Drought

[salmo]

Thankfully the rainfall in Pennsylvania as been closer to normal. For the first time in many months there are no counties in PA under drought watch. http://www.dep.pa.gov/Business/Water/PlanningConservation/Drought/Pages/default.aspx

However there are several counties, mostly in SE PA that still have issues with groundwater, some still in emergency status. https://pa.water.usgs.gov/drought/indicators/composite/

Let's hope we continue to experience normal and higher than normal rain for the rest of the summer. My lawn is actually green for the first time in 3 years. :-D

 

[Jessed]

We're suppose to get some rain here this week so hopefully it should help.

 

[DGC]

Two very popular brown trout streams in SCPA have been well below median flows for the past year. These are the Breeches and especially Codorus. There has been the odd rain event spike but nothing close to what is needed. Central PA has fared far better.

 

[Van_Cleaver]

Pretty much every major creek in Chester Co. is below median flow and dropping, despite one of the wettest Mays in a long time. With the ongoing development and constant increase of impervious surfaces this appears to be a ongoing problem. Still it's a lot better than last year and there was plenty of water in the Northeast last weekend.

 

[tomitrout]

And folks wonder why the CV Limestoners are in such bad shape....

 

[geebee]

the white clay is still at summer levels and has been since May 2016, other than the odd minor one day flood.

its so low that bass redds are mid stream in the middle part of the DHALO section.

 

[dryflyguy]

Kinda odd to me to see drought talk on here. Guess it's been mostly the eastern side of the state.
Certainly have had plenty of rain here. Many of my fishing plans this spring have been thwarted by high water.

 

[AFISHN]

I hear you Dry fly:Little J and Penns were running high and fishable..just.

 

[lycoflyfisher]

It's not necessarily stream levels and flows that is the problem, groundwater levels are still really low in some parts of the state, especially the southeast region.

 

[geebee]

dryflyguy wrote:
Kinda odd to me to see drought talk on here. Guess it's been mostly the eastern side of the state.
Certainly have had plenty of rain here. Many of my fishing plans this spring have been thwarted by high water.

i have heard the same from NJ and NY fishers. we seem to just be in an unlucky pocket here in SE PA, all storms have passed west or north of us.

 

[laszlo]

Check out the USGS map, the only red dot in entire state is Codorus

 

[Chaz]

It takes a long time for the water to percolate down to the groundwater.

 

[timmyt]

Its dry and hard again out in the backyard already. Always rooting for rain here in SE PA. the little creek out front hasnt come close to filling up during rain in 16 months easy and it certainly should have with a couple of the events we had this spring.

Even the big rain events we have had havent added to what they were supoosed to be. Forecast 2.5 inches end up getting 1. Forecast 1.5 inches get .75, etc

 

[Hook_Jaw]

You can't trust the weather man.

 

[salmonoid]

timmyt wrote:
Its dry and hard again out in the backyard already. Always rooting for rain here in SE PA. the little creek out front hasnt come close to filling up during rain in 16 months easy and it certainly should have with a couple of the events we had this spring.

Even the big rain events we have had havent added to what they were supoosed to be. Forecast 2.5 inches end up getting 1. Forecast 1.5 inches get .75, etc

My garden is like chalk dust. And the grass at work is already looking burnt - it has the late July, mid-August brown and dying look. Groundwater has not really recovered at all.

 

[dryflyguy]

If yinz guys got anywhere near the amount of rain that we've had on the western side of the state, the drought is likely over for awhile.
Heavy thunderstorms and flooding around here just about every day this past week.

 

[timmyt]

We havent gotten anything like that dryflyguy, i wish we had though. Getting a bit this morning but its just showers

 

[TYoung]

Eastern PA hasn't gotten anywhere near the amount of rain that the western half has.

 

[timmyt]

And yeah, the grass already looks burnt in the parts of the yard that has sun most of the day, bummer, summer sucks