Will MA snowfall end the critical drought? Not necessarily

On Friday, a critical drought was declared for a large swath of Massachusetts, from Sturbridge in Worcester County to Newburyport by the ocean.

Almost all of the rest of the state is a level below that, a significant drought, according to the Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs. Only far western Massachusetts is in a mild drought.

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Massachusetts has been contending with low water levels for half a year — most of the state has had a deficit of rainfall of 8 to 13 inches since August, according to the state, and January's 1-2.5 inches of rain and snow are 1-13 inches less than normal.

A map showing Massachusetts' drought levels, with central and northeast Mass. in critical drought (Level 3 out of 4) and all about the Berkshires a step down in significant drought.

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Most of the state was in a critical drought in November, when smoldering brush fires were sending smoke wafting across Massachusetts

The winter storm that just dumped a widespread 3 inches of snow across the state, and up to 8.5 inches in Hamilton in Essex County, may help make up that deficit, but not very much.

Snow blanketed Boston and much of Massachusetts Sunday morning after a winter storm blew through. Here's everything you need to know, including how much fell, road conditions and cleanup plans. Follow NBC10 Boston: https://instagram.com/nbc10boston https://tiktok.com/@nbc10boston https://facebook.com/NBC10Boston https://twitter.com/NBC10Boston https://bsky.app/profile/nbcboston.com

It would take about 6-8 inches of rainfall to end the drought in one month's time, and snowfall totals of 5-8 inches, as was originally forecast for this weekend, only equal about 0.5-1 inch of rain.

In the month of February, we need 3.21 inches of rain — equivalent to 14.4 inches of snow — to stay even, let alone make up for the ongoing deficit.

So with us talking about another 1-3 and 3-5 inches of snowfall coming with a couple more storms this coming week, we would actually need much more snow to dig out of the drought hole.

While noting that the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority is not in a drought, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper noted that the winter weather isn't going to be enough to make up for the low precipitation levels the state has seen.

“Even with winter weather, several regions in our state are facing below-average precipitation,” Tepper said. “To avoid overtaxing our water systems, we must prioritize indoor water conservation. It’s essential that everyone follows state guidance and local water restrictions to ensure our drinking water stays available for everyone.”