Henrico remains under drought watch as Virginia updates advisories
Henrico County remains under a drought watch advisory after Virginia environmental officials reviewed conditions across the state this month.
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality said Oct. 23 that the Drought Monitoring Task Force maintained the watch designation for the portion of the Middle James drought region that includes Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover counties and the cities of Colonial Heights, Hopewell, Petersburg and Richmond.
Other parts of the Middle James region remain under a more serious drought-warning advisory. Those areas include Albemarle, Amelia, Amherst, Appomattox, Buckingham, Cumberland, Fluvanna, Goochland, Nelson, Powhatan and Prince Edward counties, along with Charlottesville and Lynchburg.
DEQ said streamflow was near normal across most of Virginia, but deeper soils remained drier than normal in southern and eastern portions of the state. Groundwater levels had declined after recent gains and are expected to continue falling until late November. Most reservoirs remained within normal operating ranges, according to the agency.
Rainfall during the previous week was below normal in much of Virginia. DEQ said its seven-day forecast called for no precipitation statewide, while the 14-day outlook favored warmer-than-normal temperatures and drier-than-normal conditions across the northern half of the state.
A drought watch is intended to alert state and local officials and the public to developing conditions. DEQ directed residents to its drought page and monitoring dashboard for current streamflow, groundwater, soil-moisture and precipitation data.
