The Alcorn County drought has eased for the first time in weeks. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor map removes the extreme drought category from the county entirely and downgrades neighboring Tishomingo and Prentiss counties from severe to moderate drought, following the rain that fell across Northeast Mississippi at the start of November.
The map is dated Nov. 3 and was released Nov. 5. The next weekly update is due Thursday, Nov. 12.
Alcorn County drought by the numbers
County statistics published by the Drought Monitor show a one-category improvement across all three counties compared with the Oct. 27 map:
Alcorn County: Extreme drought (D3) covered 45.76% of the county on Oct. 20 and Oct. 27. It now covers none. Severe drought (D2) covers 45.73% of the county, down from 100% at severe or worse, and the rest is in moderate drought (D1).
Tishomingo County: All of the county was in severe drought on Oct. 27. All of it is now rated moderate.
Prentiss County: All of the county was in severe drought on Oct. 20 and Oct. 27. All of it is now rated moderate.
None of the three counties is drought-free. Every part of Alcorn, Tishomingo and Prentiss counties remains in at least moderate drought.
Northeast corner improves while state worsens
The improvement here runs against the statewide trend. The Mississippi map shows 87.16% of the state in moderate drought or worse, about the same as a week earlier, while the area in extreme or exceptional drought grew from 28.83% to 38.35%. Exceptional drought (D4), the worst category, rose from 3.57% to 5.88% of the state, centered on the Delta.
Three months ago, on the Aug. 4 map, 62.41% of Mississippi had no drought or dryness at all. On the current map that figure is 3.86%.
The Drought Monitor notes that its map focuses on broad-scale conditions and that local conditions may vary. The Nov. 3 map was authored by Brad Pugh of NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.
Burn ban still in place in Tishomingo County
Easing drought does not lift local fire restrictions. The Mississippi Forestry Commission’s burn ban list still shows Tishomingo County under a ban that began Oct. 19 and runs through Nov. 19. During a burn ban, the commission says, anything with an open flame that produces an ember is not allowed, apart from the exemptions listed for each county.
Residents can check the current list on the Forestry Commission’s burn ban page before any outdoor burning, since bans can be extended or lifted early.
What to watch next
Wednesday: The National Weather Service in Memphis has forecast light showers with a cold front on Veterans Day.
Thursday: The next Drought Monitor map will show whether the improvement held.
Nov. 19: Tishomingo County’s burn ban is scheduled to expire unless it is extended.
Jon R Myers is the executive editor of Alcorn County News and the founder of the Mississippi News Group, which he started in 2013 to cover communities across North Mississippi. He also founded the Mississippi Sports Group in 2006, which grew from a single community publication into a statewide network covering high school and college athletics. He reports on local government, public safety, schools and community life in Corinth and Alcorn County, working from public meetings, agency records and interviews with the people involved. Contact him at editor@alcornnewsms.com with news tips or corrections. For a correction, include the article link and supporting source material.
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