Moderate drought conditions have been declared across Southern Maryland and the lower Eastern Shore, including the southern portion of Delaware. That's the message from the latest weekly Drought Monitor map just released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The rest of Maryland remains officially "abnormally dry."

It's no surprise. The instruments at BWI-Marshall Airport have recorded barely a quarter-inch of precipitation since the big snowstorm on Feb. 11-12. We've had just 0.18 inch all month, and nothing significant since Mar. 2.

That's pushing BWI toward a new record for the driest March since record-keeping began in 1871. The current mark is 0.46 inch, set in March 1910. We could get some rain late Friday as a cold front passes through the region. But it doesn't appear likely to be enough to avert a new record. They're predicting less than a tenth of an inch. We'd need nearly three tenths to tie the old record.

The drought conditions that prevailed in last week's drought map in south-central Virginia and north-central North Carolina (and eastern Kentucky), have spread north and east. As soil moisture has dropped and stream flow has declined, the drought has moved into most of Virginia, across Southern Maryland and the Shore. "Abnormally dry" conditions extend all the way up the East Coast to coastal Maine.

With spring planting approaching, agricultural interests will become concerned about low soil moisture. Crops won't germinate without some watering. Pastures and lawns also need some rain for a good green-up.