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Winter rain and snow resurrect Virginia from drought

Posted at 7:25 AM, Mar 15, 2013
and last updated 2013-03-15 07:25:12-04

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – For the first time in more than a year, Virginia is perfect with precipitation. This bodes well for Spring Greening with not a single bit of “abnormally dry” area to report. Way to go, Winter rain & snow!

This week’s Drought Monitor shows that 100% of Virginia is drought-free and abnormally dry-free.

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The last time the Drought Monitor reported 100% dry-free conditions was more than a year ago on December 6, 2011. CLICK HERE to see the weekly stats since 2000.

After an incredibly dry November 2012 (Richmond International Airport accumulated only 0.27″ in the rain gauge), the rains came back in December. Since then, RIC has reported 14.06″ of liquid-equivalent precipitation (that includes both rain and melted snow).

December 2012: 2.83″ (-0.43″ departure from normal for the month)
January 2013: 5.33″ (+2.29″ departure from normal for the month)
February 2013: 2.60″ (-0.16″ departure from normal for the month)
March 2013 to date: 3.30″ (+1.59″ departure from normal for the month so far)

The precipitation outlook for the rest of Spring looks average for Virginia, and an active March with rounds of rain each week will keep us on track and away from drought into the beginning of Summer.

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Meteorologist Carrie Rose
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