Birmingham – The latest Drought Monitor Survey shows the hardest hit area of the state remains mired in the worst drought conditions. Approximately 49 percent of Alabama - the north and east central portions of the state - is under exceptional drought conditions.
An estimated two to four inches of rain fell last week in south Alabama and helped about seven percent of the state shrug off any drought designation. The rainfall provided no relief to areas of extreme north Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky.
According to the survey, 36 percent of the Southeast remains under D-4, the exceptional drought designation. The conditions cover 66 percent of North Carolina, 50 percent of Georgia, 46 percent of South Carolina, 21 percent of Tennessee and 6 percent of Virginia.
Drought specialists predict conditions will persist through the winter months, with the possibility it will expand into Florida. They blame the ongoing La Nina conditions to continue bringing abnormally mild and dry weather to the region.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)