Northeast Drought Update

Posted August 27, 2026

U.S. Drought Monitor

Drought and abnormal dryness continued to improve in the Mid-Atlantic and southeastern New York this week. For instance, severe and/or moderate drought contracted in places like eastern West Viriginia, southern Pennsylvania, the Delmarva Peninsula, southern New Jersey, and New York’s Long Island. However, conditions deteriorated in portions of northern New England and central New York. For example, severe and moderate drought spread in Maine, while moderate drought was introduced in northeastern Vermont. The U.S. Drought Monitor released on August 27 showed less than 1% of the Northeast in extreme drought, 2% in severe drought, 14% in moderate drought, and 23% as abnormally dry compared to less than 1%, 2%, 14%, and 24%, respectively, last week. Noticing impacts from dry conditions in your area? Reports can be submitted online via the Condition Monitoring Observation Reports (CMOR) website.

For more information on drought in NY & New England see the Northeast DEWS Dashboard and to learn more about assessing drought in the United States watch this video.

Precipitation

Total precipitation for the last week.

Percent of normal precipitation for the last 30-day and 90-day periods.

Percent of normal precipitation for the last 6-month and 1-year periods.

Water Resources

As of August 25, below-normal or lower USGS 7-day streamflows were found in several areas including central Maryland, southern New Jersey, central and northern New York, northern Rhode Island, eastern Massachusetts, northern Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. However, a large portion of the Northeast had normal or higher flows including record-high flows in places like northern West Virginia, western Pennsylvania, and southeastern New York. USGS groundwater levels as of August 25 generally ranged from record low in several areas including central and southern Maryland, parts of New Jersey, southeastern Massachusetts, and southern Maine to record high in spots like western Pennsylvania, western New York, and southwestern Connecticut. There have been a few reports of dry wells in Maine. Water conservation continued to be encouraged in multiple locations, with some communities like having mandatory water restrictions. Conditions reports from northeastern Vermont, central New Hampshire, and coastal Maine noted reduced water levels in waterways, lakes, ponds, and wetlands.

7-day average streamflow compared to historical streamflow from USGS WaterWatch

A network of wells to monitor the effects of droughts & other climate variability on groundwater levels. USGS Groundwater Data

Agriculture

In Maine, some crops are showing signs of moisture stress and farmers have increased their use of irrigation. Conditions reports from eastern Maine noted poor yields of late potatoes despite irrigation and some garden plants died.

Fire
Low water levels in coastal Maine affected rural firefighting operations.

State Declarations

Outlooks

Seven-day precipitation amounts are forecast to range from a tenth of an inch to over three inches. A cold front is expected to bring showers and thunderstorms to the region Thursday, with locally heavy rainfall possible in parts of eastern New York and western Connecticut.

NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) 8-14 day outlook for September 3-9, 2026 favors above-normal temperatures for the entire region. The outlook slightly favors above-normal precipitation for part of New York and most of New England and favors near-normal precipitation for the rest of the region.

The maps on this page, and additional drought resources, can also be found on the Northeast DEWS Dashboard.