Looking at
the Drought Monitor released today, it shows the abnormally dry and drought
conditions continue to widen and worsen, with only a few areas not being
impacted by the lack of rain.
Due to the
substantial lack of rainfall and enduring breezy conditions; the soil and
vegetation has dried up. Which has led to numerous wildfires in the region,
this is especially true for New Jersey and Southeast New York State.
Across the Northeast
there are numerous rivers running very low, with water reservoirs being heavily
impacted.
According to
the Northeast Regional Climate Center. “Drought and abnormal dryness expanded
or persisted for much of the Northeast. Extreme drought expanded in southern
New Jersey. Severe drought expanded in New Jersey, northeastern Pennsylvania,
and Massachusetts and was introduced in southeastern New York, western
Connecticut, and northern Rhode Island. Moderate drought increased in coverage
in central Maryland and southern and eastern West Virginia, while abnormal
dryness expanded in western New Hampshire, northeastern Vermont, western New
York, and northwestern Pennsylvania”.
The good
news is that southwestern Pennsylvania saw enough rainfall that the exceptional
and/or extreme drought conditions have improved a bit.
Only 4% of the Northeast was not experiencing drought or abnormal dryness this week, the third lowest percentage since the U.S. Drought Monitor began in 2000. The U.S. Drought Monitor released on November 14 showed less than 1% of the Northeast in exceptional drought, 5% in extreme drought, 21% in severe drought, 32% in moderate drought, and 38% as abnormally dry compared to 1%, 6%, 13%, 37%, and 37%, respectively, last week.
Don't start any fires outdoors, for any reason!
NYS has issued a state-wide burn ban, but is still allowing smaller fires. As a FF, I agree with you..don’t take the chance.
ReplyDeleteThat is true, it only takes one ember
DeleteMy husband and I have been around the Pepacton and the Cannosville Reservoirs over the past couple of weeks and they are extremely low.
ReplyDeleteHopefully we get some relief soon
ReplyDeleteWe had a neighborhood on fire,came very close to losing several homes.With the leaves as dry as they are,the wind blows and they end up 30 feet away.Some guy burning leaves in big piles with wind gust around 30mph.Had to bring in mutual aid.Homes around here can be 15 feet apart.That neighborhood has 35+ homes the roads that go through are 20 feet wide and the leaves were going across and leaf fires were starting.Some were burning hot and got the sides of some houses.That was close to a fire that could still be burning,the woods that go up into the flats before the mountains and then those finger ridges go everywhere and with wind up that high disaster was close,too close.They were on the radio calling wind direction from different elevations.It could have gone North along the Appalachian trail, south along the Appalachian Trail and the finger ridges that run to the west towards Route seven from the Williamstown area right through to almost Pittsfield. In that area, there are not many paved roads and a fire like that with things dry as they are could’ve jumped every type of wood road that are in those mountains. Those mountain streams are now completely dry and if you take a handful of leaves and just crunch them up, you get nothing but little pieces of leaf, you can’t come much closer than we did to watching an entire area of your town burn because somebody wanted to burn his giant leaf piles that night with the wind blowing fire flying through the air .
ReplyDeletePeople can be dumb! They should make that person pay for the damage
ReplyDeleteYou replied,I did something right without knowing it.
ReplyDelete