All four counties in southeast West Virginia covered by the NWS office in Blacksburg entered the severe drought classification  (D2 on  a scale from D0 to D4) on the October 1st issuance of the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor and remained there for the next three weeks (until issuance of October 22nd). Dry conditions actually began as far back as July and August in some areas but the rainfall was very uneven. It was a very dry and hot September that really caused a rapid deterioration in the drought situation in much of West Virginia. Several NWS COOP sites had all-time driest Septembers or even the driest of any month. The dry conditions were aggravated by an early October heat wave with numerous record or near-record highs occurred from October 1st through 4th.

Drought in MONROE, WEST VIRGINIA
From 01-OCT-19 07:00:00 to 22-OCT-19 06:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 2.32M
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Severe drought (D2) was depicted across nearly all of Monroe County on the U.S. Drought Monitor from October 1st to October 22nd. An extremely dry and very warm September led to the worsening conditions in the county. The COOP site at Greenville 1 SE (GRVW2) had only 0.53 inches of rain in September. Agricultural damages were severe, with estimated losses per the USDA Farm Service Agency at $920,000 from pastures and $1.4 million from hay losses.

Drought in MERCER, WEST VIRGINIA
From 01-OCT-19 07:00:00 to 22-OCT-19 06:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 275.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Severe drought (D2) was depicted across all of Mercer County on the U.S. Drought Monitor from October 1st to October 22nd. An extremely dry and very warm September led to the worsening conditions in the county. Impacts were primarily agricultural and included pasture losses and reduced hay cuttings. The NWS COOP site at Bluefield (BLFW2) in Mercer County recorded a mere 0.26 inches of rain in September. This was the driest of any month on record at this station with nearly complete data back to 1999. The previous record was 0.30 inches in October, 2000.

Drought in SUMMERS, WEST VIRGINIA
From 01-OCT-19 07:00:00 to 22-OCT-19 06:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 400.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Severe drought (D2) was depicted across nearly all of Summers County on the U.S. Drought Monitor from October 1st to October 22nd. An extremely dry and very warm September led to the worsening conditions in the county. Impacts were primarily agricultural and included pasture losses and reduced hay cuttings.  The NWS COOP site at Alderson (ALDW2) in northern Summers County recorded a mere 0.06 inches of rain in September. This was the driest month on record at this station with nearly complete data back to 1944. The previous record was 0.11 inches in October, 2000.

Drought in EASTERN GREENBRIER, WEST VIRGINIA
From 01-OCT-19 07:00:00 to 22-OCT-19 06:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Severe drought (D2) was shown across most of northeast Greenbrier County on the U.S. Drought Monitor from October 1 to October 22nd. Impacts were primarily agricultural and included pasture losses and reduced hay cuttings.  The NWS COOP site at Lewisburg 3N (LWBW2) in Greenbrier County recorded a mere 0.08 inches of rain in September. This was the driest September and 2nd driest of any month on record at this station with nearly complete data back to 1900. The previous record was 0.04 inches in October, 2000.