Rainy April brings relief to Virginia

By REX SPRINGSTON
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
Published: May 2, 2008

The drought is drowning.

Richmond just enjoyed—or endured—its third-wettest April on record. The James River is roaring.

And two-thirds of the state is drought-free, up from half the state a week ago.

“Right now we’re in pretty decent shape,“ said Keith Lynch, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service.

A dry spell could still cause problems this summer, Lynch said. But recent rains have pushed drought worries back at least a month or two.

The Richmond area got 1 to 2 inches of rain—and maybe more in spots—from storms last weekend and early this week. Storms also produced eight tornadoes in Virginia on Monday.

The James, unusually low in late winter, crested Wednesday less than a foot below flood level, Lynch said.

A third of the state, mainly in the central and southern Piedmont, suffers from moderate drought, experts say. But that’s an improvement for such places as parts of Cumberland, Albemarle, Powhatan, Amelia, Fluvanna, Goochland and Louisa counties, which suffered from severe drought last week.

Richmond received 8.32 inches of rain in April—5.14 inches above average.

The only two wetter Aprils came in 1889, with 8.89 inches, and 1910, with 8.74 inches, said Bryan Jackson, a Weather Service meteorologist.

Contact Rex Springston at (804) 649-6453 or .