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…

INDIAHOMA, OK (KSWO) – Most of southwest Oklahoma is now under severe or extreme drought conditions. Because of the dry conditions, officials at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge are urging everyone to be extra cautious when spending time out on the refuge. Assistant Fire Management Officer Jeremiah Phillips said the longer the drought goes on, the higher the fire danger is on the refuge. “Right now our fire danger is very high, not to the extreme level yet, but we are trending in that direction. Until we see a significant change in the weather pattern, we’re just going to continue to get worse and worse,” Phillips said. Because of that danger, there are a few new restrictions in place for those visiting the refuge. “We’ve restricted activities such that open burning and campfires are no longer allowed and we’ll keep those in place for the…