CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- 2016 ended with moderate to severe drought conditions across the western sections of North and South Carolina. The Charlotte area saw a rainfall deficit of 9 inches with some locations in southwestern North Carolina running close to 20 inches below normal.
By late December, the weather pattern started to change bringing rain and snow to the mountains and Piedmont.
Over a one-year period, Charlotte is still running close to 8 inches behind normal. Winter and early spring are the times of the year when the Carolinas build up the ground water supply. During this time of year, most of the rain and snow goes directly into the ground, compared to the summer months when the rains from thunderstorms quickly wash away.
Area lake levels bottomed out back in November of 2016 with some lakes four to five feet below normal, boat ramps were closed and some areas were dangerous for boaters. The boat ramps on Lake Wylie have reopened as the lake water levels have come up to almost three feet.
Boat docks that were out of the water now can support boats.
Water levels on the Catawba River chain of lakes have all come up and are close to target levels for this time of the year. Lake James, Lake Norman and Lake Wylie have seen the largest increase.
More rain is needed to build the ground water supply back to normal levels and to prepare for the warmer weather as we head into summer. There will be two good chances for measurable rainfall in the next week, the first being Friday and the second late Sunday into Monday.
