By Emma Delk, The Intelligencer
WHEELING, W.Va. — While severe drought conditions in Ohio County may improve with light rain predicted this week, local farmers still face a significant decline in crop yields as the fall approaches.
Gov. Jim Justice declared a state of emergency in all 55 counties last Friday due to the “prolonged shortage of rainfall.” According to National Weather Service Pittsburgh Lead Meteorologist Shannon Hefferan, the state faces “dangerous drought conditions,” which means farmers in the area are at risk.
“The ground is almost like cement because of the dry conditions,” Hefferan said. “Farmers are going to get some rain in the next couple of days, which is a good thing because if they get too much rain in a short amount of time, it just goes right to flooding.”
According to Hefferan, between ¾ to ½ inch of rainfall is predicted for Wheeling through the rest of this week. Wellsburg-based farmer Eric Freeland said the light showers would be “a little bit of a help” but would not fully mitigate the damage already done to his crops by severe drought conditions.
Freeland has turned to using public water for his crops, as the farm’s drip irrigation methods no longer provide enough water to protect the crops from the drought. Freeland described using “a tremendous amount of water just to keep critical crops going,” including substantial irrigation required for strawberry, tomato and blackberry crops.
