Semi-OT: Northeast drought....

[AngryScientist]

Yikes, this is getting bad. I can't remember this many straight days of no precipitation.

Air quality here in North NJ was pretty crappy today with little wildfires popping up all over the place.

My back yard is a dust bowl and rounding up leaves is seriously hazardous to my lungs.

Things are getting crazy out there.

Stay safe, and be careful with fires and sparky things.

[Llewellyn]

Last summer we had no more than a couple of millimetres of rain in over six months. It was brutal, and not just on humans. These days we're lucky if we even get our average rainfall each year (and most years we don't).

And it's only just beginning.

[Geemalar]

Showing some rain showers Sunday night, so that should help keep the dust levels down a little bit. It’s been great riding weather, but I’m hoping we start getting some decent rainfalls to start replenishing the reservoirs.

[ChainNoise]

...not to mention where I'm at specifically, it only rained a couple days during the summer. We never got any of the summertime evening rain storms, they all avoided the area.

Ready for the dust to be done with. In a portion of my property we have 4 wheeler trains and we haven't been able to ride because of the dust. It's so intense. Even the dogs playing outside is enough to generate a decent sized dust cloud. I'm not exaggerating!

Looking forward to rain, but I must admit I have loved every bit of this weather we've had.

[fa63]

Atlanta went 30 consecutive days without rain last month. Had it not been for the weird mist shower we got which technically snapped the streak, it would have been the first month in recorded history without any rain (though we did go 44 days without rain between October and November 2016).

[fiamme red]

I woke up this morning with the smell of burning wood in my nostrils. I'm not sure where it was coming from. I know there were brushfires in Prospect Park.

[NHAero]

Forecast for MV says rain late Sunday night into Monday.
It has been pretty spectacular weather.

[paredown]

We're on a well, and we have had pretty low flow all summer...

Our neighbors just up the hill from us (who built both houses) have a shallower well, and theirs has gone dry this past week.

County water is from wells that draw from the same aquifer (pumps are about half-mile away; the aquifer starts more or less at the end of our property). No water restrictions, so the mcmansion people are watering their lawns like crazy, and the Village has been still pumping water into our little pond to keep it pretty.

The County finally declared a drought condition last week, which means the Village finally stopped trying to fill the pond, and the declaration should limit the lawn watering to odd/even days, but there is no enforcement, so we are not holding our breath...

The good news--I got to split a bunch of firewood that I rustled up without having to worry about tarps and such.

[Spaghetti Legs]

Here in Virginia we had sprinkles or full on rain pretty much every day in September and none at all in October. A 5 minute shower last weekend but that’s all. Oddly it hasn’t seemed that dry otherwise and creeks, etc, are still flowing.

[Baron Blubba]

Originally Posted by Spaghetti Legs

Here in Virginia we had sprinkles or full on rain pretty much every day in September and none at all in October. A 5 minute shower last weekend but that’s all. Oddly it hasn’t seemed that dry otherwise and creeks, etc, are still flowing.

Just an hour away from you in the Northern Shenandoah Valley, the river has dried up quickly, the creeks are nearly empty, the fire danger level is at Extreme, and I just saw a forest fire start up on my bike ride this morning. As of a few hours ago, it was covering 30 acres and many trails in the Elizabeth Furnace area have been closed.

[IMG]Untitled by Michael Lock, on Flickr[/IMG]

[unterhausen]

Every fire company in the area was at a rural property for hours this week putting out a fire started by someone burning leaves. State still doesn't have a burn ban, I don't think, just the state parks and forests.

[Louis]

And yet it will be "Drill, baby, drill !!!" Go figure.

[glepore]

Originally Posted by Spaghetti Legs

Here in Virginia we had sprinkles or full on rain pretty much every day in September and none at all in October. A 5 minute shower last weekend but that’s all. Oddly it hasn’t seemed that dry otherwise and creeks, etc, are still flowing.

Its funny, I live just a few miles northwest of the esteemed Mr Legs, and we had zero rain for almost all of August through Helene, when we had 6 in or so of rain over several days, and then zilch since. My home is situated about a mile from the Blue Ridge and just north of a large foothill, and the combo seems to direct the weather in odd ways.

Parts of Va have been in extreme drought all summer. We cleared a couple acres to bring our horses home and have really been struggling to start pasture grass-bad timing. Groundwater is fine, due to a wet spring and the hurricane, but soil surface moisture is non existent.

Another oddity, we've not had a killing frost yet, and its a good month later than average. I still have tropicals in containers out, although it looks like they'll need to come in by Tues night finally.

[benb]

We have irrigation. I’m embarrassed to say we used 35k gallon this year. The bill is not in gallons which is ridiculous, but I did the math. Our sprinklers have been off for a while. I wore a mask to do leaves today to try and keep the dust out. It’s very dry. Air quality is great though and it’s maybe made allergy season easier. It’s been staggeringly warm.

[BdaGhisallo]

Originally Posted by benb

We have irrigation. I’m embarrassed to say we used 35k gallon this year. The bill is not in gallons which is ridiculous, but I did the math. Our sprinklers have been off for a while. I wore a mask to do leaves today to try and keep the dust out. It’s very dry. Air quality is great though and it’s maybe made allergy season easier. It’s been staggeringly warm.

What does that amount of water cost you, out of curiosity?

Here in Bermuda there is no mains water supply. Everyone catches water on their roof and stores it in cisterns under their houses.

If you run out, trucked water will run you $140 per 1,000 gallons.

We are all very careful with our water usage. You don't even let the tap run while you're brushing your teeth, for instance.