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National Weather Service/NOAA Regional Precipitation data (as of 1/9/2008) <br /> (inches above [+] or below [-] normal) <br /> RDU Piedmont-Triad <br /> -1.12" since January 1, 2008 -0.99" since January 1, 2008 <br /> Miscellaneous notes <br /> 1. Please note that the rainfall deficits noted above show only deficits from January 2008, and <br /> do not reflect deficits that remained at the end of 2006 and 2007. USGS ground water <br /> specialists and hydrogeologists recently speculated that North Carolina as a whole needs <br /> 30 to 40" of rainfall by April 2008 to break the drought. <br /> 2. The NC Drought Management Advisory Council drought map, updated January 10, 2008, <br /> indicates that the entirety of Orange County lies within the area characterized as <br /> experiencing "exceptional drought" (the most severe drought classification used). <br /> 3. Given that: 1) Orange Alamance's withdrawals are now averaging well below historical <br /> levels (averaging approximately 130,000 gallons per day); 2) Piedmont Minerals <br /> withdrawals are but a tiny fraction of its historical levels of withdrawal; and 3) Hillsborough <br /> has been releasing well above its minimum required release, the water level at Lake <br /> Orange - though quite low- is well above what might be expected with the current drought <br /> situation. <br />