Extreme drought conditions return.
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor report indicates extreme drought conditions have returned to portions of central Alabama, including Tuscaloosa County.
The report released on Thursday reflects a break in a trend this winter of gradually improving drought conditions.
At the time of last week’s report, extreme drought conditions had eased in the state.
The extreme drought conditions exist in an area spanning parts of Pickens, Greene, Tuscaloosa, Hale, Bibb, Jefferson, Shelby and Walker counties.
The area remains under a long-term drought, which is a period lasting longer than six months typically.
Remaining areas in the south-central part of the state are abnormally dry or near normal.
Rainfall within the past week was not enough to provide any significant improvement in the long-term drought conditions, according to the report.
Tuscaloosa reported 10.67 inches of precipitation so far this year, about an inch above average.
The forecast for the end of the week calls for a 40 percent chance of rain on Friday and highs in the 80s before temperatures cool on Saturday and Sunday with highs in the 60s.

For the first time since 2011, the U.S. Drought Monitor map, produced jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is showing Kern County to be virtually free of the drought that has plagued the county and the state for more than five years.
But keep that champagne on ice a little bit longer.
Because while the Sierra snowpack is magnificent, and the Kern River is raging, there’s one crucial component of the southern valley’s water health that remains in critical condition: Groundwater.
As of Feb. 21, just 8 percent of Kern — concentrated in the extreme southwestern section of the county — was deemed to be in “moderate drought,” the lowest of the four drought levels, according to the drought map.
Nearly 39 percent, also on the south and west sides of the county, was still categorized as abnormally dry.
But what a difference several weeks of winter storms can make.
“We have had a wonderful start to the water year,” said the City of Bakersfield’s Water Resources Manager Art Chianello.
But the groundwater problem, Chianello said, is not going to be solved in a single year.
According to the drought map, the Southern Sierra Tulare Basin for Feb. 21 showed 223 percent of average precipitation for the date, which is very near the 1968-1969 record.
And the city still has a responsibility to meet its water conservation goals, Chianello said.

City of Fresno says drought restrictions may continue despite wet weather.
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Despite record setting rain and snowfall the City of Fresno regulators say drought restrictions may continue.
The US Drought Monitor just released a map showing Central California remains abnormally dry after enduring more than five years of drought.
All that snow pack up there could not be there, so we’re still a little cautious," said Thomas Esqueda, Director of Public Utilities.
Under state mandated restrictions Fresno residents have reduced water use by 24-percent– a big part of that is the city’s current restriction to limit lawn irrigation to just one day a week.
"Right now the numbers look great, we love them, they’re fantastic– you just never know what mother nature going to throw at us and if she throws something at us that just wipes out that snow pack and has that water running out, untimely, that’ll be a concern for us," said Esqueda.
Groundwater remains Fresno’s primary source of water, but the underground supply remains far below normal.
"One of the challenges we are still suffering from over a hundred years of over drafting the aquifer and the water is still very low down there," said Esqueda.
Despite one of the wettest years on record don’t expect to see any relief on your water bill.
A rate hike of about 14-percent will go into effect this summer to help pay for a $429 million project to upgrade to the city’s water system.

A Thursday report from the National Drought Mitigation Center shows 70 percent of the county is in a moderate drought — the second tier on a 5-level drought scale — with the remainder considered abnormally dry.
The report does not include Wednesday’s lengthy downpour, but even with some areas of South Florida receiving more than 2 inches of rain, a prolonged dry spell has left Palm Beach County with a hefty rain deficit.
Following a tally of Wednesday’s rain totals, coastal areas of the county were still down 6 inches of rain, with inland areas at a deficit of between 3 and 4 inches, according to the South Florida Water Management District.
The airport received 1.70 inches on Wednesday — more in one day than the total amount received between Jan. 1 and Feb. 21.
“A fairly large rainfall deficit still exists for the dry season, therefore conservation is critical for protecting the water supply as the wet season is about three months away,” Smith said.
The average rainfall deficit for the 16 counties managed by the district was 4 inches as of Thursday.
The Keetch-Byram Drought Index also improved.
On Thursday, the mean index level for Palm Beach County was 512, and there were no areas above 600, which is associated with more severe drought and an increase in intense wildfires.
“In Florida, we don’t have a wildfire season, we have activity all year long,” Peterich said.
“It just gets more heightened as we dry out.” On Thursday, 26 wildfires were burning statewide, but none were in Palm Beach County or the Treasure Coast.

Low rainfall slaps Frederick County with five months of drought.
Frederick County and central Maryland have been dry this winter, and officials are looking to traditionally wet months ahead to alleviate the drought.
The Maryland Department of the Environment placed central and western Maryland on a drought watch last Nov. 30 and began monitoring rainfall, stream flow, groundwater and reservoirs on a biweekly basis, said MDE spokesman Jay Apperson.
Central Maryland had 63 percent of its normal rainfall over the past 5 1/2 months.
Frederick County had a little more rain than its neighbors and is at 72 percent of normal rainfall.
MDE ranks drought conditions as normal, watch, warning or emergency.
The area’s drought status is expected to be removed soon, he wrote.
Stream flow and reservoir conditions are normal in central Maryland, Apperson said.
People can help conserve water by being aware of how bathroom, laundry and kitchen uses consume water, Apperson said.
Homeowners can also fix leaks and upgrade to more efficient fixtures.

In Somaliland, women are being raped as a result of extreme drought and lack of support.
Most women and girls in the camp have been assaulted or raped by gangs,” begins Hodan Ahmedan, 23, sitting in her makeshift shelter where she has lived since she arrived from drought-ridden eastern Somaliland to a camp for internally displaced in Maxamed Mooge, Hargeisa.
While men have found it possible to find jobs in the city, the multitude of dangers the drought has exposed women to – from sexual assaults, to illegal land grabbing, to lack of sanitary facilities – clearly demonstrates that it is the women who are bearing the brunt of the drought and its consequences.
The drought killed my animals.
“If we don’t pay, they set our shelters on fire,” explains Amina, “so many have here have been burnt”.
This camp, like most of the country, receives no humanitarian support from the international community or the government.
“Even our donkeys have died, this is the last one,” he claims.
“We have no water left.
They are lucky, she claims, none have suffered complications yet, but Dacar adds that with no water or food he expects a crisis in the coming days.
“We urgently need water and food, or we will die.” As most Somalilanders have had their very way of life ripped away from them by the drought – and the lack of national and international support – it is the women and most vulnerable who are bearing the brunt.

Fresno County remains in extreme drought despite recent storms.
After years of drought, we’ve seen a staggering amount of rain.
So far, Fresno has seen more than three inches of rain this month.
"These are the kind of storms we expect," Ryan Jacobsen with the Fresno County Farm Bureau said.
Jacobsen says the ag community is enjoying the rain and forecaster Alena Lee says areas across the Central Valley have seen double, and even triple, the amount of moisture than last year.
"So far in Fresno, we have seen over three inches of rain total just in Fresno alone," she said.
So, we have seen several inches of rain and we’re not even out of January yet."
Last year, the Central Valley was in what is labeled an Exceptional Drought and some areas south of Bakersfield are still dealing with that.
As for farmers in our area, planting season shouldn’t be affected.
"Obviously, with some of the rains we’ve seen, it’ll keep folks out of those fields for a time, but, overall, I think everyone is welcoming the rain."

"We are getting some rain," Doty said.
"You guys have been hoarding it all in Northern California, because I really haven’t had that much," said Terry Munz, a dryland grain farmer west of Lancaster in Los Angeles County.
The Southern California water year, which began Oct. 1, has been below average so far, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, which said southern Santa Barbara, Ventura, southern Kern and northwestern Los Angeles counties remain in a state of severe drought.
Lake Cachuma in Santa Barbara County and Lake Casitas and Lake Piru in Ventura County remain far below average, according to the monitor, as do several reservoirs in Los Angeles County.
As of last week, he’d seen 7.5 inches of rain, he said.
"I haven’t had more than 7 inches of rain here for five years," he said.
"Most crops are salt-sensitive, so the more salt we put on the ground, the more tip burn we get."
The Drought Monitor had encouraging news for Stehly and his neighbors: As of late last week, the Sierra snowpack held more than 160 percent of its average water content for this time of year.
He said the region averages 12 inches of rain per year, and as of last week, rainfall stood at a little more than 7 inches.
"I wouldn’t have to farm for 10 years, or I’d just have to do it again.

California landscapes starting to return after drought.
At Lake Oroville, north of Sacramento, dramatic photos show deeply receded waters a year ago, with boats having to huddle closely together just to remain afloat.
In just a year, the lake has doubled its water volume, from about 1.5 million acre feet to 2.7 million now.
Similarly Redwood Creek in Humboldt County has seen a renewed lushness along its watershed as it passes through Muir Woods and flows to the ocean.
Maps from the U.S. Drought Monitor also starkly illustrate the improvement.
Recent rainstorms have helped to bring large swaths of the state out of the drought in one year, though Southern California still remains too dry.
(U.S. Drought Monitor) Last year at this time, almost 97 percent of the state was considered to be at some level of drought.
Today the figure is down to 58 percent, with the most severe levels, technically termed "exceptional drought," remaining only in about two percent of the state, centered around the coast of Southern California as illustrated in the darkest red areas of the map.
While the storms have renewed waterways and landscapes, they have also brought serious flooding to many parts of the state, from the Bay Area to the Inland Empire.
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