There was very little hay to be had in Doug Trantham’s fields this year; they produced only a quarter what they would in a normal summer, the Alexandria farmer said by phone Thursday. So Trantham found himself baling soybean stubble, plant parts discarded in harvest, just to feed his herd of cows through winter. The blame lies above his head. “This drought’s been going on all summer long,” Trantham said Thursday, “and it's just got to a severe level now.” While all of Alabama is in the grip of some level of drought, dryness in Calhoun County this week reached its most severe level yet, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The monitor — based at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and pulling from many state and federal data sources — classifies much of northeast Alabama as in “exceptional drought,” painting it on an online map with the color of dried blood. That means drought conditions are so severe they could mean the loss of pasture and crops and threats to water supplies, according to the monitor’s classification scheme. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="717"] All of Calhoun County and most of Alabama is classified as in exceptional drought. That means drought conditions are so severe they could mean the loss of pasture and crops and threats to water supplies, according to the monitor’s classification scheme.[/caption]   The dry conditions last week led Gov. Robert Bentley to declare a drought emergency in Alabama, banning all outdoor flame in 46 of the state’s 67 counties. Meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Calera say the area has a rainfall deficit of more than a foot so far this year, and with little rain predicted, that deficit will likely only grow. For Trantham, the bone-dry summer meant a drop in his land’s bounty. Where he might harvest nearly 150 bushels of corn per acre of farmland, he’s taken perhaps 40 bushels this year. Soybean production is down, too, to maybe 10 bushels from a normal level of 40 or 50 per acre, he said. Fortunately, the farmer said, he’s got federal crop insurance. “It will help offset some of this, but it won’t alleviate everything,” he said. “I just hope this drought doesn’t linger all winter long and into summer.” Water supplies in Calhoun County, meanwhile, remain in good shape despite the dearth of rain, officials said Thursday. “We’re in good shape,” said Anniston Water Works and Sewer Board general manager Ed Turner. The utility draws its supply from Coldwater Spring, which pushes about 30 million gallons of water to the surface each day. “As with any natural resource, we use wisely.” While the water table — liquid stored deep underground — is down because of the drought, it’s not depleted enough to cause the Calhoun County Water Authority any trouble. “We’re not in a bind right now,” authority chairman Echols Bryant said by phone Thursday. The authority’s nearly 1,400 miles of water pipes serve about 11,000 customers, Bryant said, all over Calhoun County. There are no restrictions from either utility on water use right now, both men said. Turner says there’s “no need to panic. “If there is a situation where there needs to be water restrictions, we’ll notify the public,” he said. Meanwhile, meteorologists said Thursday that Calhoun County could possibly see a small amount of rain later that night or in the morning hours. (None had fallen by 1 a.m., although there was more cloud cover than there had been earlier, and a constant breeze made it seem like something was trying to happen.) “It’s not going to be the drought-busting rain we need,” said Jason Holmes, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Calera office. Holmes says the quick-moving storms may drop a quarter of an inch on Calhoun County. That will do little to soothe the 13.23 inch deficit the area currently suffers, he said. There’s some good news, though: Holmes said another storm system may develop next week. Rain is expected in November and December, he said, when weather conditions become more favorable for such. For the next 10 days, though, the weather pattern that’s seen drought entrench itself in this state and others in the Southeast will continue. High pressure will keep most moisture away. The ground will remain dry and easily heated or cooled — with daily high temperatures in the 70s and 80s, and nighttime lows between 40 and 50 degrees. Source - http://www.annistonstar.com/