| ||||||||||
Dr. Ronald P. Rogers CHIROPRACTOR Support for your body's natural healing capabilities 270-384-5554 Click here for details Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig Visit ColumbiaMagazine's Directory of Churches Addresses, times, phone numbers and more for churches in Adair County Find Great Stuff in ColumbiaMagazine's Classified Ads Antiques, Help Wanted, Autos, Real Estate, Legal Notices, More... |
Drought declarations issued throughout Kentucky Adair County has Level 2 declaration. Level 1 and Level 2 Declarations cover the Commonwealth. By John Mura/Robin Hartman Frankfort, KY - The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet and the Office of the State Climatologist, in coordination with the Kentucky drought mitigation team, have issued a Level 2 drought declaration for 78 counties and a Level 1 declaration for 42 counties. A Level 2 drought declaration has been issued for areas in eastern, central and parts of western Kentucky and could lead to substantial agricultural losses, diminished stream flows in small streams and rivers and increases in the occurrence of wildfires. If drought conditions persist, it is expected that some water utilities will have difficulties treating water and may begin issuing conservation advisories or implementing water-use restrictions due to limited water supplies. A Level 1 drought declaration has been issued for areas in western and northeastern Kentucky indicating moderate to severe drought conditions have developed primarily affecting soil moisture and vegetative health. Serious impacts to agricultural water needs, an increased wildfire risk, abnormally low flows in streams, and resultant water quality issues can be expected in the designated areas. The Commonwealth has been experiencing unprecedented dryness, with most locations recording little to no precipitation during the month of September. This lack of precipitation, combined with record heat, has led to rapidly deteriorating conditions. "The combination of hot, dry weather that set in across Kentucky in August reached an unprecedented level during September, based on the period of record dating back to 1895," said Stu Foster, state climatologist for Kentucky. "As a result, drought conditions have developed rapidly as we enter what is climatologically the driest time of the year." Public water supplies are not seriously affected at this time, but persistent drought conditions will increase the risk of water shortage conditions, especially for those systems relying on small lakes, small headwater streams and wells located in drought-vulnerable aquifers. Low water levels in lakes can also lead to water quality issues that could present treatment challenges for utilities. The Kentucky Division of Water continues to monitor all the state's water systems and their sources of supply, including notifying the public of any changes that may lead to water shortages. The hot, dry conditions have had a serious impact on agricultural interests, especially when it comes to cattle production. Severely diminished pasture conditions have led to limited fall grazing, and in turn, forced many producers to feed winter hay well ahead of schedule. Numerous county agents are reporting hay yields cut in half, while moisture availability has put a halt to pasture renovations. Matt Dixon, with the UK Ag Weather Center, said data at the weather center showed the state averaged only 0.28 inches of rain during the month. "This has led farm ponds and streams to diminish tremendously, which has pushed some producers to start hauling water," Dixon said. The forecast shows relief from the record heat beginning later this week, but the long-term outlooks indicates below-normal precipitation for the next 30 days. The Kentucky Drought Mitigation and Response Plan defines a tiered approach to classifying drought severity using multiple indicators to assess the intensity and location of a developing drought. These indicators include the Drought Monitor, Palmer Drought Index, Crop Moisture Index, and precipitation and streamflow measurements. More information about drought declaration criteria can be found in the Kentucky Drought Mitigation and Response Plan (PDF). This story was posted on 2019-10-03 12:44:22
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know.
More articles from topic News:
Trans Canada Energy statement on pipeline noise Register now for Treats on the Town Big Windy was on Hwy 61 North out of Columbia Egypt-Shiloh Men's Prayer Breakfast, Sat 5 Oct 2019 One more day of high temps, sunny and 94F 7-County Area Courts for Thu 3 Oct 2019 KYTC official to visit Russell Springs Thursday, 3 Oct Hollaender to locate first Kentucky operation in Somerset Chili Supper and Auction is Saturday, 5 Oct at BAVFD HISTORY: Chicken Thieves Put On Notice View even more articles in topic News |
|
||||||||
| ||||||||||
Quick Links to Popular Features
Looking for a story or picture? Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com. | ||||||||||
Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728. Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.
|