Rainfall totals are pushing the area out of drought conditions and residents can expect intermittent showers and possibly below-average temperatures through the end of July, meteorologists with the National Weather Service said.
Thursday’s U.S. Drought Monitor Report includes only a single swath – across portions of Richmond and Burke counties – of dry, but not drought conditions in Georgia and South Carolina, meteorologist Dan Miller said.
“Unlike last year especially, which was really dry, rainfall is really good across much of the CSRA,” Miller said.
“Things have improved considerably.” More than 23 inches of rain have fallen this year at Clarks Hill, above the normal through July 5 of about 19 inches, Miller said.
Daniel Field is about a third of an inch below its normal for the year, at 23.5 inches.
At Bush Field, rainfall of 24.33 inches is 1.43 inches above normal, he said.
About two miles east of the city of Aiken, a cooperative observer reported 31.99 inches, well over last year’s total, weather service hydrologist Leonard Vaughan said.
No drought means no water restrictions other than standing restrictions issued by environmental protection agencies, Augusta Utilities Director Tom Wiedmeier said.
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division maintains a perpetual ban on watering plants and other outdoor uses between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Wiedmeier said.
Reach Susan McCord at (706) 823-3215 or susan.mccord@augustachronicle.com.

On the Dry Side: Lobelia laxiflora is long-blooming, drought tolerant.
Its Central American cousin Lobelia laxiflora is a much larger and tougher plant, and few people would suspect that the two are closely related.
It is sometimes called the Mexican Cardinal Flower or Mexican Lobelia.
It forms a clump 2 to 3 feet tall, with many ascending slender reddish stems and narrow green leaves.
Over time, the clump spreads outward, but it is easy to snip it back if it goes farther than is wanted.
At the Ruth Bancroft Garden, Lobelia laxiflora begins flowering in April, and it continues to flower profusely through the spring and summer months.
At the bud stage, the flowers are tubular and red over most of their length, fading to yellow toward the tips.
Overall, a plant in flower provides a burst of fiery colors, from the red of the tubular part of the flower to the yellow and orange of the open mouths.
When planting Lobelia laxiflora in the garden, it is best to water it regularly while getting it established, but once it gets going it is quite drought-tolerant, needing only occasional watering to get it through the dry conditions of summer.
Brian Kemble is curator at the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek.

Drought affects you pick farms.
BISMARCK, N.D. – The drought is having an effect on some local You-Pick farms.
This is a major problem, especially for families who rely on that type of income.
Creekside Farmstand is a local raspberry You Pick Farm that’s been around for four years.
It has nine rows of fall bearing raspberry plants.
But with the drought, the farm isn’t producing or growing half its plants.
"I would say this is probably my worst year, besides that initial year of growth to establish the plant.
I would say this is the worst year, overall," says Vanessa Masseth, Creekside Farmstand.
"They’re really feeling it, because if they don’t have the ability to irrigate, and even in situations where they are irrigating, they may not be able to keep up with the extensive heat," said North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring.
Masseth says she’s still optimistic her raspberry plants will grow and be ready for picking season in August.

Extreme heat broils the Dakotas and Montana, flash drought takes toll on wheat crop.
Temperatures in Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas surged into the 90s and 100s on Wednesday, about 15 to 20 degrees above normal.
Forecast models predict the same general weather pattern that supported this heat to persist up to two more weeks.
The sinking air underneath this heat dome has suppressed the formation of rain storms and rapidly dried out the land surface in the northern Plains and mountain West.
The dry pattern commenced in the spring but intensified in recent weeks as the western heat dome settled in.
Glasgow, Montana, had its record-driest April-through-June period.
The suddenness of the drought’s onset and expansion has been remarkable.
Eight weeks later, drought covered 47 percent of North Dakota, 34 percent of South Dakota and much of the eastern third of Montana – and its intensity is severe to extreme in many areas.
“In northwestern South Dakota, South Dakota State University Extension staff reported poor pasture and range conditions as well as deteriorating crop conditions (corn),” the Drought Monitor said.
“Wheat conditions are at some of the lowest ratings in over a decade,” James Cordier, president and head trader at Optionsellers.com in Tampa, told CNBC.

City Transitions to Drought Contingency Stage 1.
According to the revised drought contingency plan approved by the City Council in May, Drought Stage 1 voluntary drought measures are now in effect.
Avoid using the sprinkler system to water between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Hand watering and drip irrigation are allowed at any time.
Washing your car?
Use a bucket to prevent unnecessary runoff.
No restrictions on purposes necessary for public health and safety.
Stage 1 was modified from always being in effect, to being activated when combined lake levels drop below 50 percent.
For more information visit www.corpuschristiwater.com.
Reading on your phone?
Download the KRIS 6 News app for iOS/iPhone and Android!

Extreme heat broils the Dakotas and Montana; flash drought takes toll on wheat crop.
Temperatures in Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas surged into the 90s and 100s on Wednesday, about 15 to 20 degrees above normal.
Forecast models predict the same general weather pattern that supported this heat to persist up to two more weeks.
Hot max temps yesterday in the western Dakotas/northeast MT show exactly where severe/extreme drought conditions are.
The sinking air underneath this heat dome has suppressed the formation of rain storms and rapidly dried out the land surface in the northern Plains and mountain West.
The dry pattern commenced in the spring but intensified in recent weeks as the western heat dome settled in.
Glasgow, Mont., had its record-driest April-through-June period.
The suddenness of the drought’s onset and expansion has been remarkable.
Eight weeks later, drought covered 47 percent of North Dakota, 34 percent of South Dakota, and much of the eastern third of Montana — and its intensity is severe to extreme in many areas.
“In northwestern South Dakota, South Dakota State University Extension staff reported poor pasture and range conditions as well as deteriorating crop conditions (corn),” the Drought Monitor said.

But that’s what Korzan, owner with his wife, Lorie, and adult sons of a pheasant hunting lodge near Kimball, S.D., is doing this week — drawing water from three 1,000-foot-deep wells and transporting it to the vast pheasant-habitat plots that blanket his 3,500-acre spread.
The grasses and shrubs are needed to help pheasant chicks hatched in recent weeks survive the parched conditions that prevail this summer not only on his property, but across much of South Dakota.
“This drought is the worst I’ve seen in my lifetime,” Korzan, 58, said.
Dennis Daugaard declared a drought emergency across South Dakota, allowing farmers and ranchers to cut and bale state highway ditches adjacent to their properties.
South Dakota corn and soybean crops also are struggling or have been written off altogether, as have countless spring and winter wheat fields.
Pheasant hunters alone spent more than $170 million in South Dakota in 2015, with $140 million coming from nonresidents.
“But in some areas of the state we haven’t had measurable rain in quite a while,” he said.
“North from Pierre through Mobridge to the North Dakota border is particularly bad.” In a more typical South Dakota summer, spring and winter wheat fields provide cover for many nesting pheasant hens and their hatched chicks.
“Going into spring we were really optimistic because our bird numbers looked good and conditions were good for an excellent hatch,” Morlock said.
“And when you don’t get rain, and you don’t have dew, you don’t have insects,” he said.

15-month drought ends in North Georgia.
For the first time in 15 months, North Georgia is no longer in a drought.
The last time Georgia wasn’t in a drought was March 15, 2016, she said.
You can thank all that rain North Georgia has gotten this year, Walls said.
Sonny Perdue declared a state of emergency for the northern one-third of the state and virtually all outdoor watering was banned.
At one point, metro Atlanta had less than 90 days of water supply left.
While the drought is over, Lake Lanier, metro Atlanta’s main water source, is not at a full 1,071 feet.
That’s because of inadequate rainfall in headwaters that feed Lake Lanier in northeast Georgia, Channel 2 reported.
“Diving into the water at any time can be dangerous but especially when the lake is down,” Baggett said.
—Information from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s archives was used in this article.

Recent rainfall helps drought, but not enough for Lake Lanier.
Lake levels were 5.7 feet below normal as of Wednesday morning.
“We’re very fortunate that it has actually been rising lately, but we started in a deep hole.
We were 11 feet down and now we’re still 6 feet down, so while this rain has been good it hasn’t been enough,” explained Chattahoochee River Keeper, Jason Ulseth.
“When we get rain, only a small amount of land in just a couple counties drain into the lake.
Because of the low lake levels, a Level 2 Drought Response remains in effect for Cobb, Coweta, Dekalb, Douglas, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Habersham, Hall, Lumpkin, Paulding and White counties.
Even-numbered and unnumbered addresses may water on Wednesday and Saturday before 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m. Odd-numbered addresses may water Thursday and Sunday before 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m. For anyone traveling to Lake Lanier, the extra shoreline is clear, but debris beneath the surface may not be.
People diving underwater may have underwater hazards that were not there before,” explained U.S. Army Corps of Engineers natural resource manager Nick Baggett.
“You can damage your boat and more importantly it’s a hazard to your life.
It can throw people from the boat.” © 2017 Cox Media Group.

Little to no rain has fallen in North Dakota, the biggest grower of spring wheat in the U.S., in the past two weeks, according to the National Weather Service.
The persistent hot, dry weather has farmers, analysts, and traders worried about yields and production for wheat, corn, and soybeans in the region.
Steve Halverson, who grows both wheat and corn near Kennebec, South Dakota, said his corn is a foot tall – well shorter than normal – and has essentially stopped growing due to lack of precipitation.
It’s still green for now, but if we don’t get moisture soon, it’s going to die.” Spring wheat in North Dakota was rated 41% good or excellent, while only 11% of the crop in South Dakota earned top ratings, according to the Department of Agriculture.
About two thirds of the state is suffering from drought conditions, and the rest is abnormally dry, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
What’s worse, Hyde said, is there’s no widespread rainfall forecast for the Northern Plains for at least the next two weeks.
MDA’s forecast shows 30% to 60% of normal rainfall in North Dakota in the 15 days through July 19 with only one small pocket in the south-central part of the state at normal levels.
The best chance for widespread precipitation is this week, but that’s in the extreme eastern part of the state, he said.
Halverson said he doesn’t grow soybeans on his farm, but many of his neighbors do.
“We haven’t had measurable precipitation in so long, and hot temperatures are taking a toll on the crops.