A dry spell has led to parched lawns and flowers in the Northeast. Photo by Alex Sosnowski/Accuweather.com
If you've noticed that your lawn is turning brown and you live in the Northeast, then you're hardly alone. For some parts of the region, dry weather has led to more than just parched grass, and drought conditions have been building in recent weeks. However, changes in the weather into the new week will bring some good news and relief for some areas, AccuWeather meteorologists say.
One or more storms through the week have the potential to ease building dryness and drought conditions across a large part of the northeastern United States.
Abnormally dry and drought conditions have been expanding and escalating over the Northeast, with about 20 of the region officially under drought conditions, according to a report issued by the U.S. Drought Monitor on Thursday. Severe drought conditions were gripping 20 of Massachusetts. "Most of the dryness [in the Northeast] was short-term in nature, but there were immediate declines to river and streamflow levels throughout the region," the report stated.
Due to the lack of persistent soaking rainfall since June, soil moisture first became abnormally dry then tipped the scale to drought conditions across many counties in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and northwestern Virginia in recent weeks.
From June 15 to July 15, Elmira, N.Y., which is located about 90 miles to the south-southwest of Syracuse, has received only 0.74 of an inch of rain, compared to an average of 4.16 inches, or a mere 18. Rainfall has also been less than one-third of average in dozens of reporting locations throughout the region since mid-June, including Akron, Ohio; Nashua, N.H., and even much of the New York City metro area. Rainfall surrounding the Big Apple has been only about 1 inch since the middle of June.
One bit of good news has been the lack of extreme summer heat, which can exacerbate drought conditions and cause stream levels to lower even more. That has been in direct contrast to the blistering temperatures that have been scorching drought-stricken portions of the Plains and western U.S. Thirty-day average temperatures that factor in highs and lows across much of the Northeast have been hovering close to normal, compared to highs in the West, including in some of the desert locations, that have been soaring 10-20 degrees above average.
"While there is little hope for rain in the West in the coming weeks, the Northeast will have some opportunities for at least spotty shower and thunderstorm activity within the next seven days," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said. "Some locations from the eastern Great Lakes to the central Appalachians, portions of the mid-Atlantic and New England could receive a much-needed thorough soaking."
After pockets of wet weather dampened the start of the weekend from Ohio to the mid-Atlantic coast, the best prospects for drenching showers and thunderstorms on a more widespread scale appear to be from Sunday to Monday.
Stormy weather will focus on Ohio and western Pennsylvania on Sunday, then spread to the central Appalachians Sunday night before expanding to the Interstate-95 corridor of New England and the mid-Atlantic on Monday, according to Anderson. During this time, a dip in the jet stream will sharpen up just enough to give the storm a bit more energy.
There is the potential for a general 0.50 of an inch to 1 inch of rain from this system, which would not help water levels on small streams, but can relieve some of the stress on lawns and crops in the region. A few locations could be graced by as much as 2 inches of rain where downpours persist from Sunday night to Monday night.
"Most creeks and streams that are not spring-fed across the Northeast have experienced a significant reduction in flow," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham stated. "This has added stress to area fish, especially trout as they seek out deeper pools amid the ongoing dry weather," he added.
While perhaps not as notable as the expected rainfall, Monday's storms will come with a risk of locally damaging winds in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. As thunderstorms reach their peak during the late afternoon and evening hours, the strongest storms may become capable of strong to perhaps damaging wind gusts.
Cities such as Baltimore, New York and Boston may be threatened by such storms. While the arrival of beneficial rainfall will outweigh the damaging wind threat, localized power outages will be possible.
Looking further ahead, AccuWeather meteorologists will be tracking a vigorous storm that will swing into the Northwest this weekend and track along the Canada border early in the week.
"Depending on how much moisture this storm is able to tap into as it hits the Northeast states during the middle of the week, there is the potential for not only more drenching downpours, but also the risk of severe thunderstorms that could pack strong wind gusts," Anderson said.
Additional weather features ranging from weak disturbances to stronger storm systems may slice across the Northeast this week, as an overall southward dip in the jet stream persists.
Due to the convective nature of most summertime rainfall events, some locations can be thoroughly drenched and hit with flash flooding, while other spots, sometimes only a couple of miles away, can miss out on downpours. Even though the pattern for the upcoming week appears to be more liberal in nature in terms of showers and thunderstorms than a typical summer event, there are likely to be some communities that continue to miss out on needed rainfall.
Late this week through the end of July, the massive heat dome hovering over the Western and Plains states may nose far enough to the east to allow temperatures to throttle up in the Northeast.
While regular watering of flower and vegetable plants is needed during times of dryness, most lawns simply enter a harmless dormant stage when rainfall is lacking, experts say. Improper watering of lawns and shrubs can do more harm than good during times of drought.
A thorough soaking one or two times a week during the evening, overnight or early morning hours when the water has the best chance of soaking deep into the ground is generally better than a daily light spritz during the middle of the afternoon when evaporation rates are the highest. Light, daily watering can encourage shallow root growth, as opposed to deep root growth from thorough soakings, most experts agree.
