It may be rainy in Buffalo this week, but the region is still in a drought. And it hasn’t necessarily improved over the past month.
Gov. Kathy Hochul expanded her formal drought declarations across the state on Wednesday and advised residents in dry areas to conserve water where they could.
“While New York State experts continue to closely monitor the data and conditions on the ground, we are taking proactive steps to support communities, farmers and local water suppliers,” Hochul said in a prepared statement. “At the same time, we are urging everyone to do their part to conserve water so we can reduce stress on our resources and prevent more severe impacts in the weeks ahead.”
Twelve counties were added to the state’s drought warning list: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chemung, Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, northern Herkimer, Lewis, Steuben, St. Lawrence and Warren. And another six counties were added to the state’s drought watch list: Broome, Chenango, Cortland, Otsego, Madison and Tioga.
Erie and Niagara counties have been under a drought watch since Aug. 29.
A drought watch means there has generally been less-than-normal precipitation and reservoirs, lakes, streams and groundwater levels are low. A “watch” is the first of four levels of state drought advisories and followed by “warning,” “emergency” and “disaster.”
No state mandated water use restrictions are in place under a drought watch, but the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation encourages residents to conserve water. Local water utilities can require conservation measures, however.
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A drought warning is more severe, although still no mandatory water restrictions are implemented by the state.
No drought-related water use restrictions are in place in Western New York as of Wednesday.
Nearly the whole state is under a drought watch or warning.
In the Buffalo area, the drought watch may come as a bit of a surprise given the somewhat rainy weather we’ve had recently.
But in a normal year, the area would have had about 24 inches of precipitation – measured by rainfall and the amount of liquid from melted snowfall – by the end of August, according to data from the National Weather Service.
As of the end of August, Buffalo has seen just 18.28 inches of precipitation. That makes it the sixth driest first eight months of the year since the National Weather Service’s records began in 1938.
Drought conditions really started to settle in in July, as the area saw just 0.77 inches of precipitation, according to the National Weather Service. That was the second-driest July on record, behind 2001 when only 0.73 inches of precipitation were measured.
August helped ease conditions a bit, as 2.35 inches of rain fell on the Buffalo area, according to the National Weather Service. But that is still far below the average for August, which is 3.23 inches of rain, National Weather Service data show.
So far in September, the area has seen only light rainfall. A total of 0.65 inches of rain has fallen this month as of Tuesday, and the average for the month is 3.06 inches, according to the National Weather Service.
Dry conditions in Erie and Niagara counties generally mean crop growth may be stunted, wildfire risk is elevated, lawns are drying up, gardens are wilting and creeks are running lower, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a partnership between the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Reach climate and environment reporter Mackenzie Shuman at mshuman@buffnews.com or 716-715-4722.
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Mackenzie Shuman
Environment and climate reporter
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