Tropical system should bring needed rain

Oconee, Anderson, and Pickens are among 14 South Carolina counties that remain at incipient drought, in the judgment of the state Drought Response Committee.  The committee upgraded 17 counties to a higher drought level, but decided to wait to evaluate the potential effect of tropical storm Nicole before considering further changes.  Rainfall has been below normal the past 30 days.  Hope Mizzell, the climatologist, said for areas that didn’t receive rain from Hurricane Ian at the end of September, the deficit has been building since the late summer.  Lake levels in the Savannah River Basin have dropped to the threshold of the Army Corps of Engineers to initiate Stage 1 drought.  Leslie Woodham of the SC Forestry Commission reports that even with the lack of rain, the state has had an average-to-below number of fires the past few months.  However, an earlier than normal frost can lead to an earlier-than-normal start to the wildfire season.  Several farming representatives reported that due to dry summer conditions, beef producers were forced to feed their winter hay.