Following months of below average rainfall, a drought advisory is now in effect for the Cape and Islands, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency announced Tuesday. Dry ponds and low streams are evident all around the Island, even though October has seen good amounts of rain.
Drought
2014
2012
April 19, 2012
If this year isn’t the driest on record for the Vineyard, it is certainly one of the driest, according to meteorologists. So far the Vineyard has received just over eight inches of precipitation through Tuesday, about half its yearly average over the same time period.
The unusual conditions have meant an elevated risk of brush and other fires, and the Vineyard has been part of a fire weather advisory for the region for much of the past few weeks.
2005
August 25, 2005
Against a backdrop of prolonged summer drought, the threat of wildfire in the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest is now high, and Island fire chiefs this week issued grave words of caution to the public.
August 15, 2005
The lack of rainfall this summer has been great for beach vacations, but extremely dry conditions have left trees, gardens and lawns with a powerful thirst and town water companies pumping like mad to keep up with the demand.
Supply is not an issue, but pumps for the Island municipal water systems are working overtime. Edgartown, Oak Bluffs and Tisbury are each pumping over two million gallons a day. It is a record summer for water usage, all tied to the drought-like conditions. The Vineyard has had no significant rainfall since July 9.
2002
September 30, 2002
Rainstorms that crossed the Island last month were exactly what the
Vineyard needed. After a September that was the wettest month of the
year so far, lawns are once again lush and plants are looking healthy.
According to rainfall data collected at the National Weather Service
cooperative station in Edgartown, the total rainfall for the past month
was 6.15 inches. The Vineyard hadn't seen that much rainfall since
the 6.11 inches that fell in August of last year.
August 15, 2002
A month ago, Island farmers were complaining that it was dry. Now,
halfway through August, it is even drier - so much so that
Vineyarders are looking for new superlatives to describe the arid
conditions.
The Cape and Islands led the state in rainfall earlier in the year.
But on Wednesday, the state announced that because of lack of rainfall
the region had moved from a drought advisory to a drought watch.
