TRYON – After above average rainfall in the month of August, the area has seen just under one inch of rain in the months of September and October, placing Polk County in a severe drought as of Tuesday, Oct. 18.

And there is little to no rain in the forecast until possibly next Friday, Nov. 4, with a 40 percent chance of rain, according to weather.com.

The N.C. Drought Management Advisory Council listed Polk County as one of nine counties in the state in a severe drought. The counties of Cherokee, Clay and Macon were listed in an extreme drought, the highest classification.

Polk County joins the counties of Buncombe, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Rutherford, Swain and Transylvania as in a severe drought, according to the N.C. Drought Management Advisory Council, which can be viewed at ncdrought.org.

Prior to the Oct. 18 severe drought classification, Polk County had been listed in a moderate drought since Sept. 20, abnormally dry all of July and August, and in a moderate drought in June.

Polk County as of Wednesday, Oct. 26 was 3.79 inches below normal rainfall for the month of October and more than 16 inches below normal for the year. Polk County normally receives 61.77 inches of precipitation in a year and as of Wednesday had only received 35.3 inches so far this year. By the end of October, Polk County normally sees 51.73 inches of rain for the year.

Normals for Polk County are taken from the years 1981-2010. Precipitation is measured at the Tryon Water Department and turned into the National Weather Service.

Last year Polk County ended the year 10 inches above normal primarily because of well above normal rainfall in the months of September, October, November and December. Prior to the 2015 September rains, Polk County was almost 14 inches below normal on rainfall for the year. September 2015 received 9.35 inches of rain, October 2015 received 9.87 inches of rain, November 2015 received 10.13 inches of rain and December 2015 received 14.56 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service.

This September, Tryon received only 0.13 inches of rain; normally the area sees 5.38 inches in September. October so far, the area has only received 0.86 inches of rain and the area normally receives 4.65 inches of rain in October.

Other months this year that have received below normal precipitation include January, March, April, June and July. August was the only month this year that received well above normal rainfall, with 8.72 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service.

Water was barely trickling over the Lake Lanier Dam this week with the lake serving as the Town of Tryon’s main water source. The town has a drought management plan that includes voluntary and mandatory water restrictions for customers at certain stages.

Tryon Town Manager Zach Ollis said Thursday that the town is monitoring the current drought and is asking customers to voluntarily conserve water to help. The town will continue to monitor the drought and if it continues to worsen will implement mandatory water restrictions.

Precipitation totals by month, 2006-2016

Monthly normal precipitation (1981-2010)

January 5.10

February 4.86

March 5.76

April 4.58

May 4.57

June 5.38

July 5.27

August 6.18

September 5.38

October 4.65

November 4.80

December 5.24

Total normal for a year: 61.77 inches