If you think the weather has been a bit drier than normal, you’re right on the mark.
In fact, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has just placed Centre County under a drought watch.
Centre County is one 37 counties that are now on the DEP’s drought watch list.
“The very dry fall and below-normal precipitation from January to May continues to contribute to low groundwater and surface water levels throughout the state,” says a news release issued by the DEP.
AccuWeather Meteorologist Andy Mussoline confirms that rain amounts in the State College area have been lower than normal — but not by any huge amount.
“May was an unusually dry month for us,” says Mussoline.
Two inches of rain fell in State College in May. Normally, we get an average of 3.46 inches that month.
“If we look at a percentage basis that’s 58 percent of normal,” Mussoline points out, before adding, “We’ve been doing better in June than we did in May.”
By June 17, 2.69 inches of rain was recorded in State College. On average we only get 2.39 inches for the entire month of June.
The rainfall levels aren’t causing any concern at the State College Borough Water Authority. “Actually, our water table is normal for this time of the year. We’re at average or above average,” says SCBWA Assistant Executive Director Brian Heiser.
The SCBWA maintains 23 different wells that are scattered across the Centre Region. “At any given time we’re only using five or six wells and they don’t run around the clock,” says Heiser.
The DEP has four status levels for water supplies: Normal, drought watch, drought warning and drought emergency. A drought watch is the least severe of the drought classifications.
Under a drought watch the DEP asks for a 5 percent reduction in non-essential water use. Companies that use large amounts of water are placed on notice and asked to prepare for the possibility of reduced water supplies.
Even though the lack of rain isn’t especially severe, experts say it’s always a good idea to conserve. “Everyone should always be cautious about the amount of water they’re using whether there’s a drought watch or not,” says Heiser.
The DEP issued the following guidelines:
• Run water only when absolutely necessary and avoid keeping water flowing while brushing teeth, or turning on the shower many minutes before use
• Check for household leaks – a leaking toilet can waste up to 200 gallons of water each day
• Run dishwashers and washing machines only with full loads
• Replace older appliances with high-efficiency, front-loading models that use about 30 percent less water and 40 to 50 percent less energy
• Install low-flow plumbing fixtures and aerators on faucets.
Relief could be in sight already. “Moving forward we’ll have a pretty wet pattern over the next week or two,” says AccuWeather’s Mussoline. “Next week we’ll see a round of showers passing the region so we should be able to catch up on the deficit pretty quickly.”
Friday will be dry and less humid with a high of 78 degrees. But it’s expected to be a wet weekend thanks to Tropical Depression Bill which has dumped heavy rain on parts of the South.
On Saturday what’s left of that storm system will pass over Pennsylvania. “That means an increase in humidity and also shower and thunderstorm activity beginning late in the afternoon,” says Mussoline. “It will continue into Sunday. Showers and thunderstorms could contain locally heavy rainfall. It will be on and off but overall a pretty wet weekend is heading our way.”
Click HERE for the latest AccuWeather forecast.
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