000
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
