00:00The Mid-Atlantic drought has become more than just a brown map during a weather forecast.
00:05It's now impacting life in the Carolinas, Virginia, and Maryland.
00:09Across the region, cities are now asking people to change how they use water.
00:12And in some places, those restrictions are mandatory.
00:15In Charlotte, North Carolina, mandatory restrictions mean you are no longer allowed to wash your car at home.
00:21And in both Charlotte and Raleigh, lawn watering is limited to certain days and overnight hours only.
00:27Residents across the entire Mid-Atlantic are encouraged to cut back on everyday water use.
00:31And this hits as many are watering gardens and wanting to fill swimming pools.
00:37Memorial Day is a huge usage day for us, upwards of 500,000 gallons in the day when our normal
00:44was about 320,000 gallons.
00:47Around Baltimore, officials are urging nearly 2 million people to voluntarily reduce water use
00:52because reservoirs sharply dropped during what should be their annual high point.
00:56This is when drought becomes real for people.
00:59Not just dry grass, not just shrinking streams, but actual changes to daily routines.
01:03The pattern is for now improving, but these showers and thunderstorms are not nearly enough to end the drought.
01:09We have some ways to go by the end of this precipitation event that's extending into Memorial Day.
01:17I'm hoping this puts a little dent in it.
01:20Soon as it turns out we'll have to be sitting there in the rain kiosk.
01:20But if it's been a lot of rain, we'll have to pour chu- csak Something down for now.
01:20The weeks that italgam has been the snow-c evaluated with some ice-ups.
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