The СŷƵ is no longer under any drought conditions following near record-high rainfall last month.
, which tracks and displays drought conditions throughout the country, showed no drought conditions in both Lehigh and Northampton counties. The site releases updated drought maps every Thursday.
The recent rainfall, nearly 10.5 inches last month alone, has helped push the region out of those conditions, which had persisted for more than half a year following a record-dry October.
Ray Kruzdlo, hydrologist for the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly, New Jersey, said the rain during April, May and the beginning of June has been beneficial.
“The state of Pennsylvania has done really well the last 30 days,” he said.
The weather service’s precipitation map, which includes totals by county, show Lehigh County has gotten an average of 7.3 inches of rain over the past 30 days, which is abut 3.1 inches above normal. Northampton County has gotten 6.9 inches, which is 2.7 inches above normal.
Both counties have gotten 23.1 inchesover the last six months, about 1.5 inches above normal, according to weather service data. For the past year, there has been 42.4 and 43.9 inches of rain, each, respectively for Lehigh and Northampton counties. Lehigh is 4.5 inches below normal and Northampton is 3.3 inches below normal, showing that both counties are still dealing with the after effects of very dry fall.
The state Department of Environmental Protection placed Lehigh and Northampton under a drought watch in the fall, and they remain there as of Friday. The DEP factors stream flow, groundwater level, precipitation and soil moisture when determining drought declarations. It also factors in data from public water suppliers. All were at normal conditions Friday in both counties, as of state data.
A message sent to a DEP spokesperson seeking additional information was not immediately returned.
Drought conditions lingered even after the steady rainfall in part because of slow recovery of thirsty aquifers. But they have recovered; the current depth reading of 59.1 feet at the Lehigh County observation well in Upper Macungie Township is the highest the water table has been in more than nine months, and 15.2 feet above the February low of 74.3 feet below ground.
Kudzlo said in big rainfall events there are a lot of serious impacts, including flooding. While some flooding has happened from the recent rain, Kudzlo said the region got beneficial significant rain without those effects, for the most part.
“In a way, we’ve kind of dodged a bullet here,” he said.
While there was a lot of rain last month, no single day had more than 2 inches of rain. Weather service data showed that there was measurable rainfall on 19 days, but only three of them had more than an inch of rain. The area had several wet days with rainfall totals under an inch, and often closer to half of an inch.
The recent rain comes at a good time too, Kudzlo said, adding that water usage increases in the summer. Without that rain, it’s possible there could have been some water usage restrictions in place, he said.
“We came out of this in a pretty good way,” Kudzlo said.
Rain is expected this weekend and over the next few days, starting with this weekend, when showers are expected off and on both days. Kudzlo said it’s a “give and take” situation, where the rain helps, but it hurts for those who want to go outside as summer approaches.
Here is the extended forecast from the National Weather Service:
Saturday: Showers and thunderstorms likely before 8 a.m., then showers likely between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 5 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 69. Northeast wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Sunday: A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 69. East wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Monday: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Tuesday: A chance of showers after 2 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Wednesday: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 85. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Thursday: A chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Staff writer Eugene Tauber contributed to this report.
