The region is experiencing a pronounced dry season, causing state officials to take stock of dwindling water supplies as a largely rainless summer continues.
Massachusetts has been under an official drought declaration since the beginning of July.
Massachusetts Drought Management Task Force, a panel assembled to advise state officials on how best to deal with the ongoing dry season, met Thursday to hear from experts. Several environmental workers and experts urged the state to widen it’s official drought declaration to the entire state. Experts are also calling for parts of Massachusetts most heavily hit, including much of Worcester and Essex counties, to be elevated from drought declaration to a drought warning.
Elevating drought advisory levels allows officials to increase watering bans and other measure to help save the clean water supply.
The lengthy drought left some experts actually wishing for a big tropical storm to generate some rain for the region.
Alan Dunham from the National Weather Service’s hydrologic program briefed the task force on the upcoming forecast, saying that weather from the tropics this time of year is what sometimes breaks up long periods of dryness.
“At least through the late part of August absolutely nothing’s expected to be brewing in the Atlantic basin,” Dunham reported to the panel.
Dunham said that moisture from the aftermath of the recent hurricane Earl was hitting Florida, but not making it’s way north to New England.
“It’s going to be hit or miss if we can get a tropical system,” Dunham said.
There is some relief on the horizon: rain is in the forecasts for this weekend and early next week, which Dunham said is the area’s best hope for quenching the region’s thirst.
Temperatures in the Boston area were more than three degrees fahrenheit higher than normal this July, according to the National Weather Service. Precipitation was dismal in July, with only .87 inches falling throughout a month that typically averages 3.43 inches.
Energy and Environment secretary Matthew Beaton is expected to act on the panel’s recommendations next week.
