Source: Jay Reeves, BLUERIDGE NOW, 10/24/19

 A fast-developing “flash drought” that threatened crops and helped spark wildfires across the South is showing the first real improvement in weeks, according to a new report Thursday. The latest assessment from the National Drought Mitigation Center said more than a quarter of the Southeast was drought-free, an improvement of more than 10 percentage points in a week. As much as 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) of rain from Tropical Storm Nestor helped douse the drought.

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