Virginia Department Of Environmental Quality Expands Drought Warning

Today, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ expanded the drought warning to include 84 counites and 33 cities, and continued the drought watch advisories in one county and five cities in Virginia. Basically, the entire commonwealth except for Southside Hampton Roads is facing a drought warning.

As a result of these dry conditions, agricultural impacts are widespread and there is increased danger of wildfires. Additionally, the expansion of the drought declarations is consistent with the designations of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where farmers may be eligible for Farm Service Agency emergency loans.

Note: DEQ has changed our drought advisory colors to include orange and crimson to represent a drought warning and drought emergency respectively to better align with other drought monitoring agencies.