Northeast News

Improvements in the Mid-Atlantic
The U.S. Drought Monitor released on Thursday, February 26 showed drought and/or abnormally dry conditions > improved in several areas this week, particularly parts of the Mid-Atlantic. For much of the Northeast, though, conditions were unchanged.

• Severe drought was erased from most of West Virginia and Maryland.
• Moderate drought contracted in places like southern Delaware, southeastern New Jersey, northern Pennsylvania, New York’s Long Island, Rhode Island, and southeastern Massachusetts.
• Abnormal dryness shrank in coverage in southeastern West Virginia and on the Delmarva Peninsula.
• Seven-day streamflow ranged from much below normal to much above normal.
• Reservoir and/or lake levels remained below normal in places like New Jersey.
• Groundwater levels were normal or lower for a large portion of the Northeast, with at least one well in every state reporting record low levels.
• The short-term outlooks for March 3-11 predict above-normal precipitation and near- or above-normal temperatures for most of the Northeast, which could keep conditions from deteriorating or possibly provide some relief.

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.

Website Highlights