The U.S. Drought Monitor released on Thursday, November 12 showed a mix of improvement and deterioration of drought and/or abnormally dry conditions. Some coastal areas saw drought relief due to rainfall from a frontal system, while some interior locations saw another week of limited precipitation. There were generally limited changes elsewhere in the region.

• Extreme and severe drought contracted in eastern Maine.
• Moderate drought was erased from southeastern Massachusetts, making the state drought free for the first time since September 2024.
• Moderate drought and abnormal dryness grew in coverage in New York and Pennsylvania.
• Record-low seven-day streamflow was found places like central New Hampshire, northern Vermont, and central New York.
• Groundwater levels were record low in several areas including Maine, southeastern Massachusetts, central and western New York, northern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and central and southern Maryland.
• Impacts related to the dry conditions included wells going dry in Maine and the largest wildfire since 1918 in New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest.
• The short-term outlooks for November 17-21 predict below-normal precipitation and above-normal temperatures for the Northeast, conditions that warrant observation for possible deterioration in some areas.

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.