NEW: Parts of the Area Now in a Severe Drought

With very little rainfall the past few months in the area, a drought has formed and it continues to worsen. Last week, all of our area was in a moderate drought. Now this week, eastern parts of the area have been upgraded to a severe drought and the others remain in the moderate drought:

Now more than half (69%) of Connecticut is in a severe drought, and 31% is in a moderate drought:

The drought is also worsening in much of the Northeast. In some areas, including major cities like Boston and Buffalo, there is an extreme drought. More than half of the Northeast is currently dealing with at least abnormally dry conditions, and 37% of this region is in a drought (moderate drought or worse):

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Probably some of you are wondering what does this drought mean for you and how will it affect you. First of all, there is a Drought Advisory that has been issued for all of Connecticut. This warns residents of the ongoing drought and that certain actions should be taken.

The groundwater in our area is less than 10% of normal, which means that the soil moisture is very low:

Also, because of how dry it is, there is an elevated threat for brush and wildfires. There is at least a moderate chance for fire danger.

In terms of rainfall, our climate center in Bridgeport is five inches below average for the year to date, and we are already about an inch below average to date for the month of September.

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With all of this in mind, you should take certain efforts in order to conserve water due to the worst drought since 2012. If you have wells, water will begin to run low and water shortages may develop.

Also, watering your lawns should be restricted to once per week at most. Many crops are likely to die because of the considerable dryness.

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#climate