-free by the end of next week. Once entering the “moderate drought” category you start to notice more browning of grass, an increase in fire risk and a lowering of ponds and streams.

September and October are the two driest months of the year, on average, in Montgomery. So the drier weather shouldn’t come as a total surprise. Still, this has been and will continue to be even drier than what’s considered normal for this time of year.

Not reading this story on the WSFA News App? Get news alerts FASTER and FREE in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store!