Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Recent Rain Not Enough to Recover from Drought

U.S. Drought Monitor showing severe (orange) and extreme (red) drought conditions in Upstate New York.
U.S. Drought Monitor
U.S. Drought Monitor showing severe (orange) and extreme (red) drought conditions in Upstate New York.

Even though your lawn might be a bit greener in recent days, the Rochester Finger Lakes region is still experiencing a severe to extreme drought.

Climatologist Jessica Spaccio of the Northeast Regional Climate Center says the 2.3 inches of rain that fell in Rochester in September and  another .46 inches this past weekend was not enough to make up for the almost five-inch rain deficit since early June.

"It's still beneficial; any rain we get, we're thankful for,” she said. “It will help with current conditions. It will help the drought from getting any worse and keep us at a status quo."

The Northeast might see some more moisture on the heels of Hurricane Matthew if it tracks this far north later in the week.

But if the storm brings a heavy rainfall, Spaccio said that won't be very helpful.

"The ground, especially when it's dry, can only hold so much moisture. If too much rain falls at once, a lot of it is lost to run-off; it runs off and goes out into the rivers instead of soaking into the ground and helping our soil and ground conditions."

Spaccio said fall weather may bring some measure of relief to the parched region. Changing weather conditions may bring more rain and trees will require less moisture from the ground as they lose their leaves.

Fifty-one of the state's 62 counties have been severely impacted by the dry conditions that have persisted since the summer.

Beth Adams joined WXXI as host of Morning Edition in 2012 after a more than two-decade radio career. She was the longtime host of the WHAM Morning News in Rochester. Her career also took her from radio stations in Elmira, New York, to Miami, Florida.