Bucks County Is ‘Abnormally Dry,’ But Not In A Drought

It has been dry in Bucks County, but we’re not officially in a drought, according to federal weather and climate officials.

The National Weather Service in Mount Holly, New Jersey on Thursday issued the drought monitor for the region.

While some parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey are in a moderate drought, Bucks County is in abnormally dry conditions, which is impacting 28 percent of the Mid-Atlantic region.

Prior to rain early Thursday morning, the last notable rain event was last Sunday around the time the recent heat wave began.

For the period of January to June, Bucks County was 2.78 inches above normal in precipitation.

The Glossary of Meteorology defines a drought as: “a period of abnormally dry weather sufficiently prolonged for the lack of water to cause serious hydrologic imbalance in the affected area.”

“In easier to understand terms, a drought is a period of unusually persistent dry weather that persists long enough to cause serious problems such as crop damage and/or water supply shortages. The severity of the drought depends upon the degree of moisture deficiency, the duration, and the size of the affected area,” the National Weather Service said on a fact sheet.

According to federal data, Bucks County last saw drought conditions in 2018 and saw an extreme drought for an extended period of time back in 2003.

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