Parts of Maine Face Rain Deficit as Drought Intensifies

This summer was better than last, for us anyway.

Last summer, most of us will remember that there was a distinct lack of sunshine for like, half the summer. It wasn't that warm. It rained a lot. And most people spent their days grumbling about how un-fun it was to be outside. Luckily, this summer was pretty much the opposite. Lots of sun and warm temps.

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We even had a decent amount of rain at the beginning of summer, tempered with a lot of sun. Then eventually, the sun won. July and August started seeing less and less rain, and then all this month, we haven't had squat. Now, the needle is moving the other way, and areas of Maine are in rain deficits.

The word drought is actually being thrown around right now.

According to News Center Maine, the Greenville area and all along the coast, as being described as "abnormally dry". To give you an idea, Bangor and Portland both, have had less than a quarter inch of rain this whole month. Both cities are over 2.5 inches in deficit. Normally these spots would have over 2.6 inches at this point in the month.

The coast is being hit especially hard. From Kittery to Calais, the ground is dry. Lawns are brown and crispy. Leaves are falling before they even change. All solid indicators that there hasn't been enough precipitation in the area. Sunny days are great for tourists, but can wreak havoc on our flora and fauna.

There is some relief on the way.

There is some rain in the forecast for most areas this week, but it'll be a drop in the bucket. Right now, there's elevated fire danger. Streams, lakes, ponds, and creeks are low. What we need is some good soaking rain. Unfortunately, the long range forecast is iffy, at best. There are only 6 or 7 days of rain forecasted in October.

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It's not a serious problem yet, as far as our groundwater supply, and the growing season is basically over, so we're good there too. But it's crazy to think we could be in this spot, again. Maine isn't really a place you think of when discussing drought, but here we are. Now, if we only had a season that produced some kind of ice-based precipitation on the way to help... Hmmmmm...