Drought conditions are continuing to improve in Maine.
Most of the state was not in drought as of Thursday, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, though coastal areas remain in a moderate drought or under abnormally dry conditions.
It’s a notable improvement from mid-June, when much of interior Maine was still under dry or drought conditions, with only the northern part of the state spared from any designation. It’s an even greater step forward since early May, when all of the state was considered to be at least abnormally dry.
Only southwestern York County remains under severe drought conditions.
Maine’s drought reached its peak in late October, according to the National Weather Service in Gray. Then, the entire state was considered to be in a drought, with most Mainers under severe or extreme drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
In a social media post on Thursday, the weather service in Gray said the drought’s footprint in Maine now covers only 8% of the state. However, it says over 23% of Maine’s population (or roughly 310,000 people) remained under drought conditions.
Experts have largely credited a heavy dose of rain in recent months to Maine’s recovery to date, but noted a variety of factors contribute to how the U.S. Drought Monitor decides its designations.
The Portland region, which was under extreme drought in early March but is now considered moderate, saw above-average rainfall in March, roughly average in April and about 4 inches above average in May, according to the weather service. Many other areas of the state also saw consistently above-average rainfall this spring, according to weather service data.
June has also brought its fair share of rain, and more is on the horizon.
On Thursday evening, the weather service in Gray projected scattered rainfall in southern and central Maine overnight, followed by chances of thunderstorms Friday afternoon. The weather service in Caribou said areas north of Bangor should also expect rain sometime Friday, with chances of showers in the days to come.
But Maine remains vulnerable.
A long dry spell late last summer prompted a flash drought, and a meteorologist at the weather service in Gray told the Portland Press Herald last week that Maine didn’t receive enough rain in the following months, resulting in the October peak in drought conditions.
Avoiding a summer dry spell will be crucial for Maine to avoid taking any backward steps, they said.
And while things have improved on the surface, the state of Maine’s groundwater is still troubling, Sarah Jamison, senior service hydrologist at the National Weather Service in Gray, told a reporter last week.
That leaves the state even more susceptible to slipping into drought conditions than it normally would be if another long stretch of hot, dry weather is to come this summer.