Dry Times in the SE

[piedmontfields]

It is quite rare for eastern Tennessee to be truly dry. This is the land of rivers, waterfalls, and a temperate rain forest, after all. We were nearly drowning this winter in water, as rainfall was nearly a foot above normal by early spring. But now we are well into 2+ months with very little rain and are officially in a moderate drought per NOAA. We have another week of temps in the 90s F --about 20 degrees above "normal."

Some views of our dry fields at home:

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[Sue B]

Huh, what would those fields normally look like? Here in Idaho, that's a totally normal field this time of year. Then again 1) we only get 6-8" of precip a year and 2) it snowed this weekend starting at 5k feet (my house is at 4500' above sea level)

[Flight]

Look at that grass! I see that as nice! But hoping you get some rain again soon.
Australia is really struggling with drought right now. This is my sister's place, 200 acres of dirt. Normally it is lush and long especially in spring and they need to mow a path through.
This is my old horse who was going to retire up there but now is coming back to my place.

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[piedmontfields]

See, it's all about perspective. Our property feels like a tinder box to me now! Normally that "nice" grass would still be all green. My boarding barn is not even getting a late season hay cutting this year.

The Australian drought is epic---and terrifying.

[Flight]

The fire threat is a scary one with all that dry material, that is true.

[heddylamar]

We're in light drought conditions here too (MD). I'm from the west coast where burn bans and water conservation are the norm. It's interesting to see that the city, state, and county are just now issuing warnings, after months of no measurable rain.

Normally I water all the outdoor plants from rain barrels, but they have been sitting dry since July. Our CSA which relies mostly on rainfall, with some irrigation, is really struggling. The yield is nearly nothing.

At the barn, we are rotating between 2 of 3 pastures ... not that there's any regrowth happening. BO is feeding hay when they're out (normally only a winter thing) and hanging on to the one semi-lush pasture in hopes we get some rain.

[khall]

We are in horrible drought conditions here in GA and record high temps. The ground is rock hard and dust ick. Having to heavily water my arena, but really cannot even face riding in this heat. I do not have a covered and it gets hot quickly. At 5:30 yesterday afternoon driving down the drive way it was 99F:( This heat is supposed to last through Friday with cooler temps next week and hopefully some rain.

Flight that is scary! It looks like a desert. How widespread is the drought in Australia?