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…