With Virginia soon to experience wet conditions in the aftermath of an El Nino year, Virginia farmers are still grappling with severe drought conditions in Southside Virginia even as most of the state is on the cusp of recovery, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor:

While the potential for rainfall remains tantalizing for Virginia’s aquifers, for farmers it remains an elusive hope, even if recent summer thunderstorms have helped restore fortunes.

In an El Nino year, Virginia winters can expected to be snowy and measured in feet, which is great news for Virginia’s water table and schoolchildren.  Virginia sits in what meteorologists call a “transition zone” between a warmer and drier northern zone and a cooler and wetter southern zone.  For farmers and gardeners, this means abnormally warm winters which may tease green thumbs to plant earlier, only to be caught by cold snaps and heavy snow.

This year is expected to be a Super El Nino year, meaning that the jet stream comes a bit further south than usual, bringing storms and wet weather along with it.  Only four have been recorded since the 1950s.

Meanwhile, federal drought assistance has been extended to as many as 125 out of 134 Virginia localities by the USDA since the drought began in 2025.