Parched in Southern New England

September has been a very dry month so far for almost the entire region, particularly New England.

Rhode Island, eastern Connecticut, and southeastern Massachusetts have been quite dry over the past few months. These areas saw 25-70 percent of normal rainfall in June and August, and in September so far, they have seen even less (5-50 percent). According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, parts of southern New England have been experiencing abnormally dry conditions since early June. Many waterways are running very low, with streamflows at 10 percent of normal or less. In fact, provisional USGS data shows that some waterways are at record or near-record low levels. Municipalities have issued water conservation alerts due to low reservoirs, and crops and pastures needed to be irrigated due to dry soil conditions. A factor contributing to the dryness is a lack of tropical systems this year. The region has only seen one: Tropical Storm Arthur in early July. That was the only summer month that was not drier than normal.