By WHNT News 19
Huntsville, Ala. (WHNT) - It's almost fireworks season (click here) and while there are always some risk if you're shooting off pyrotechnics, this year there is an added danger.
There is a severe drought for most of North Alabama this year with most of the counties needing 6-7 inches of rain to cover the deficit.
And with the Fourth of July right around the corner, safety is more important than ever.
"If you were to have a firework that malfunctions, put water on it," Captain Frank Mckenzie of the Huntsville Fire Department advised. "Don't try to go relight it, put water on it, put it to the side, don't mess with it anymore. Another good thing to have around is either a water hose or a fire extinguisher because you never know what's gonna happen."
Statistics show that two out of every five fires reported on the fourth are related to fireworks. With the drought and a heat advisory in effect, taking precautions could save you, your family and even your property....
June 25, 2016
Asheville, NC - Drought (click here) is creeping into western North Carolina, with parts of four mountain counties now considered in a severe drought.
The dry weather has farmers starting to worry and utility directors warning they may start asking for voluntary water conservation soon.
The dry stretch began in the spring after record-breaking rainfall in Asheville in November and December. Since the beginning of March, Asheville has received just half of its average rainfall, according to the National Weather Service.
The U.S. Drought Monitor has placed parts of Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Transylvania counties in severe drought. Ten other North Carolina mountain counties are in a moderate drought from McDowell County westward.
Three months ago, the monitor's maps didn't have any of North Carolina even listed as abnormally dry.
The long, dry stretch has happened as winds high up in the atmosphere have tended to come out of the northwest over land instead of from the large bodies of water to the south and east, said Patrick Moore, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Greer, South Carolina....
