ye7 New York City Gets Some Rain, but Not Enough to Ease Its Drought

Rain began to fall in New York City early Thursdayye7, providing a partial respite after weeks of abnormally dry conditions forced the city to declare its first drought warning in over 20 years.

About 2.2 inches of rain was forecast to fall in the city, and slightly more in parts of New Jersey, between Thursday and Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service. The heaviest deluge was expected on Thursday.

The wetting rainfall will help mitigate the short-term fire danger but will not be enough to lift the region from the long-term drought, forecasters with the National Weather Service in New York said Thursday morning.

The unusually dry conditions led Mayor Eric Adams to declare a drought warning on Monday and urge New York City residents to conserve water. Such a warning is the last step before a drought emergency, which would include mandatory water restrictions.

Officials have said the rain will not be enough to fully replenish the city’s reservoirs, which are at about 60 percent of their total capacity, down from the usual 79 percent. It is “not a drought buster, but it will help, especially with ongoing fire weather issues,” the Weather Service’s New York office said on social media.

Five-day precipitation forecast 1 2 3 5 10+ inches Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Notes:  Values are shown only for the contiguous United States and are in inches of water or the equivalent amount of melted snow and ice. By Zach Levitt, Bea Malsky, Martín González Gómez and Madison Dong

The extraordinarily dry fall in New York City and the Northeast has sparked wildfires across the region and brought some of the worst drought conditions in decades. Parts of southern New York State, including the city, have been in a severe drought for about a week. About a quarter of New Jersey has been in an extreme drought for two weeks.

A severe drought is the second level of a four-level scale, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System, and an extreme drought is the third. The highest level is an exceptional drought.

Moderate to heavy rain would fall in the region into the day, before becoming lighter, the Weather Service said. Strong winds, with gusts of up to 30 miles per hour, were also expected early Thursday.

The Northeast is also expected to see its first snowfall of the season this week. The first flurries were forecast for Pennsylvania and New Jersey on Thursday.

Judson Jones contributed reporting.ye7

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