A drought watch is now in effect in 50 counties and 23 cities in Virginia — including Northern Virginia.
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Virginia Drought Monitoring Task Force updated the drought watch advisory on November 17.
In Northern Virginia, the watch includes Arlington, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, and Prince William counties and the cities of Arlington, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park.
Nearby in the Northern Piedmont region, the watch also includes Culpeper, Greene, Louisa, Madison, Orange, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, and Stafford counties and the city of Fredericksburg.
A news release from DEQ says the recent lack of precipitation has caused “below normal or declines in streamflow and groundwater levels.” The upcoming forecasts show slightly higher but still below-normal precipitation and above-average temperatures.
DEQ encourages all Virginians to “protect water supplies by minimizing water use, monitoring drought conditions, and detecting and repairing leaks.”
Dry weather conditions and strong winds also contributed to a local fire watch over the weekend. The watch was in effect in many Northern Virginia counties — including Fairfax, Arlington, Loudoun, and Prince William — on Sunday, November 16.
Feature image courtesy Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
