National Weather Service Text Product Display

Drought Information Statement
Issued by NWS Boston, MA
Versions: 1 2 3 4 5 6
000
AXUS71 KBOX 121917
DGTBOX
CTC003-013-015-MAC001-005-007-009-011-013-015-017-019-021-023-025-
027-RIC001-003-005-007-009-151930-

Drought Information Statement
National Weather Service Boston/Norton MA
317 PM EDT Wed May 12 2021

...STATE DROUGHT DECLARATIONS EASED IN MASSACHUSETTS...

.SYNOPSIS...

On May 10th following a meeting of the MA Drought Management Task
Force, the MA Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary reduced
the drought declarations in the commonwealth. A Level 1- Mild
Drought was maintained in the Western, Connecticut River Valley,
and Cape Cod Drought Regions. However, a return to a Level 0 -
Normal Conditions was declared for the Northeast and Southeast
Drought Regions, which were previously at Level 1 and Level 2
Drought, respectively. The Islands remained under a Level 0 -
Normal Conditions.

The April 8th US Drought Monitor indicated that D0, or Abnormally
Dry Conditions, across much of southern New England. There were
improvements noted, including the removal of D1 that was
previously in place across north central MA. In addition, much of
eastern MA as well as a portion of northern RI was placed under
normal conditions. This area was previously under D0. Normal
conditions remained in place over the Cape and Islands.

There were no State drought declarations in effect in CT or RI.

.Precipitation:

May month-to-date precipitation ranged from 1.5 to 2.5 inches
across southern New England. These totals were normal to around 1
inch above normal.

Precipitation during April ranged from 3 to 5 inches across most
of southern New England, which was within 1 inch above or below
normal. Spot lower totals under 3 inches were noted in north
central CT, the Outer Cape and Nantucket. Higher totals between 5
and 6 inches were noted along east coastal MA.

The April and May precipitation has been a considerable
improvement in comparison to precipitation with fell during
January to March. The 3 month precipitation for January to March
was 50 to 75 percent of normal for that period.

.Temperatures:

Temperatures for May month-to-date have been 1 to 3 degrees below
normal, except within 1 degree of normal along east coastal MA
and the south coasts of MA and RI.

April temperatures ranged from 1 degree below normal to 2.5
degrees above normal.

.Hydrologic conditions:

Streamflows across most of southern New England have had a
significant amount of recovery. The 7-day average streamflows
ranged from normal to much above normal. Groundwater was mostly
normal to above normal, with a few isolated wells still reporting
below normal.

The exception to this was across Cape Cod. The Cape has a much
slower response to dry conditions due to the sandy soils and deep
aquifer. On Cape Cod, the streamflow and ground water were mainly
at below normal levels as of May 12th.

.Drought Mitigation Actions:

The MA Drought Management Task Force (MA DMTF) convened on May
6th to discuss conditions through April and early May. Following
the meeting, the MA Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary
reduced the drought declarations in the commonwealth, retroactive
to April 1. A Level 1- Mild Drought was maintained in the Western,
Connecticut River Valley, and Cape Cod Drought Regions. However,
a return to Level 0 - Normal Conditions was declared for the
Northeast and Southeast Drought Regions, which were previously at
Level 1 and Level 2 Drought, respectively. The Islands remained
under Level 0 - Normal Conditions.

The Drought Level improvements were based on several significant
rainfall events occurring during late April and early May. In
addition, there were accompanying improvements in streamflow and
groundwater for much of the area.

In a Level 1 - Mild Drought, residents and businesses are
recommended to fix water leaks and limit outdoor watering to one
day per week. More information is available at the following web
sites:
www.mass.gov/ma-drought-management , and
https://www.mass.gov/conservemawater .

As of May 12, there are no State drought declarations elsewhere
in southern New England. However, conditions continued to be
monitored.

More details pertaining to the RI Drought Management Program are
available here:
http://www.wrb.ri.gov/work_programs_drought.html

More details regarding conditions in CT are available via the
Connecticut Drought Information Center:
https://portal.ct.gov/Water/Drought/Drought-Home

.Local Drought Outlook:

Much of the region has already seen a significant amount of
recovery from the drought or abnormally dry conditions that
emerged during the late winter into early spring. The May month-
to-date rainfall was sufficient to push many rivers and streams to
normal to much above normal levels as of today.

There will be on and off chances for mainly diurnally-driven
showers over the next several days. Rainfall totals from today
through Tuesday night are expected to be under an inch. However,
locally higher totals are possible if thunderstorms were to
develop. Temperatures are expected to be within a few degrees of
normal through next Tuesday.

The 8 to 14-day outlook from the Climate Prediction Center, for
May 18 to 25, indicates above normal temperatures and below normal
precipitation are probable.

Rainfall over the next 7 days should be beneficial for soil
moisture, as green up is rapidly occurring. However, streamflows
will likely level off or recede somewhat unless rainfall of an
inch or more occurs. During the 8-14 day timeframe, we may see a
gradual recession of streamflows with below normal precipitation
being probable, as green up continues to progress.

.Next Issuance Date:

This product will be updated again when conditions change
significantly.

.Related Web Sites:

Additional information on current drought conditions may be found
at the following web addresses:

US Drought Monitor: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu
US Drought Information System: https://www.drought.gov
NOAA Drought Page: https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/Drought
Northeast Regional Climate Center - http://www.nrcc.cornell.edu
Northeast Drought Early Warning System (DEWS):
http://nedews.nrcc.cornell.edu/
NWS Boston/Norton: http://www.weather.gov/box Northeast River
Forecast Center (NERFC): https://www.weather.gov/nerfc/ Climate
Prediction Center (CPC): https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/ US
Geological Survey (USGS): https://water.usgs.gov US Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE): https://www.usace.army.mil

.Acknowledgments:

The U.S. Drought Monitor is a multi-agency effort involving NOAAs
National Weather Service and National Centers for Environmental
Information, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), state and
regional climatologists, the USGS, the Northeast Regional Climate
Center, the National Drought Mitigation Center, and others.
Information for this statement has been gathered from these
sources, NWS and FAA observation sites, and the Community
Collaborative Rain Hail and Snow (CoCoRaHS) network.

.Contact Information:

If you have questions or comments about this Drought Information
Statement, please contact:

National Weather Service
Boston/Norton MA
46 Commerce Way
Norton, MA 02766
Phone: 508-622-3250
box.webmaster@noaa.gov

$$
National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office
