Despite recent rain, drought continues across Alabama: op-ed from state climatologist

This is a guest opinion column

This saying goes: “If you want it to rain, go wash your car.” Instead, I am writing an article about drought.

As the Alabama State Climatologist, I provide expert input for Alabama on the weekly US Drought Monitor, working closely with the Office of Water Resources (ADECA OWR) and partner agencies across the state to monitor, monitor and communicate drought conditions. This article is not intended to raise awareness, but to increase awareness and provide context regarding the current situation and the increasing prevalence in many parts of the country. Although the impacts may not be widespread, if conditions continue, we may begin to see them emerge soon.

As of March 24, 2026, approximately 70% of Alabama is in some degree of drought, according to the US Drought Monitor. More than 25% are classified as severe or severe. The Alabama Office of Water Resources recently released their drought advisory and has designated nearly half of the state in a “warning status”, with the rest under watch status.

“How is it that we are in a drought, didn’t we just have a flood warning?”

It’s hard to see a drought at this time of year, however, in almost every vein, we are currently experiencing a drought. During the winter months (Dec-Feb) we expect to see about 1-1.5 inches of rain per week. Sometimes that looks like 0.5 inches one week and 3 the next, but on average we get more than 5 inches a month this time of year, statewide. North Alabama can get 17 inches or more during the winter.

However, for this past winter, areas across Alabama are anywhere from 4 to 8 inches behind what we normally get. A look at the monthly losses from our long term “average” is shown in the table below. These data are for the country as a whole. The relative dryness of this current winter season, as well as the a lot The dry season in July 2025, ranks among the driest on record. We take a closer look at this table, and we see the last time we saw such droughts were 2000, 1934, 2007, 1951. If you know Alabama’s drought history, you know this is not good company.

Even if it rains, floods in some places, and your yard can be a mess at times, that’s it. tension of winter rains which are important and important for regeneration. At this time of year, environmental demand is low due to dormant vegetation and cool temperatures, which allow rain to replenish streams, ponds and soil moisture over time. As temperatures rise and plants become active, the demand for water increases, and most of the summer rain is used up almost as quickly as it is received. These winter and spring rains effectively build a reservoir that helps us withstand summer droughts.

The problem now is that as we move into April, we are moving ahead of our recharge period. In the late spring and summer, our rains begin to fall heavily as thunderstorms, producing large amounts in a short period of time. The greater part of this rain ends up as runoff and is not as wet as most winter rains.

Although over the past 30 days, we have seen near normal rainfall in parts of the country (and above normal in and around Birmingham), some areas in the south and south east are still receiving below normal rainfall. It will take more time to recover from our current deficits.

A quick look at Alabama shows areas of the state that are starting to turn green, and water demand will increase from here. The Alabama Office of the State Climatologist produces the Lawn and Garden Moisture Index, which estimates the ability of current soil moisture to support healthy lawns and gardens. Currently, this requirement is not met in parts of south and southeast Alabama.

Although drought can be difficult to detect this time of year, the signs are there. We are entering a period where water demand is increasing and rainfall is not doing well to replace what we have lost, meaning current shortages are becoming more important with each passing week. This is not a cause for panic, but a moment of caution. Conditions across much of Alabama remain vulnerable, and if trends don’t change, the consequences will begin to emerge. Monitoring the situation now helps us stay ahead of what may happen in the coming months.

Lee Ellenburg serves as the Alabama State Meteorologist and Principal Research Engineer at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The Alabama State Meteorologist’s Office is operated by UAH and provides reliable weather and climate information to public and private organizations.