NEW YORK – Some parts of the U.S., like the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, had been suffering from extreme fire weather and bad air quality until Sunday nights when it started to rain.
This rain won’t end the drought, but it’s a start. It has rained for the first time in weeks, which will make things better for firemen across the region who are fighting extreme weather caused by dry leaves and winds.
FOX Weather Meteorologist Jane Minar said, “Those dry streaks will end, but it will take its own time.”
Extreme drought hasn’t happened in New Jersey in 22 years, but it’s still going on in the southeast of the state.
Dry weather, falling leaves, and strong winds have made it easy for fires to start. Because of fires in New Jersey and New York, the tri-state area has been warned about dangerous air.
It has been so dry that some towns, like Philadelphia, have broken their records. In the city of Brotherly Love, it hasn’t rained in 42 days, beating the old record of 29 days set in 1874.
Most of the area will get about a half-inch of rain until Tuesday. Western Pennsylvania will get more.
“Drought lasts a lot longer than most of the dangerous weather we talk about,” the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, New Jersey, said. “So one rain event usually isn’t enough to make a big difference in drought conditions.” “Please continue to heed any burn bans or water conservation efforts your localities may have!”
The rain pushed into the Northeast late Sunday night and the mid-Atlantic by Sunday evening.
Sunday night, light rain fell in New York City. The area is expected to get a quarter to a half inch of rain today. It rained in the Washington, D.C., area, ending an airport-record 38-day dry spell at Washington, Baltimore, and Dulles.
Ari Sarsalari, a meteorologist for FOX Weather, said, “It’s just the kind of rain we need to start breaking the drought.”
FOX Forecast Center says that areas of heavy rain and lighter rain may stay overnight so that people in places like Boston and New York can get to work in the morning.
Source: Relief at Last Much-Needed Rain Arrives in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic After Record Dry Spell
