The entire western half of New York State plus New York City and Long Island are now under drought conditions, and getting worse.
The U.S. Drought Monitor report for New York finds all of Monroe County as moved from “unusually dry” into either moderate or severe drought. Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming, Livingston and Ontario Counties are all in severe drought. Wayne County is in moderate drought.
The National Weather Service says rainfall for the past 30 days has been less than 25 percent of normal for the entire Northeastern United States.
The U.S. Geologic Survey says ground water levels are much below normal for this time of year, posing concerns for those using well water.