Despite 1.51” of rain this past week, and a total of 3.64” over the last two weeks, York County, South Carolina remains in a “Moderately Dry” condition. All of that rain has dropped the U.S. Drought Monitor’s Intensity designation to D2-Severe Drought. Locally, any trees, plants, et. al show no sign of stress, especially with the amount of rain of late. Despite the much needed and abundant rain, the ground absorbed it rapidly with little runoff. I mowed my “jungle of a yard” after several days of steady rain and was surprised by the lack of clumping in the mower deck that usually occurs with wet grass. Local lakes are ~2 to 4 feet below normal, and have shown a slow but steady rise in the past week. Through Friday, month-to-date rainfall is 3.06” above normal, while year-to-date rainfall is 3.70” below normal. Compared to last year, rainfall is down 3.43”.