Document

Northeast Drought Early Warning Update: October 23, 2020

Document Author

NOAA/NIDIS

External Document

View Drought Early Warning Update

Document Date

October 23, 2020

Document Type

Drought Status Update

Document Description

This drought early warning update was originally sent via email to the Northeast DEWS email list.

Improvement this week but drought conditions still persist.

This Drought Early Warning Update is issued in partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to communicate concern for drought expansion and intensification within the Northeast U.S. based on recent conditions and the forecasts and outlooks. NIDIS and its partners will issue future Drought Early Warning Updates as conditions evolve.

This covers the following states in the Northeast U.S.: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York.

For more details, see the Northeast Drought Early Warning System Dashboard.

Key Points

Rain relief was fairly widespread in New England resulting in the reduction of drought intensity and coverage.
Extreme Drought (D3) remained in southwest Maine, southeast New Hampshire, southeast Rhode Island, and southeast Massachusetts.
Severe Drought (D2), Moderate Drought (D1), and Abnormally Dry (D0) conditions covered most of the rest of New York and New England.

State Reported Impacts

Maine

A new declaration from Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue covers 14 of the state's 16 counties.

Connecticut

Federal disaster declaration will help farmers.

Hartford Courant 10/17/20: Striking images capture what the drought looks like in Connecticut.

New Hampshire

Fire ban is lifted.

Rhode Island

Federal disaster declaration will help farmers.

Current Conditions

U.S. Drought Monitor Conditions

Extreme drought (D3) conditions exist in 4% of the Northeast.
Severe drought (D2) conditions exist in 11% of the Northeast.
Moderate drought (D1) conditions exist in 53% of the region.
Abnormally dry (D0) conditions exist in 20% of the region.

Outlooks

The 8-14 day outlooks favor below-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation for the Northeast.
The 3-4 week outlooks favor equal chances for above or below-normal temperatures and precipitation.