Drought

Maryland environmental officials have placed the Eastern Shore under a drought warning, encouraging water systems, residents and businesses to restrict water use. The warning is based on rainfall levels slipping to 70 percent of normal and well levels dropping well below normal. Some streams measured as indicators are at less than 5 percent of normal flow, considered "emergency" levels, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment. Central Maryland, not including the area tapped into Baltimore's water system, remains under a drought watch.

The area of drought covering nearly two-thirds of the country shrunk only slightly as drought intensified in the Midwest and Great Plains, according to the latest weekly update from the U.S. Drought Monitor. Conditions meanwhile worsened in parts of Maryland, but could improve, according to forecasts. Sixty-three percent of the continental U.S. is in at least a moderate drought, down one percentage point from a week ago. In comparison, a year ago, 30 percent of the continental U.S. was in at least a moderate drought.

This year's drought has already raised wholesale corn prices dramatically, and consumers will likely soon feel the pinch at the grocery store checkout. Economists are warning of a 3-4 percent rise in food prices this year and next as well, an especially poorly-timed circumstance given the recent weakness in the economy. Nobody is feeling this pain more sharply than Maryland's poultry producers, who have traditionally relied on corn above all else to feed their chickens. They have called on theU.S.

Queenstown farmer John Draper's corn crop looks bleak - ears that normally have 18 or 20 rows of kernels have 14 rows due to a lack of rain. Others have few or shriveled kernels, and some stalks haven't grown any ears at all. Yet, with a shot at harvesting about 60 percent of his normal yield, Draper considers himself fortunate. Drought conditions that have persisted across Maryland are expected to cut this year's corn crop yield in half. The weather also is threatening soybean crops, and driving up prices for all types of grains, squeezing livestock and poultry farmers.

Spotty rain this year has had parts of Maryland in and out of drought conditions, and the dryness may be worsening as the nation experiences its driest year since 1956. Anne Arundel County, Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore are in moderate drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor . To the north of the Interstate 95 corridor, most of the state is considered abnormally dry. Those zones have fluctuated through the spring and summer, with some portions of the lower Eastern Shore reaching "severe" drought conditions at times, according to the drought monitor.

Thanks to the June 1 thunderstorms that spawned 12 tornadoes across the state, the monthly rainfall total is running ahead of normal halfway through the month. But another good dose of moisture is needed to keep it that way. At BWI Marshall Airport, there has been 1.98 inches so far this month, 1.55 inches of it June 1. Other parts of the state have seen significantly more rainfall in June (more than 5 inches fell in parts of Baltimore and Harford counties so far this month, as you can see above)

Maryland environmental officials sustained "drought watch" status for most of the state based on data through May 31, but conditions have improved, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The drought watch still doesn't extend into the area served by Baltimore City reservoirs, but does cover Carroll and Harford counties, northern Baltimore County and all of western Maryland and the Eastern Shore. It is based on rainfall, stream flow, groundwater and reservoir levels, monitored by the Maryland Department of the Environment.

When I'll Have Another narrowly dodged being clipped by a rider-less horse who had gotten loose on the Belmont Park track last week, he avoided the sort of complication nobody had been talking about. Who could worry about something like that when there are so many other things that could go wrong? The final leg of the Triple Crown has proved, for almost a century, to be difficult enough without factoring in unruly horses. Eleven of the 30 colts who won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness managed to win the Belmont Stakes.

Sporadic rains have helped moderate drought conditions that had spread across most of the state, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor . As of May 22, all of the Baltimore region was considered “abnormally dry” except for southern Anne Arundel County. It had previously been under moderate drought conditions. Most of the Eastern Shore remains under moderate drought conditions, however. Five days out of every seven in May, at least a trace of rain has fallen at BWI Marshall Airport.

The Maryland Department of the Environment on Tuesday extended a drought watch to western Maryland and parts of central Maryland. A drought watch was already in effect for the Eastern Shore since April 13. The drought watch includes all of Harford and Carroll counties and parts of Baltimore and Howard counties, as well as Frederick County and points west. It doesn't include areas that get water service through Baltimore city. MDE issues a drought watch when at least two indicators show developing drought conditions.