August has been a dry month across the commonwealth, but so far no Pennsylvania counties are currently in danger of dropping into drought status. The Commonwealth Drought Coordinator lists all 67 counties as “normal”. The drought watch for the final eight counties from last year’s dry conditions, all but one of them in south-central and eastern Pennsylvania, was just lifted last month.
While the drought status is “normal” according to the state, the U.S. Drought Monitor, a joint effort by the National Drought Mitigation Center, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is showing that the lack of rain is edging Pennsylvania closer to the drought benchmarks. More than two dozen counties are at least partially categorized as “abnormally dry”, including all of northern Indiana County. The result is browning of lawns, reduced surface water levels, and an increased risk of fire, particularly brush fires.
