Several inches of rain has fallen in the СŷƵ over the past six weeks, yet both Lehigh and Northampton counties remain under drought conditions following an extremely dry fall.
Alex Staarmann, meteorologist for the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly, New Jersey, said Monday that about 5.5 inches of rain has fallen in the region during that time period. More than half of that fell in the past two weeks alone, according to weather service data.
Staarmann said the СŷƵ’s total rainfall so far this year has been about 2.5 inches below average, down about 10 inches from this time last year. Staarmann noted January 2024 was an outlier in that it had much more rain than normal.
While there has been some improvement of drought conditions, both counties are still experiencing severe or moderate drought conditions. , which tracks and displays drought conditions throughout the country, released its weekly map last Thursday.
In that map, almost the entirety of Lehigh County and most of western Northampton County are under severe drought conditions. Most of eastern Northampton County is under moderate drought conditions, and a small portion of the southeastern part of the county is considered “abnormally dry.”
South of the region, in Bucks County, conditions are improving as well. Most of the county is “abnormally dry.”
Staarmann said the СŷƵ still is recovering from a very dry fall. October was record-dry for the area, with only .02 inches of rain the entire month.
September and November were fairly dry as well, with 1.3 and 2.26 inches of rain each, respectively. December was about normal, but January and February were dry too, Staarmann said. So far 1.82 inches of rain has fallen this month, which Staarmann noted was about a quarter of an inch above normal.
“It’ll just be a slow but steady improvement on that drought condition,” he said.
has both counties listed under a drought watch. Residents under drought watch conditions are encouraged to reduce water use between 5% and 10%, according to the DEP.
Rain is possible Monday and Tuesday, but Staarmann noted any rain would not be significant. Temperatures could reach the 70s Saturday, which he said would be the warmest day of the week.
Temperatures are likely going to be above normal over the next two weeks, according to the ‘s 14-day outlook. There’s also a chance that rainfall will be above normal during that time period as well.
Here is the extended forecast from the National Weather Service:
Tuesday: A chance of showers, mainly after 2 p.m. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 61. Breezy, with a west wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 51. West wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 58.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 66.
Saturday: A chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 75. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 63.
