Latest news with #U.S.DroughtMonitor
Yahoo
a day ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Rain and thunderstorms likely in Tampa Bay this week. What to know.
The first week of June in the Tampa Bay area is shaping up to be gray and dreary, though it will give us a nice dose of rain to help quench a drought. Over the weekend, a late season cold front stalled south of Tampa Bay, said Paul Close, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service's Tampa Bay office. As of Monday, showers and thunderstorms were forming along the halted boundary. Over the next few days, the boundary is likely to dissipate, but a second system nearby will keep rain chances high through the work week. The weather service said much of Florida's west coast, including Tampa Bay, had a low chance of severe weather Monday, but lightning and locally heavy rain is possible. The minor threat of severe weather will continue through Wednesday, according to the weather service's Storm Prediction Center. Rainfall amounts south of Interstate 4 on Monday are likely to be up to a half inch, according to the weather service. However, strong pockets of showers and thunderstorms could drop far more rain, even up to 4 inches, according to the weather service. Early Monday, many of the showers were concentrated south of Tampa Bay, where areas like Venice had already received more than 2 inches, Close said. Just before noon, storms began to roll into Tampa Bay. Portions of Tampa were under a severe thunderstorm warning. A gust of more than 30 mph was measured at Tampa Executive Airport. An outlook from the weather service anticipates parts of Tampa Bay will see up to an inch of rain over the next two days. The weather service is expecting at least a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms through Friday in Tampa. On Wednesday, rain chances peak at 90%. 'By late in the week, it'll be back to more typical, more mainly afternoon, evening stuff,' Close said. 'But through mid-week, at least, there could be stuff, especially near the coast, almost any time.' Close said while these all-day storms don't fit the criteria of typical rainy season weather, the area has begun its transition to the wet season. 'Usually you don't get fronts this far south,' Close said. 'It's early June now, this is about the time they stop.' The rainy season, when Tampa Bay receives the majority of its rain, officially began in southwest Florida on May 15 and on May 25 in west central Florida. The season runs until around mid-October. The weather service said the wet season can begin abruptly or take weeks to take hold. Several meteorological ingredients need to come together for the area's typical thunderstorms to pop up, like the location of a high pressure and increased dew points. As of late May, the Tampa Bay area was under a severe drought, (D2 on a scale that runs from D0 to D4) according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. More southern areas of the Florida's west coast were under an extreme drought (D3). A U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook released on May 31, looking forward to June 1 through August 31, shows drought relief is likely in Tampa Bay. 'We need the rain, but it's a slow transition,' Close said.
CBS News
4 days ago
- Climate
- CBS News
Drought conditions improve across Maryland after wet weather
Drought conditions in Maryland improved after several rounds of wet weather in May. In early April, a drought warning was issued for most of the state due to below-average rainfall. Is Maryland still in a drought? While dry conditions have improved, some parts of Maryland are still in a drought. As of May 29, about 71% of the state is experiencing abnormally dry conditions, while about 49% of the state is seeing moderate to severe drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. In April, 82% of the state experienced severe to moderate drought conditions. Conditions have improved drastically since November 2024, when 53% of the state was under a severe drought and 4% saw extreme drought conditions. A small area of severe drought conditions remains anchored over central and northern Baltimore County. Liberty Reservoir, which serves the Baltimore area, experienced a rise in water levels during mid-May after a 20-year low that prompted water restrictions earlier in the month. Rainfall improves Maryland's drought Several storm systems have drenched Maryland amid the ongoing drought conditions. Since May 1, more than six inches have fallen across Baltimore County. Between 8 and 10 inches of rain have fallen in Frederick and Washington counties, while nine inches of rain was reported along the Baltimore and Harford County line. More than a foot of rain soaked the higher elevations of Garrett County in far western Maryland, prompting flooding. There are many other factors that also go into drought monitor updates, including soil moisture, water levels and vegetation stress. It often takes a while for drought conditions to develop, and it can take even longer for those conditions to be completely erased. The recent change in weather patterns and a significant amount of rain are helping to alleviate the dry conditions in Maryland heading into the summer. The parade of storm systems is expected to continue through the end of May, with more rain expected on May 30 and May 31.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Ongoing drought conditions on Cape and Islands despite rain
CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – More rain fell across western Massachusetts Wednesday night and Thursday morning, something we've seen quite a bit of this spring. The rain might not be welcome for outdoor activities, but it has eliminated the drought we had been dealing with for quite a while. Last fall, severe drought conditions led to brush fires all across western Massachusetts. Fortunately, this spring, a change in the weather pattern brought us rain, and it keeps on coming. 22News Meteorologist Chris Bouzakis says, 'We've seen so much rain this month, many areas around or over 6 inches of rain for the month, which is double our average for the month, so with all the rain, the drought is gone.' The latest U.S. Drought Monitor continues to show no drought or even abnormally dry conditions here in western Massachusetts. However, they continue to experience moderate drought and abnormally dry conditions on the Cape and the Islands. The wet weather we've been getting has been beneficial, and all the rain we've been getting has made all the trees and grass nice and green. Lawns have been growing pretty quickly, and it has been a challenge to find a dry day to get out and mow the grass. All the rain did make river levels come up a bit, but right now it looks like the rivers continue to slowly recede. And right now, there are some indications that June could be a drier month. 'It's looking right now as we go into June, we're going to start to see a little bit more of an average rainfall, or some drier weather will start to set up a little bit. I don't see any significant rain going into the first week of June,' adds Bouzakis. And while it may look drier next month, it looks like we still have more rain to deal with before May comes to an end. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Whatcom County's hot, dry summer forecast has many officials worried
Whatcom County and the rest of Western Washington could be in for a warmer-than-normal summer with a greater chance of wildfires, smoke-filled skies and possibly extreme heat as relatively lackluster La Niña shifts into a neutral pattern, according to a variety of forecasts. Meteorologists, climate scientists, firefighting officials and others are bracing for a season that could affect anything from air quality and water availability to the number of salmon that survive long enough to spawn. Those predictions are the result of data from various sources, along with the trend of warmer and drier summers when a neutral phase follows a weak La Niña winter, said Matthew Dehr, wildland fire meteorologist for the state Department of Natural Resources. 'The summers for the past 10 to 15 years have been hotter and drier than the previous 10 years. Previous neutral years have been warmer and drier. We see those patterns and they tend to repeat themselves,' Dehr told The Herald in a phone interview. Adding to the concern for summer is that mountain snowpack is at 64% of normal for this time of year in the northern Puget Sound region. Recent weeks have been unseasonably dry, Deputy State Climatologist Karin Bumbaco told The Bellingham Herald. 'Low snowpack is concerning. It isn't great because last year we also had a low snowpack,' Bumbaco said in a phone interview. Lack of rain and low snowpack could affect the amount of water that farmers and cities can use. It can cause lower water levels on the Nooksack River, which harms salmon, especially spring-run Chinook. It also affects the moisture content of soil. Of further concern is a drought advisory that's in effect for parts of Western Washington, including Whatcom County, Bumbaco said. The U.S. Drought Monitor puts Western Washington in an abnormally dry phase but doesn't predict drought. June 1 is the start of meteorological summer, the date that weather forecasters use as a seasonal benchmark. Weather from June through August is likely to be above normal, according to meteorologists at AccuWeather, a commercial weather-forecasting service. Long-range forecasts from the National Weather Service and its Climate Prediction Center draw the same conclusion. 'Temperatures as a whole from June through August will be above the historical average,' AccuWeather said. Summer in Western Washington is traditionally the warmest and driest season already, with average daytime temperatures in the low 70s for July and August and monthly rainfall totals of an inch or less in those months as measured at Bellingham International Airport. All that adds up to a 'significant wildland fire potential' this summer, according to the National Interagency Fire Center, which tracks major fires across the country. Major wildfires generally affect Bellingham and Whatcom County by creating smoky skies and unhealthy breathing conditions, Bumbaco said. Forested communities such as Sudden Valley and Glacier face a higher threat from a warm, dry summer, however. 'Watching the potential outlooks, what they tell us is that conditions will be more conducive for fire spread,' Bumbaco said. Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove told The Herald in a phone interview that Washington is prepared for fire season, despite uncertainty at the federal level. State cuts wildfire prevention funds in half. Is WA ready for the summer fire season? 'We're confident that we're going to be ready to roll for the 2025 season,' Upthegrove said. A new website, Wildfire Ready, can help residents plan for wildfire season. Residents also can visit for information regarding when smoke could be affecting their area. 'It can make a difference between losing a home and having fire pass you by,' Upthegrove said.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Utah creeps deeper into drought as long-term forecasts point to a hot summer
Trees line the banks where the Provo River Delta flows into Utah Lake on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) Drought is starting to creep back into Utah on the heels of an average winter, with long-term forecasts pointing to an abnormally hot summer. According to the three month seasonal outlook from the National Weather Service, the Beehive State is expected to have above average temperatures through August. Meanwhile, the service says it's unclear whether there will be above or below average precipitation this summer — according to its models, there's an equal chance of both. 'Hotter doesn't always mean drier. We are right now showing for most of the state at about equal chances of average precipitation,' said Joel Williams, deputy director of the Utah Division of Water Resources, speaking to lawmakers earlier this week. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Those three month outlooks are not an exact science — but they do come amid increasingly bleak water conditions for much of the state. Despite an average snow year for northern Utah, the southern regions had a 'dismal' winter, Williams said. The snowpack for some basins in the southwest veered into unprecedented territory this winter and according to the Natural Resource Conservation Service, much of southern Utah remained below 45% of normal moisture. And across the state, drought is starting to rear its head again after two good years. This time last year, about 25% of the state was considered abnormally dry, while just 0.2% was in moderate drought — now, 39% of Utah is in severe drought, with 3% in extreme drought, according to data from the U.S. Drought Monitor. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Just the high elevation areas of Utah, Salt Lake, Wasatch, Summit and Morgan counties, and a sliver of Box Elder County, are in the clear. The rest of the state is facing at least abnormally dry conditions. Most of Washington County is in extreme drought, extending into parts of Iron County. And Tooele, Juab, Millard, Beaver, Iron, Kane, Garfield, San Juan, Grand and Uintah counties all have areas in severe drought. 'The last two years of above average snowpack helped us but now we're starting to see the drought creep back in. And as we say in Utah, we're either in drought or preparing for the next one,' Williams said. Those conditions led Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to issue a drought-related emergency declaration, giving farmers in the state access to low-interest loans to help weather the dry conditions. Eligible farmers can apply for seven-year loans of up to $100,000 each, with two years of no interest and 2.75% interest thereafter, according to the department. Applications for the loans will be accepted until Oct. 23. The good news, Williams said, is Utah's reservoirs are in healthy shape. Across the state, reservoir levels are about 20% higher than normal, with nearly every reservoir in northern Utah above 80% capacity. Utah Lake, Strawberry, Jordanelle, Deer Creek, Rockport, Smith and Morehouse, Pineview and Starvation reservoirs are all around 95% or higher. 'Those full reservoirs that we have, those could really help us if we're heading into another drought,' said Williams.
