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The Ongoing Drought in New England, By the Numbers

We may not know for a week if the coming rain has helped lift parts of the region out of moderate drought

NBC Universal, Inc.

Drought conditions have expanded across the Northeast in the last week, and we have had a large rain deficit this month in some parts in eastern and southern New England. 

This has lead to abnormally dry conditions and moderate drought in some areas. 

A map showing what parts of New England are in either abnormally dry conditions or a moderate drought as of Tuesday, June 7, 2022. Moderate drought stretches from northeastern Connecticut through most of Rhode Island and parts of southeastern and eastern Massachusetts.
NECN
A map showing what parts of New England are in either abnormally dry conditions or a moderate drought as of Tuesday, June 7, 2022.

Here's how much rain cities across New England have gotten since the beginning of the year, and how that compares to average.

  • BOSTON: 13.71 inches, which is 4.75 inches below average. 
  • WORCESTER: 18.25 inches, 1.22 inches below average.
  • PORTLAND, MAINE: 16.26 inches, 3.82 inches below average.
  • HARTFORD: 17.70 inches, 1.09 inches below average.
  • PROVIDENCE: 17.91 inches, 2.89 inches below average.
  • BURLINGTON, VERMONT: 13.65 inches, 0.14 inches below average.

We have 1-2 inches of rain in the forecast for Wednesday morning and also Thursday afternoon as two waves of rain move through. 

This will likely help the dryness, but the drought monitor data stops on Tuesdays.  While the map is released on Thursdays, this means this week’s rainfall won’t be taken into account in the updated map. 

So it's potentially next week’s drought map that will show an improvement — with even more rain for this weekend. 

In the meantime, keep watering the plants and vegetable garden!

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