Some drought relief for Florida after late May rains.
The last week of May has brought above normal precipitation to many areas of the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic.
By May 27th, the storm responsible for these much needed rains had doubled the amount of precipitation normally expected in the region this time of year.
SUMMER IS HERE: With El Niño helping shape global patterns what will Americans expect from summer?
Find out with The Weather Network’s 2017 Summer Forecast | FORECAST & MAPS HERE Today, there are no signs of exceptional drought in the region, and the D3-D4 category, signifying extreme drought, has been reduced from 4.34 per cent to 2.96 per cent.
Areas affected by severe drought have also been reduced in extension from 11.91 per cent to 11.1 per cent.
It’s not a huge reduction, but residents in the area will take anything they can get to cut back on drought, especially as the hot summer months get closer, and fire risk increases.
The most affected areas by this prolonged drought are now confined to southern Georgia and central Florida, where severe drought conditions persist across a good number of counties.
On the other hand, the greatest drought improvement in Florida has been seen in the Panhandle and other areas of the north.
Despite the slight improvement seen this past week, this persistent drought that has been escalating since February could mean major crop and pasture losses, water restrictions and a high risk for summer wildfires to occur across large portions of Florida.

Daily Mountain Eagle East Walker and almost all of Jefferson County now appear to be drought-free, while the moderate drought in north Tuscaloosa County has improved to an abnormally dry area.
West of that area, Walker County is abnormally dry, the lowest level of drought, except for a small area in the southwest corner along the border that is in moderate drought.
That area along the border hasn’t changed since last week, when it was part of a larger moderate drought area mostly in southeast Fayette County and northern Tuscaloosa County.
That moderate drought area has disappeared in Tuscaloosa County, leaving an abnormally dry area over the northern area of that county which has also shrunk.
Moderate drought conditions in the northwest and southeast corners of the state were erased this week, leaving abnormal dry conditions instead.
This week, 88 percent of Alabama was listed as being drought-free, up from 78 percent the week before.
Only 7,128 people in the state were in drought conditions this week, down from 107,000 the week before.
“This helped further ease the drought conditions that have plagued the area during the past several months, with most stream flows in the area currently near or above normal for the time of year.” For the calendar year up through May 31, the agency noted rainfall totals were above averages at locations across the state, including 3.69 inches above the 23.97-inch average for the period through May 31.
Values above 500 indicate a severe fire danger.” Central Alabama is expected to have scattered showers and thunderstorms the next few days, with normal or higher precipitation levels expected for June.
Drought conditions are expected to continue improving in the state through August, according to the NWS.

GAINESVILLE – As drought conditions continue, some Florida yards and gardens may start to look less than lush.
“In general, lack of water will cause fruit and flowers to fall off the plant, reducing yields.” However, homeowners and gardeners can take several steps to lessen the effects of drought on their landscapes.
“During dry conditions, leaves of grass will fold up lengthwise and turn gray-blue,” DeBusk said.
In woody ornamentals, the leaves will turn black at the tips.” 2.
Irrigate with an eye toward conservation.
“If a plant is showing signs of water stress, water it deeply every few days, or more if needed, though be sure to follow your local community’s water usage guidelines and irrigation restrictions,” said DeBusk.
Many communities only allow homeowners to irrigate during morning or evening.
“This allows the water to get to the roots before it is evaporated by the sun,” she explained.
To conserve water, mulch should be two to three inches deep.
Homeowners should also skip fertilizing or pruning live branches during drought conditions, DeBusk said.

NEWS WORTH NOTING: Klamath River emergency dilution flows not required in 2017; Bill to protect Clear Lake passes State Assembly, moves to Senate; New water source for Lake Camanche Village moves forward.
Klamath River Emergency Dilution Flows Not Required in 2017 From the Bureau of Reclamation: The Bureau of Reclamation announces that Klamath River emergency dilution flows will not be required in 2017 to mitigate the effects of a parasite called Ceratanova shasta (or C. shasta) on outmigrating juvenile salmon.
The winter-spring flows were conducted on multiple occasions during February and March 2017, after which Reclamation shifted its focus to planning for implementation of emergency dilution flows, which the court ordered to be implemented between April 1 and June 15 if certain disease thresholds were exceeded.
Specifically, the court ordered Reclamation to utilize up to 50 thousand acre feet to implement emergency dilution flows if: C. Shasta spore concentrations exceed 5 spores/liter (non-specific genotype) based on quantitative polymerase chain reaction at any sampling station, or Prevalence of infection of all captured juvenile Chinook salmon exceeds 20 percent for the preceding week at the Kinsman Rotary Screw Trap site.
These flows would be required until June 15 or until 80 percent of juvenile salmon had outmigrated if either of the preceding two thresholds were exceeded.
Clear Lake is also home to the Clear Lake Hitch, a federally-endangered fish, and holds environmental significance for the surrounding region’s plant and animal life.
“This Committee and the maintenance of a healthy Clear Lake will be a community effort,” said Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry.
Aguiar-Curry represents the 4th Assembly District, which includes all of Lake and Napa Counties, parts of Colusa County, all of Yolo County except West Sacramento, Dixon in Solano County and Rohnert Park in Sonoma County.
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——————— About News Worth Noting: News Worth Noting is a collection of press releases, media statements, and other materials produced by federal, state, and local government agencies, water agencies, and academic institutions, as well as non-profit and advocacy organizations.

CAL WATER FIX: May 31st Ruling Letter.
From the State Water Board’s Cal Water Fix Hearing Team: On May 24, 2017, DWR objected to rebuttal exhibits submitted by Snug Harbor Resorts, LLC (Snug Harbor) on the grounds that they were not referenced in the rebuttal testimony of Snug Harbor’s rebuttal witness, Nicole S. Suard.
By email dated May 25, 2017, DWR confirmed that it objects to the admission into the evidentiary record of all of Snug Harbor’s rebuttal exhibits: SHR-359, -360, -362, -363, -364, -365, -367, -368, -369, -370, and -407.
On May 28, 2017, Snug Harbor submitted a notice withdrawing Ms. Suard’s rebuttal testimony (SHR-502, SHR-502-Revised, and SHR-502-Staff-Revised), and requesting that the corresponding oral testimony be stricken from the record to avoid confusion.
In addition, Snug Harbor argued that SHR-359, -360, -362, -363, -364, -367, and -369 should be admitted into evidence ”as reference” to assist in understanding Snug Harbor’s cross examination of DWR’s expert witness, Dr. Parviz Nader-Tehrani.
In a response submitted on May 30, 2017, DWR renewed its objection to the admission of those exhibits on the grounds that they were not used during cross-examination, the scope of the cross-examination was improper, or Snug Harbor indicated that the exhibits were intended for demonstrative purposes only.
Read the ruling letter here: 20170531_cwf_ruling

Cape Town cuts back to survive ‘stubborn’ drought.
Local authorities have declared Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape province a disaster area, with less than 10 percent of usable water left in the dams supplying the region.
"Dam levels are at 9.7 percent.
#ThinkWaterCT and use below 100 litres per person, per day," the government said on its official Twitter account on Tuesday.
inRead invented by Teads Cape Town looks to tap into waste water "The drought we are currently experiencing is the most stubborn in recent history.
The newest restrictions limit residents to 100 litres a person a day and rule out its use for anything other than cooking, drinking and essential cleaning.
De Lille urged the residents to embrace the fact that water scarcity is "the new normal" and accept that they are living in a drought-stricken area.
It does not mean that our lives should be diminished or the economy negatively affected," de Lille said.
Last week Virgin Active, a health club operator, said it would close saunas and steam rooms at its gyms across the province.
Officials criticised The city said it is issuing fines and notices to appear in court after publishing earlier this year a name-and-shame list of the worst water offenders in Cape Town.

DWR’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Program News.
To find out about facilitation service opportunities that may be available, Contact: SGMP_RC@water.ca.gov Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) Formation As of May 31, 2017: 212 local agencies (including coordinated efforts by a combination of local agencies) have submitted GSA formation notifications.
Of the 124 basins that are partially or completely covered by GSA notifications: o 32 basins are low or very-low priority.
Most counties have messaged to DWR that they will become the GSA in the unmanaged areas of a high- or medium-priority basin if needed, per Water Code Section 10724. o Counties that have opted-out of being the presumed GSA for the unmanaged area of a basin are listed here: http://water.ca.gov/groundwater/sgm/gsa_archive.cfm o The State Intervention Compliance Map for areas that are currently considered unmanaged is available on the State Water Board’s website: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/gmp/ All GSA notifications can be submitted, viewed, and managed within DWR’s SGMA Portal: http://sgma.water.ca.gov/portal/#gsa Contact: Mark Nordberg Mark.Nordberg@water.ca.gov or (916) 651-9673 $86.3 Million Available for Groundwater Sustainability Plans and Projects The Department of Water Resources (DWR) will hold a series of public meetings in June to review its 2017 Draft Proposal Solicitation Package for Groundwater Sustainability Plans and Projects and to receive public comments.
The public comment period will close June 19, 2017.
Contact: Heather Shannon Heather.Shannon@water.ca.gov or (916) 651-9212 A Newsletter about Funding and Technical Assistance In line with DWR’s commitment to support Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) and stakeholders throughout SGMA implementation, DWR will be providing periodic SGMA Implementation Assistance Updates.
The goal of the technical assistance program is to comply with requirements in SGMA (10729 and 10733.2) and the GSP regulations (353.2, 354.8, 354.16, and 354.18) for DWR to provide education, data, and tools at both regional and statewide scales to aid GSAs with development and implementation of GSPs and inform water resource planning decisions.
January 1, 2018 – Submission Period opens o During this 3 month window, GSAs and local agencies can submit the required information to support a Basin Boundary Modification in the BBMRS on the SGMA Portal http://sgma.water.ca.gov/portal/#intro.
For more information and registration, visit http://www.watereducation.org/sites/main/files/file-attachments/dwr_sjv_subsidence_aug16_flye.pdf SGMA Definitions and Groundwater Glossary SGMA provided California with a roadmap for sustainably managing our groundwater, and it also came with its own lexicon.
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Malawi: Drought Insurance ‘An Experiment That Failed’ in Malawi – Report.
London — A policy taken out by Malawi cost the country $5 million but failed to deliver timely assistance to more than 6.5 million people affected by drought in 2016, says ActionAid Taking out insurance to protect against climate risks is the "wrong model" for improving countries’ ability to cope and may even be worsening inequality and vulnerability, a leading development charity said on Wednesday.
A policy taken out by Malawi cost the drought-ridden southern African country $5 million but failed to deliver timely assistance to more than 6.5 million people affected in 2016 and shows that insurance is "poor value for money", ActionAid said.
ActionAid said in a report there had been major defects in the model, data and process used by insurers African Risk Capacity Insurance Company Limited (ARC Ltd) to determine a payout to Malawi.
"Insurance is not a quick fix for broken development, adaptation and humanitarian finance systems," Jonathan Reeves, the report’s author, said in a statement.
Malawi took out insurance based on a crop – long-cycle maize – that, as it turned out, most farmers did not grow in the 2015/2016 season.
After investigating the discrepancy, ARC Ltd made a payment of $8.1 million to Malawi in January 2017, which ActionAid deemed "too little, too late".
The total cost of responding to the drought cost Malawi, where more than 80 percent of the population are smallholder farmers, an estimated $395 million, according to the report.
Now, drought in the continent’s east is pushing millions into hunger.
Insurance can be triggered more quickly than international aid, which can take months to fund.

A state official says North Carolina is free of drought or dry conditions for the first time in more than a year. Linwood Peele, acting chairman of the N.C. Drought Management Advisory Council, said May 25 that recent rainfall has brought relief statewide, particularly southwestern North Carolina. The last time the state enjoyed that status was March 2016. A word from our…

NEW YORK — Eric Thames sent a first-inning changeup from Jacob deGrom into the bullpen in right-center , 436 feet from home plate, for a two-run homer. Thames hit his 13th home run on May 9. Slowed by a hamstring injury and strep throat, it took him three weeks to hit No. 14. “I almost, like, dropped to my knees. That’s what it feels like, to actually hit a barrel,” Thames said after the Milwaukee Brewers’ 7-1 win over the New York Mets on Wednesday night. “The last three weeks, I’d get fastballs, I’d swing — foul ball or off the end.” Thames was signed by the Brewers after three seasons in South Korea, and his hot start is a big reason Milwaukee leads the NL Central. He left an April 26 game with a tight hamstring but tried to play through it. Then he missed three games in San Diego from May 15-18 because of strep throat. “My whole family was there to watch me play and then, like — bam! Plane landed, coughing,” he recalled. “That really set me back. I feel like my body was really exhausted.” He was in an 0-for-19 skid entering Tuesday, when he singled, tripled and walked twice. He reached four times for the second straight night Wednesday, also doubling and walking twice. He raised his average to .286 with 28 RBIs. “Eric’s back. He’s clearly in a good place,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said after his team won for just the third time in 10 games. “To have him back swinging good is a big sign for our offense.” Keon Broxton also went deep to give Junior Guerra a 3-0, second-inning lead. Guerra (1-0) allowed four hits in six scoreless innings , struck out…