Thursday’s Ask Storm Team 11 question is: “What defines a drought?”
Fall typically holds the driest days in the Tri-Cities, but that doesn’t mean we are in a drought.
A drought is a period of unusually dry weather, persisting long enough to cause serious problems.
Problems include crop damage, water supply shortage, increased wildfire risk, and more.
There are four different types of drought definitions according to the National Weather Service: Meteorological, agricultural, hydrological, and socioeconomic.
The meteorological definition looks at the departure of precipitation from normal as well as climatic difference. A drought in one area may not be considered a drought in another location.
According to drought.gov, Tennessee saw its longest drought beginning in February of 2007. It lasted 116 weeks, that’s over 2 years! The most intense drought occurred in October of 2007. This drought affected 70.49% of land in Tennessee.
As of November 1st, there are no drought conditions for the Tri-Cities!
