Incipient drought in six South Carolina counties

The statewide committee that keeps a watch on the skies for rain clouds placed six counties yesterday on a list of incipient drought counties.  The six are all lower state:  Clarendon, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Marion, and Williamsburg.  Incipient is the first level of drought, followed by moderate, severe, and extreme.  Upstate South Carolina is a different story as recent rains have spurred new growth, reducing fire danger in the short term.  For example, the ferocious storm with lightning flashes that moved through the region late Tuesday night, according to one Chickasaw Point resident, deposited six inches of rain into his gauge.  The West South Carolina Drought Management Committee has decided that conditions, for now, do not warrant a drought declaration for the Savannah River Basin.