Did Northeast Drought Peak This Week? Updated Weekly Update Sets A Severity Baseline

The only part of the Northeast now escaping abnormally dry
or drought conditions is the Champlain Valley of 
Vermont and New York. 

 We've been doing regular updates as the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor arrives, and we're hoping this week shows the peak of the drought in the Northeast.  

The data in the latest report, which came out this morning, shows data through Tuesday, before a badly needed rainstorm arrived in the Northeast. 

 This rain won't even nearly end the drought, but we'll see in about a week if the precipitation put a dent in the problem. 

So, that's why I'm hoping the peak was this week. We don't want it to get worse. 

Thursday's report shows about virtually all of the Northeast from West Virginia to Maine is at least abnormally dry if not in drought. (The figure is 97 percent of the region).

  Somehow, only the Champlain Valley of New York and Vermont is considering at least just shy of being abnormally dry. 

The percentage land area in the Northeast which is in drought is now 61.4 percent, up a little more than three percentage points over the previous week. 

VERMONT

Here in the Green Mountain State, today's drought report shows little change from the previous week. As mentioned, only the Champlain Valley is free of officially dry conditions or drought concern. Southern Vermont - about a quarter of the state, is in drought. A small area in the extreme south is in severe drought.  

The drought in Vermont had been rapidly worsening week to week, so it was nice to see the downward trend slow to a crawl this week. That managed to happen even though less than a tenth of an inch of rain fell in northern Vermont and most places in the southern part of the state has nothing at all.

Vermont's drought isn't as bad as it is points south, so the rain that started today should help noticeably. It will fall well short of erasing drought and dry conditions, but it should make at least a little difference.