Delmarva in summer drought watch

DELMARVA – The summer months have brought intense heat to our region, and Delmarva is experiencing a drought watch.

Maryland Department of Environment Water Expert Lee Carrey said that the Eastern Shore is particularly facing the most severe conditions. “On the eastern shore in particular, what we’re seeing is that there are lower than normal levels for this time of year,” said Carrey.

With much of Delmarva in a drought, there have been more periods of hot and dry weather, and this has caused more problems within the local farming community. Our Meteorologist Jake Grant said this has made it harder for farmers, “Whenever you have a farm-rich area, the drought is always extra important because a lot of the soil needs that water to absorb for all the crops.” Spoke Grant.

Rainfall is important under these watch conditions, but it doesn’t necessarily mean the drought will be fixed, Grant states that shorter rainfall is better than faster rainfall. “It won’t be able to seep down into the water table and it will just sit on top whenever you get the fast rainfall rates, a slower and steadier rainfall rate is a little more productive in terms of keeping us without the drought conditions,” said Grant.

Carrey does urge people, to be mindful about saving water and practicing water maintenance in these harsh times in the region, “Year around, it’s great to practice water conservation, making sure we save preserve, and recognize the importance of any drop of water we have; I want to emphasize that right now, there is no critical shortfall of water, we are in a watch condition and only for the eastern shore” said Carrey.

You can check on the Maryland Department of Environment website to live track current conditions here: https://mde.maryland.gov/programs/water/droughtinformation/pages/index.aspx