Severe Drought Magnifies Brush Fire Danger

A severe drought exists across southwestern Connecticut. Recently, it seems as though there is a brush fire story in the region just about every day. The fire danger remains quite high, and it looks as though there won't be any rain through the end of this week. Officials are urging people not to start any outdoor fires. The unusually dry April weather is certainly cause for concern. In fact, this calendar year is much drier than normal.

Since January 1, we've received less than six inches (5.91") of rain, which is more than a half-foot below the 12.09" normal through this date. Last year, we had a whopping 14.44" during the same time frame. That's quite a difference. The last three months, however, have been especially dry, with just a little more than three inches of rain since February 1. This is the driest April on record thus far, with less than a third of an inch of rain measured.

April's precipitation summary is quite alarming. There have been just two days with more than one-hundredth of an inch of rain this month. Other than a healthy 0.27" of rain on the first day of the month, we've had only 0.04" the last two weeks. The ground is parched during what is normally one of the wettest months of the year. Some of the heaviest rains in recent memory have happned in March, including a Nor'easter which brought over a half-foot of rain to some local communities five years ago today.

March was quite dry, too. The total rainfall (1.04") was more than three inches below normal, and more than ten inches below the record of 10.19" set just two years ago. There were only nine days with measured rain, including the first three days of the month. However, just six wet days were recorded over the last 25 days of March, accounting for just a little more than a half-inch (0.56"). The driest March on record happened in 1981 when just 0.69" of precipitation fell.

February was another dry month. The monthly total of 1.58" was far short of the 2.79" normal for the month. There were only eight days with measured rain, including a four-day stretch of 0.26" from February 15 through February 18. However, nearly an inch of rain (0.94") happened February 24. A nine-day dry streak from February 2 through February 10 set the tone for the month, which was capped by more than a quarter-inch (0.27") February 29.

It looks like some much-needed rain is headed our way by this weekend. I, for one, will welcome the rain. The lawn, flowers, and bushes certainly need Mother Nature's sprinkler system. For the first time in recent memory, I have seen many people watering their lawns and gardens in April. That's quite unusual. Let's hope this weekend's rain puts a damper on the fire danger across southwestern Connecticut.

Paul