Experts say that recent rainfall will have little effect on drought conditions

BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) — Joanna Ransley of Florida was headed to Charleston on Thursday, September 26, 2024.

She said she and three friends from Orlando, all who were in need of a getaway, had planned to meet in Charleston, but the rain changed their plans.

“All three are probably going to have to cancel coming. I’m looking forward, or maybe not looking forward, to spending three nights all by myself,” Ransley said. “But I feel sorry for them, because they really need the break. But no, the weather’s going to put the kabosh on that.”

Ninety-nine percent of the state has been in drought since August, so many West Virginians welcomed the downpour.

Rainfall in southern West Virginia continued throuhgout the day on Thursday, flowing into creeks and bringing water to dry vegetation, but experts said the rain was not enough to resolve drought conditions.

Eve West, a spokesperson for National Weather Service in Fayette County, said it would take more than a few days of heavy rainfall to get out of the drought.

“We’ve been in extreme drought conditions throughout the summer,” she explained. “{Scientists) consider not just precipitation but also heat and soil moisture when they look at drought conditions, and, you know, it’s been pretty hot and dry, all summer.”

When the soil is hard because of drought, rain doesn’t saturate it as effectively.

The rainfall evaporates or flows into bodies of water instead of drenching the soil.

West said the state was still in drought on Thursday.

“I know, it seems like it doesn’t make sense, but technically, we are still in the drought, even though we’ve had all this rain,” West said. “It’s going to take us probably over a foot of rain to, technically, get out of it.”

On the bright side, West said, the moisture would help brighten the fall foliage.

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