CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — Sixty-percent of the state is experiencing drought conditions.
“It is pretty dire conditions out there,” WVU Extension Agent Emily Morrow said during an appearance Tuesday on MetroNews “Talkline.”
Morrow had just been out checking soy beans and corn on some local farms. She said it’s been two months since there was good rain.
“So we’re seeing some pretty severe drought conditions for crops and some low-growth conditions as well,” Morrow said.
According to the National Weather Service, Eastern Panhandle counties are considered to be under severe drought, the Northern Panhandle, Central West Virginia and the Greenbrier Valley are under moderate drought while the Huntington-Charleston corridor is considered abnormally dry.
There was more than enough rain during the early growing season, according to Morrow, but then things drastically changed.
In the early part of the season some farmers in the Eastern Panhandle were dealing with a slug problem now they are just hoping to survive this summer.
The plants tell the story, Morrow said.
“We’re seeing a lot of rolling on the leaves of corn, which if anybody has a garden in your backyard those are symptoms you might seeing in your own area, but we’re not seeing severe symptoms of drought until we begin seeing graying of leaves,” Morrow said.
It’s not too late. Morrow is hopeful a few days of steady rain can get things back on track.
“A lot of people think that once we get a real nice heavy storm that’s exactly what we need but a lot of times the ground is so dry like it is right now that rain is just going to run off rather to be infiltrated by the soil and available for the crops to take it up,” Morrow said.
Heavy thunderstorms developed across the state late Tuesday afternoon with the chance for showers and storms continuing into Wednesday. High temperatures are expected to top out in the lower 80s Wednesday for the first time in 7 days.