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,~ <br />National Weather Service/NOAH Regional Precipitation data (as of 11/6/2007) <br />(inches above f+1 or below f-1 normal) <br />RDU Piedmont-Triad <br />-1.15" since September 1, 2007 -0.64" since September 1, 2007 <br />-6.75" since January 1, 2007 -10.24" since January 1, 2007 <br />Miscellaneous notes <br />1. Please note that the rainfall deficits noted above show only deficits from January 2007, and <br />do not reflect deficits that remained at the end of preceding years. USGS ground water <br />specialists and hydrogeologists speculated at a meeting last week that North Carolina as a <br />whole needs 30 to 40" of rainfall by April 2008 to break the drought. <br />2. The NC Drought Management Advisory Council drought map, updated November 6, 2007, <br />shows that the southern half of Orange County is within the area characterized as <br />experiencing "extreme drought" (the second-most severe drought classification used), while <br />the northern portion of the County is classified as experiencing "severe drought" (the third- <br />most severe drought classification used). <br />3. Given that: 1) Orange Alamance's withdrawals are now averaging well below historical <br />levels (approximately 130,000 gallons per day); 2) Piedmont Minerals withdrawals are but a <br />tiny fraction of its historical levels of withdrawal; and 3) Hillsborough has been releasing <br />well above its minimum required release, the water level at Lake Orange -though quite low <br />- is well above what might be expected with the current drought situation. <br />