61.4 – That’s how many inches of rain the Choc-Pea Authority recorded  at Yellow River in Covington County in 2014. That’s 4 inches less than the previous  year.

 

Current drought-like conditions should be eased by weekend storms in the forecast.

Rain chances begin to rise as the day progresses, and forecasters with the National Weather Service say the chance of precipitation will be 80 percent tonight.

According to a post by U.S. NWS Mobile, “main severe weather threats for Saturday are damaging wind gusts with isolated tornadoes possible and minor flooding (in urban and poor drainage areas). The main time frame that we expect the storms to impact the area is late afternoon and evening hours on Saturday.”

Rainfall is expected to be between 1 to 2 inches, and help bring the area out of an abnormally dry winter.

In a recent report by the U.S. Drought Monitor, more than 37 percent of the state was considered abnormally dry, a significant drop from 71 percent two weeks ago.

The area includes a good portion of the southwest part of the state, Covington, Escambia, Conecuh, Butler and part of Geneva counties included.

The Chocotawhatchee, Pea and Yellow Rivers Watershed Management Authority, which measures rainfall totals, recorded a total of 61.40 inches of rain at Yellow River in Covington County in 2014.

That total is 4 inches less than rainfall in 2013.

In December, the Choc-Pea Authority recorded 5.36 inches of rain at Yellow River, compared to 6.36 inches in 2013.