The rain forecast for this weekend isn’t expected to do much to lessen drought conditions across West Alabama, according to the National Weather Service’s Birmingham office.
The southeast corner of the state and a band stretching northeast from Pickens County to DeKalb County are under severe drought conditions.
Saturday night, rain is expected to return to the area.
The weather service expects the weekend weather system to bring half an inch to 1 inch of rainfall to the area, said meteorologist Tara Goggins.
“Every little bit does help,” she said.
But the precipitation isn’t expected to reverse the drought conditions.
In January 2017, the area recorded 7.2 inches of rainfall.
Another weather system is expected to arrive mid-week and could bring more precipitation, Goggins said.
Early last fall, the state was free of drought conditions, though dry conditions began to return in late 2017.
Despite periodic fronts bringing some precipitation, rain totals remain relatively light with most locations below normal averages for this time of year.

Cape Town drought-affected residents now on 50 litres of water per day as crisis worsens South Africans living outside the drought-stricken Western Cape province are being urged by charities to donate water to be taken to Cape Town, as more stringent conservation measures take effect.
“Day Zero”, when reservoirs supplying Cape Town are deemed to be critically low and the taps are turned off, is now calculated to be 16 April; previously the date was set at 21 April, and then 12 April.
Yesterday the daily limit per person using the municipal supply was reduced by 43 per cent to 50 litres.
Western Cape was declared a disaster area in May 2017 after successive years of sharply lower rainfall.
South Africa Tourism said: “In the event of what the City of Cape Town refers to as ‘Day Zero’, there will be available water for tourists’ and locals’ critical needs.
These are considered to be water for personal hygiene and consumption.
An upmarket resort, La Clé des Montagnes, has issued guidelines for guests, asking them to turn off taps while brushing teeth, taking shorter showers and avoiding baths.
The collection of villas in Franschhoek, in the wine country about 50 miles east of Cape Town, said: “Towels and linen will be refreshed upon request only and swimming pools may not be topped up at all times.” Lufthansa’s chief executive, Carsten Spohr, told the financial news website fin24 that the water crisis has not impacted sales.
Eurowings, Lufthansa’s low-cost subsidiary, launched a link from Cologne to Cape Town this winter.
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INDYGO Cape Town drought-affected residents now on 50 litres of water per day as crisis worsens South Africans living outside the drought-stricken Western Cape province are being urged by charities to donate water to be taken to Cape Town, as more stringent conservation measures take effect. “Day Zero”, when reservoirs supplying Cape Town are deemed to be critically low and the taps are turned off, is now calculated to be 16 April; previously the date was set at 21 April, and then 12 April. If and when it happens, citizens will have to collect water from 200 standpipes around the city. Yesterday the daily limit per person using the municipal supply was reduced by 43 per cent to 50 litres. Western Cape was declared a disaster area in May 2017 after successive years of sharply lower rainfall. Reservoirs, known…

Simply put, there is, potentially, a day on the calendar (“Day Zero”) when Cape Town, which is already rationing its water, will officially run out.
And there may not be many realistic long-term solutions, if the drought keeps up, but here are the essential details of this crisis: Cape Town residents are currently living on only 13 gallons of water a day: The water ration, already a quarter of what your average American uses in a day, was just cut by nearly half.
The problem is simple.
It’s not raining: Cape Town has six major dams, called the “Big Six,” that provide the city with its water supply.
The problem is that it’s had three straight years of drought, something the region only sees once every three centuries or so, drying up its reservoirs to perilously low capacity.
Simply put, there’s too many people, not enough water, a problem that’s been aggravated since 1995 as Cape Town’s population grew, but its water system lagged.
That means there will come a point, “Day Zero,” when the reservoirs don’t have enough water to support the city: Authorities monitoring the Big Six believe that by April, the system will go below 13.5% capacity, in other words, it will be de facto out of water.
There aren’t a lot of long-term solutions: The only real solution will be Cape Town getting a lot of rain over the next month and a half, enough to replenish the reservoirs.
The only solution many Cape Towners have is to try and tough it out, but there’s only so long before something snaps: The drought has had enormous economic effects, driving up the price of food while also seeing Cape Town’s agricultural sector lose thousands of jobs.
It’s not clear what the long-term effects will be, but whether it’s rising social tensions or mass migration away from the city, it won’t help the situation.

California just recently came out of a terrifying drought, which underscores the very real problems that will face water systems going forward. Simply put, many of the places where we live have water systems heavily affected by climate change. And for Cape Town, South Africa’s largest city with nearly four million residents, it’s close to becoming an outright crisis. Simply put, there is, potentially, a day on the calendar (“Day Zero”) when Cape Town, which is already rationing its water, will officially run out. And there may not be many realistic long-term solutions, if the drought keeps up, but here are the essential details of this crisis: Cape Town residents are currently living on only 13 gallons of water a day: The water ration, already a quarter of what your average American uses in a day, was just cut by nearly half. For contrast, thirteen gallons is enough water for a six minute…

The drought monitor was updated with the start of February, and more than 97% of Virginia is abnormally dry, and almost half of the commonwealth is in a moderate drought.
Most of our area is still in a moderate drought, and some parts of the state are even in a severe drought.
We received just over half of the rainfall we normally receive in the month of January, and after starting the year with drought conditions carried over from 2017, we could be facing a serious drought this spring and summer.
These dry conditions also pose an increased risk of wildfires.
The Virginia Department of Forestry has already responded to 52 wildfires this year.
"There’s an increasing likelihood of having more wildfires than would normally be the case.
And even to some degree maybe an increase in the severity of those wildfires if they do occur," Miller said.
Miller explained it only takes one good rainfall event to turn things around, but some places across the state have already seen water restrictions.
He said if these drought conditions continue, more places could see water restrictions this spring or summer.
We have rain in the forecast this week, but it will not be enough to put a dent in the drought.

The drought monitor was updated with the start of February, and more than 97% of Virginia is abnormally dry, and almost half of the commonwealth is in a moderate drought. Most of our area is still in a moderate drought, and some parts of the state are even in a severe drought. We received just over half of the rainfall we normally receive in the month of January, and after starting the year with drought conditions carried over from 2017, we could be facing a serious drought this spring and summer. John Miller, with the Virginia Department of Forestry, said a drought like this is unusual in Virginia, especially because we normally recharge our ground water in the…

Southland, Otago farmers offered drought relief 2 Feb, 2018 1:29pm 2 minutes to read Drought-stricken farmers in Southland and parts of Otago are the latest to be offered special relief payments.
The payments, available from Monday to January 21 next year, help farmers meet essential living expenses and have already been offered to farmers in the Lower North Island and the West Coast this season.
Sepuloni said that while some rain had fallen on many regions, Southland and Otago remained extremely dry, with the normally hottest and driest two months to come.
It wasn’t just a lack of rainfall but sweltering heat that was continuing to take a toll on farmers’ crops and their stock.
"The impact of drought on rural communities can be devastating, not only on businesses, but on people’s emotional resilience," Sepuloni said.
"Many farmers in these regions haven’t experienced drought of this magnitude before.
Sepuloni urged farmers and growers in the affected areas to contact Work and Income to see what they might be eligible for.
"As farmers focus on working to feed stock until spring, we want them to know that there is support available to them.
The drought classification has also triggered other government support with $130,000 going to Otago and Southland rural support trusts.
Tax relief measures were also being extended to drought affected farmers.

NEW ZEALAND Southland, Otago farmers offered drought relief 2 Feb, 2018 1:29pm 2 minutes to read Drought-stricken farmers in Southland and parts of Otago are the latest to be offered special relief payments. Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni said today that the Government’s Rural Assistance Payments would be extended to the districts of Southland, Invercargill, Gore, Clutha, Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes. The payments, available from Monday to January 21 next year, help farmers meet essential living expenses and have already been offered to farmers in the Lower North Island and the West Coast this season. Sepuloni…

January 2018 was the third warmest ever for Phoenix when you look at the average temperature of 61.2 degrees.
Parts of southeastern and east-central Arizona are in the extreme drought category.
I think drought is going to be a big story for Arizona this spring.” January highs and lows Three high-temperature records were set in Phoenix in January, according to National Weather Service statistics.
Phoenix had high temperatures of at least 80 degrees on the last four days of January.
January 2018 by the numbers The average high temperature for the month was 73.9 degrees.
The average daily temperature was 61.2 degrees, 4.8 degrees above normal and third on the all-time list.
The record is 62 degrees in 2003.
That’s fifth warmest in the category and 2.9 degrees above normal.
The record is 49.8 degrees in 1993.
Phoenix saw 0.21 inch of rain for the month.