Drought declaration removed for 14 S.C. counties, including Sumter and Clarendon

The S.C. Drought Response Committee, meeting via conference call Dec. 4, removed the drought designation for 14 counties from the Midlands to the southeastern corner of the state, including Sumter and Clarendon. 

The counties downgraded on average received between 4 to 10 inches of rain, with some areas receiving more than a foot of rain since the last drought committee meeting in early November.  Most of the rain fell Nov. 6-7 in an uncommon event, especially for November, due to interactions between a stalled front across the southeastern United States and deep tropical moisture from the Caribbean and Atlantic.

The incipient drought declaration, the lowest level of drought, was maintained for the remaining 32 counties, which had received between half an inch and 3 inches of rain since early November.  With the very dry conditions experienced in October, the rain in November was not enough to support downgrading the drought.

"The state has been in and out of drought since July with short periods of heavy rain followed by extended periods of no rain,” state climatologist Hope Mizzell said. “The state was declared drought free after Tropical Storm Helene's rainfall, but drought conditions returned statewide after a record-dry October.” 

Well above normal rainfall in the Lower Savannah, Edisto and Salkehatchie River basins have greatly improved streamflow and groundwater levels and supported the downgrade of drought to normal conditions for most of the counties in these basins, according to Scott Harder, a hydrologist with the S.C. Department of Environmental Services.  Hydrologic conditions in the Upstate and in the Lower Santee and Pee Dee River basins have not improved, and in some cases have worsened, due to the lack of rainfall over the past month in these areas. Hence, an incipient drought status was retained for the counties across the Upstate, Lower Santee and Pee Dee regions.

Doug Mills, S.C. Forestry Commission fleet and equipment manager, reported that the state had experienced below-normal wildfire occurrences since Helene.

“However, heavy fuel loading in the mountains has raised concerns for high wildfire danger through the winter, and downed trees from Helene will cause access problems for our firefighters and equipment in the foreseeable future,” Mills said. “The high Keetch-Byram Drought Index values along the coast are due to the lower rainfall compared to other areas of the state.”

The next Drought Response Committee meeting is scheduled for Jan. 22, 2024. The committee will convene sooner if needed.