Drought Information Statement For Northern & Eastern Maine 08/06/2021

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AXUS71 KCAR 060450

DGTCAR

MEC003-009-019-021-025-029-130500-

DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME

1250 AM EDT FRI AUG 6 2021

.SYNOPSIS AND DROUGHT INTENSITY...

DROUGHT CONDITIONS HAVE DETERIORATED ACROSS PARTS OF THE REGION 

AND IMPROVED SLIGHTLY IN OTHER AREAS. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CHANGE

THIS WEEK WAS TO EXPAND THE AREA OF MODERATE DROUGHT (D1) NORTH 

TO INCLUDE ALL OF NORTHERN SOMERSET COUNTY, NEARLY ALL OF 

PISCATQUIS COUNTY (JUST A VERY SMALL PART OF NORTHEAST SECTION OF

THE COUNTY WAS CLASSIFIED AS ABNORMALLY DRY), AND ACROSS NORTHERN

AROOSTOOK COUNTY. IMPROVEMENT WAS NOTED IN HANCOCK COUNTY WITH 

ALL OF THE COUNTY REMOVED FROM THE ABNORMALLY DRY CONDITIONS. 

DURING THE PAST 14 DAYS PRECIPITATION HAS RANGED FROM 90 TO 150 

PERCENT OF NORMAL DOWNEAST, AND FROM 50 TO 90 PERCENT ACROSS THE

REMAINDER OF THE REGION. THERE IS SMALL AREA IN NORTHWEST

AROOSTOOK COUNTY WHERE PRECIPITATION RANGED FROM ONLY 25 TO 40

PERCENT OF NORMAL.

.PRECIPITATION...

PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH OF JULY RANGED FROM 150 TO 300 

PERCENT OF NORMAL DOWNEAST, NEAR NORMAL ACROSS MOST OF CENTRAL 

MAINE, AND FROM 25 TO 75 PERCENT OF NORMAL ACROSS FAR NORTHERN 

MAINE TO THE NORTH OF THE KATAHDIN REGION. 

DURING THE PAST 60 DAYS, PRECIPITATION HAS RANGED FROM 110 TO 150

PERCENT OF NORMAL DOWNEAST, AND FROM 40 TO 75 PERCENT OF NORMAL

ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE. 

.HYDROLOGIC CONDITIONS...

RIVER FLOWS: REMAIN WELL BELOW TO BELOW AVERAGE FOR THIS TIME OF 

YEAR ACROSS THE REGION. THE GREATEST DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL ARE ON

THE PISCATAQUIS RIVER WITH FLOW OF ONLY 9 TO 22 PERCENT OF 

NORMAL. CONDITIONS DETERIORATED IN THE PAST WEEK ON THE SAINT 

JOHN RIVER WITH VALUES RUNNING FROM 31 TO 40 PERCENT OF NORMAL. 

ELSEWHERE, VALUES RANGED FROM 31 TO 54 PERCENT OF NORMAL ON THE 

AROOSTOOK, ALLAGASH, AND PENOBSCOT RIVERS. 

SEVEN TO 14 DAY STREAMFLOWS VARY SIGNIFICANTLY ACROSS THE REGION.

THEY ARE NEAR NORMAL ACROSS MOST OF HANCOCK AND WASHINGTON

COUNTIES AND ACROSS EASTERN AROOSTOOK COUNTY, AND ACROSS FAR

WESTERN AROOSTOOK COUNTY SOUTH INTO NORTHERN SOMERSET COUNTY. 

THE STREAMFLOWS ARE BELOW TO MUCH BELOW NORMAL ACROSS MUCH OF THE

REMAINDER OF THE AREA. 

THE MOST RECENT 7 DAY STREAMFLOWS (AS OF AUGUST 4TH) ARE IN THE

25TH TO 75TH PERCENTILE (NORMAL) ACROSS MOST OF WASHINGTON AND

HANCOCK COUNTIES AS WELL AS ACROSS EASTERN AROOSTOOK COUNTY, AND

ALONG THE WESTERN MAINE/QUEBEC BORDER. THEY ARE IN THE 10TH

PERCENTILE (MUCH BELOW NORMAL) ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF NORTHERN

AND EASTERN MAINE. THERE IS A SMALL AREA IN NORTHERN AROOSTOOK

COUNTY IN THE FISH RIVER BASIN THAT IS CLASSIFIED AS LOW (LESS 

THAN 10TH PERCENTILE). 

GROUNDWATER AND WATER STORAGE (LAKES/RESERVOIRS): A LONG-TERM 

IMPACT OF THE DROUGHT IS LOWER GROUNDWATER LEVELS. GROUNDWATER 

LEVELS ARE VERY SLOW TO RESPOND, AND ALSO CAN BE VERY SLOW TO 

RECOVER. MOST LAKES AND RESERVOIRS ACROSS THE REGION ARE RUNNING 

BELOW SEASONAL NORMAL VALUES ACROSS THE REGION, ESPECIALLY ACROSS 

CENTRAL AND NORTHERN AREAS WHERE RAINFALL DEFICITS ARE GREATEST. 

GROUNDWATER CONDITIONS ARE CURRENTLY WELL BELOW NORMAL ACROSS

NORTHERN MAINE AND CLOSER TO NORMAL ACROSS EASTERN MAINE. 

.SUMMARY OF IMPACTS...

WATER RESOURCES: NONE AT THIS TIME. THERE HAVE BEEN SOME REPORTS

OF PRIVATE WELLS THAT HAVE RUN DRY IN AROOSTOOK AND PENOBSCOT

COUNTIES, BUT THE LOCATION OF THESE WELLS IS UNKNOWN. WE ARE NOT 

AWARE OF ANY COMMUNITY WATER RESTRICTIONS IN OUR REGION AT THIS 

TIME.

WILDFIRE CONDITIONS: THE MAINE FOREST SERVICE HAS REPORTED 

THAT RECENT WET CONDITIONS HAVE REDUCED THE NORMAL NUMBER OF 

SUMMERTIME WILDFIRES AFTER AN ACTIVE START TO THE FIRE WEATHER

SEASON THIS SPRING. THE RAINY CONDITIONS HAPPENING ON WEEKENDS 

WAS A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR AS THAT IS WHEN MOST WILDFIRES OCCUR. 

AGRICULTURAL CONDITIONS: GIVEN THE EXPANSION OF MODERATE DROUGHT 

CONDITIONS ACROSS THE AGRICULTURAL AREAS OF THE SAINT JOHN VALLEY 

SOME IRRIGATION OF CROPS HAS BEEN REQUIRED. THERE HAS NOT BEEN AS 

MUCH STRESS ON POTATO AND OTHER LOCAL CROPS SUCH AS BROCCOLI 

COMPARED TO THIS TIME LAST YEAR.

.DROUGHT MITIGATION ACTIONS...

THE STATE OF MAINE HAS ACTIVATED ITS DROUGHT TASK FORCE. HYDRO 

OPERATORS ARE MONITORING CONDITIONS AND BALANCING NEEDS OF LAKE 

LEVELS, HYDROELECTRIC POWER GENERATION NEEDS, AND DISCHARGES TO 

MAINTAIN STREAM FLOW AND RECREATION NEEDS DOWNSTREAM. 

IN RESPONSE TO ESCALATED DROUGHT, THE MAINE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

AGENCY HAS PUBLISHED AN ONLINE SURVEY FOR HOME OWNERS TO REPORT 

PRIVATE WELLS RUNNING DRY AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR ASSISTANCE:

HTTPS://MAINE-DRY-WELL-SURVEY-MAINE.HUB.ARCGIS.COM/.

.PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE AND HYDROLOGIC OUTLOOKS...

CPC'S OUTLOOK FROM DAYS 6 TO 14 (AUG 11-19) FAVORS ABOVE AVERAGE 

TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE REGION. THE PRECIPITATION OUTLOOK CALLS 

FOR AN INCREASED LIKELIHOOD OF ABOVE AVERAGE PRECIPITATION FOR

DAYS 6-10, AND NEAR NORMAL FOR DAYS 8-14. THE ABOVE AVERAGE

TEMPERATURES WILL LIKELY CAUSE MORE EVAPORATION AND THE POTENTIAL

IF THERE IS NOT SIGNIFICANT RAIN THAT DROUGHT CONDITIONS COULD 

DETERIORATE DURING THE NEXT ONE TO TWO WEEKS. 

.NEXT ISSUANCE DATE...

THIS PRODUCT WILL BE UPDATED BY THE EVENING OF AUGUST 12TH AFTER 

THE RELEASE OF THE UPDATED U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR THAT DAY. 

&&

RELATED WEB SITES...

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON CURRENT DROUGHT CONDITIONS MAY BE FOUND

AT THE FOLLOWING WEB ADDRESSES...

US DROUGHT MONITOR...HTTP://WWW.DROUGHT.UNL.EDU/DM/MONITOR.HTML

NOAA DROUGHT PAGE...HTTP://WWW.DROUGHT.NOAA.GOV

CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER (CPC)...HTTP://WWW.CPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV

US DROUGHT MONITOR...HTTP://WWW.DROUGHTMONITOR.UNL.EDU

CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER...HTTP://WWW.CPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV

NORTHEAST REGIONAL CLIMATE CENTER...HTTP://WWW.NRCC.CORNELL.EDU

ADDITIONAL RIVER INFORMATION...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE...HTTP://WATER.WEATHER.GOV

US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY...HTTP://WATER.USGS.GOV

US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS...HTTP://WWW.USACE.ARMY.MIL

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...

THE DROUGHT MONITOR IS A MULTI-AGENCY EFFORT INVOLVING THE

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND NATIONAL CENTERS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL

INFORMATION...THE USDA...STATE AND REGIONAL CENTER CLIMATOLOGISTS

AND THE NATIONAL DROUGHT MITIGATION CENTER. INFORMATION FOR THIS

STATEMENT HAS BEEN GATHERED FROM NWS AND FAA OBSERVATION SITES...

STATE COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICES...THE USDA...USACE AND USGS.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS...

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS DROUGHT INFORMATION

STATEMENT...PLEASE CONTACT...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

810 MAIN ST

CARIBOU ME 04736

PHONE...207-492-0180

CARWEBMASTER@NOAA.GOV

$$

CB