Northeast News

Drought Is Extreme in West Virginia, Erased from Vermont
The U.S. Drought Monitor released on Thursday, May 21 showed drought and/or abnormally dry conditions intensify in the Mid-Atlantic, southeastern New York, and parts of southern New England where limited precipitation fell and reduced streamflow, groundwater levels, and soil moisture persisted. However, plentiful precipitation and recovering surface waters and groundwater levels allowed conditions to improve in northern New England and northeastern New York. There were generally limited changes elsewhere in the Northeast.

• Extreme drought was introduced in West Virginia.
• Severe drought expanded in West Virginia but contracted in Maine and New Hampshire.
• Moderate drought grew in an area from southern Pennsylvania to southeastern Massachusetts but shank in parts of northern New England.
• Vermont became free of drought for the first time since August 2025.
• Abnormal dryness increased in southwestern Pennsylvania but was erased from parts of northeastern New York, western Vermont, and northern Maine.
• Record-low seven-day streamflow was found in locations along a path from West Virginia to Rhode Island.
• Groundwater levels were record low in southern and coastal parts of the Mid-Atlantic, as well as places like eastern Massachusetts and southern Maine.
• Agricultural impacts tied to the dry conditions continued to be reported in the Mid-Atlantic, particularly West Virginia.
• The short-term outlooks for May 26-June 3 predict below- or near-normal precipitation and near- or above-normal temperatures for the Northeast, conditions that could lead to further deterioration.

For more information, see the Northeast DEWS Dashboard (to see the full Northeast, click on the grayed-out Pennsylvania in the map in the top left) and the Northeast Drought Update. Submit drought impact reports via the Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR) page.

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