Half the state now "abnormally dry"
This week's official Drought Monitor map shows 48 percent of Maryland - from roughly the I-95 corridor south and east - is now experiencing "abnormally" dry conditions. It is the third week in a row that some portion of the state has been dry, following a wet spell that had produced normal moisture conditions statewide since April.
The impact of the current dry weather in Maryland is reported to be primarily agricultural.
The Drought Monitor map is based on a variety of measurements of rainfall, soil moisture, water levels and the health of vegetation.
Comments
Frank, Welcome back hope your vaca went well. Help us understand how a few dry weeks can strip away the benefits of the wettest 3 month period on record? I realize we were in drought conditions until March, but with the surplusses in April-June I didn't think we would be facing more drought?!
FR: Not drought. That's a long way off. Just abnormally dry, mostly in Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore. The Drought Monitor calculations consider a wide variety of factors, so it's hard to know which one has kicked that region over in to "dry." Could be the low rainfall and consequent drying of the soil from mid-June through mid-July, or water tables. Sandy soils east of the Fall Line drain very quickly. SE Virginia and eastern NC are seeing the same thing. And the dry conditions have actually eased some in the past two weeks, after reaching almost 75 percent of the state in the third week of July.
Posted by: Drew | August 7, 2009 8:29 AM