Current Impacts
To see or report current drought impacts, please visit the Drought Impacts Toolkit, where you can find impacts from media in the Drought Impact Reporter and from citizen scientists and other volunteer observers under Condition Monitoring Observations.
Historic Impacts
No two states have the same experience during a drought. Below are examples of some of the impacts experienced in South Carolina in the past. The process for developing this example impact table is described in Noel, M., Bathke, D., Fuchs, B., Gutzmer, D., Haigh, T., Hayes, M., Poděbradská, M., Shield, C., Smith, K. and Svoboda, M., 2020. Linking drought impacts to drought severity at the state level. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 101(8), pp.E1312-E1321. doi: 10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0067.1. To view a more complete record, and to filter impacts by drought severity, sector and season, check out the interactive State Impacts Tool.
| Category | Examples of historically observed impacts |
|---|
| D0 | Brush fires increase |
| Row crop growth is stunted, irrigation begins early |
| D1 | Fire risk increases; tree pests increase |
| Peach size is reduced; non-irrigated corn shows severe stress |
| Voluntary conservation of water and energy is requested |
| Water use is high; creeks, streams, and lakes are low |
| D2 | Boating recreation is compromised |
| Cattle are lighter, producers are selling calves early and feeding cattle earlier |
| Fisheries are impacted; duck hunting areas close |
| Number of fires increases, and fires are more intense |
| River and lake levels are low; saltwater intrusion occurs; hydroelectric power production is reduced |
| D3 | Burn bans begin |
| Hay is scarce and expense; owners are giving away horses |
| Mandatory water restrictions are implemented, violators are fined; lake outflow is low |
| Small aquatic species are stressed |
| Soil moisture is low, winter crops are slow to germinate |
| D4 | Daily life is compromised |
| Producers are hauling water for cattle; auctions see record number of cattle |
| Trees are stressed; fish are dying |
| Wells are contaminated or running dry; lakes are extremely low with hazards exposed |