Could Tompkins County have another drought this summer?.
And the summer after that.
And the summer after that.
According to early predictions from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, Tompkins County – and the whole of the northeastern United States – is on course for another summer marked by above average temperatures.
Between 1895 and 2011, temperatures in the Northeastern United States have increased by almost 2˚F and, with it, high volume precipitation events have increased by more than 70 percent since 1958, according to figures from the 2014 National Climate Assessment while concurrently, droughtlike conditions related to bouts of extreme heat are predicted to intensify.
None of this definitively means there will be a drought this summer: as climatologists can only determine the outlook for precipitation about 14 days out (it looks like the next two weeks will be fairly wet, Spaccio said), it is almost impossible to predict whether or not all the pieces will fall into place leading to another drought, especially when the water table is at a healthy level.
“Right now, (a drought) is not expected,” Spaccio said.
“But conditions can change and, if we were to get a change in the weather conditions, we’d reexamine that.” But, she said, the conversation on summer droughts may soon become a regular occurrence at the start of every summer.
“We are expecting to see more of these long and short term droughts due to the effects of climate change,” she said.
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Gov.
Daugaard issues state Of emergency for drought conditions.
PIERRE – Gov.
Dennis Daugaard has declared a statewide emergency because of the ongoing drought conditions in South Dakota.
As part of the State of Emergency, the state will ease haying and transportation restrictions to assist agriculture producers.
Effective immediately, farmers and ranchers may cut and bale state highway ditches adjacent to their property across the entire state.
For safety reasons, mowing in the medians of divided four-lane highways is prohibited and a permit is still required for mowing interstate right-of-ways.
Producers are also reminded to be watchful of traffic along the highways and to always yield to oncoming traffic.
With the emergency drought disaster declaration federal trucking regulations are waived for the transportation of goods such as hay.
FMCSA regulations ranging from 390-399 are waived for the next 30 days.

Rain leads to amazing drought bust.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – From drought to flood, weeks of rainfall has erased northeast Florida’s drought.
The timing and amount of rain brought an amazing end to the fire season.
Over a foot of rain has fallen over Jacksonville in the last several weeks surpassing the entire year’s meager rain accumulation.
Jacksonville International only had 8.4 inches of rain for the year on May 20.
Below average rain since February dried out Florida and Georgia resulting in shriveled lakes and massive wildfires across the Okefenokee Swamp.
The drought dried up the water in the bog, killing vegetation which provided unprecedented fuels to power fires caused by lightning strikes and heat.
A stalled front and ample tropical moisture flowing into the state kickstarted the rainy summer storm season.
The First Coast began drying out after Hurricane Matthew and by November nearly 40% of the state was abnormally dry in 2016.
Parched conditions increased by March with 90% in a dry state and more than 50% in a serious D1 moderate to a D4 exceptional drought The rainy season in Jacksonville typically begins during the early part of June as humidity increases and heat sets up sea breeze collisions that generate afternoon thunderstorms.

NEWS WORTH NOTING: Butte Creek salmon recovery efforts celebrated: Weekly Water and Climate Update: Snowpack persists in the mountains of the West.
Butte Creek Salmon Recovery Efforts Celebrated 20th Anniversary of Restoration Efforts that Have Led to Significant Salmon Recovery DURHAM – Partners from state and federal agencies, conservation organizations, water districts, and farmers today commemorated the 20th anniversary of restoration efforts on Butte Creek that have led to a significant recovery of spring-run Chinook salmon.
The Butte Creek Fish Passage Improvement projects are located along 90 miles of the middle reach of Butte Creek, comprising one of the nation’s most significant fisheries restoration efforts.
Today, as a result of the Butte Creek Fish Passage Improvement projects, in tandem with a valuable food supply and safe rearing habitat in the Sutter Bypass wetlands, more than 10,000 spring-run salmon return on average to Butte Creek.
“The Butte Creek effort is a leading example of how regional leaders are working to re-establish the natural connection between water and the landscape, providing functional and targeted flows that are directly tailored to benefit salmon and other species,” said Ted Trimble, General Manager, Western Canal Water District.
“And the results of these efforts are real, they are making a difference.” There are many reasons for this success including water management in the upper reach of Butte Creek that provides well-timed functional flows for spawning and holding habitat; the Butte Creek fish passage improvement projects along the middle reach of the creek, including the Gorrill Ranch diversion and the Western Canal Gary Brown siphon; and fish food production and safe rearing habitat for juvenile fish in the lower reach of the creek flowing through the wetlands created by the Sutter Bypass.
“The Butte Creek restoration projects happened because of the cooperation between the different communities involved.
The report focuses on seasonal snowpack, precipitation, temperature, and drought conditions in the U.S. A combination of widespread June snowstorms and cool temperatures has slowed snowmelt at high-elevation Snow Telemetry (SNOTEL) sites in June.
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Drought conditions over the northern Plains may expand across more of the north-central United States as the summer progresses.
Most summer rainfall over the U.S. Great Plains is produced by large complexes of thunderstorms during the summer.
"We expect a large area of high pressure to become a semi-permanent feature over the Central states this summer," according to AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok.
"If the high pressure area develops as we believe, the large complexes of thunderstorms will be lacking, rainfall will be limited and heat will build to well above-average levels," Pastelok said.
Considering the high evaporation rates in the summer, not enough rain may fall to avoid a broad expanding area of drought in parts of the central Plains and Midwest.
"The area where we are most concerned about drought conditions developing and expanding as the summer progresses is eastern Nebraska, Iowa, northern Missouri, South Dakota, southern Minnesota and perhaps parts of eastern Kansas," Pastelok said.
The drought could become significant enough to impact agriculture in the region, including the corn crop.
There has been some rain in part of the area over the past 10 days, and some additional rain will fall over the next week or so.
For most of the region, the critical time for corn is during July, according to AccuWeather’s team of agricultural meteorologists.
However, even one complex of drenching thunderstorms can have a positive effect on corn and other crops during July.

(AP) — Drought conditions in South Dakota haven’t changed much over the past week.
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor map shows about 80 percent of the state being either abnormally dry or in some stage of drought, up just slightly from last week.
The area of severe drought is north central South Dakota.
Much of the rest of the northern half of the state is rated in moderate drought.
Areas not rated as being dry are most of eastern South Dakota, along with areas along the border in the southwest and south central parts of the state.
The areas of severe drought are in central and south central North Dakota and the far northwestern corner of the state.
The Red River Valley is classified as abnormally dry, along with the far southwestern corner of North Dakota.
(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.
All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

SMAP’s first year of observational data has now been analyzed and is providing some significant surprises that will help in the modeling of climate, forecasting of weather, and monitoring of agriculture around the world.
These new results are reported in the journal Nature Geosciences, in a paper by SMAP Science Team leader Dara Entekhabi, recent MIT graduate Kaighin McColl PhD ’16, and four others.
The SMAP observations are providing an unprecedented level of detailed, worldwide information on the amount of water in those top 2 inches (5 centimeters) of soil, collected globally every two to three days.
The oceans, containing 97 percent of Earth’s water, provide a major role in storing and releasing heat, but over land that role is provided by the moisture in the topmost layer of the soil, albeit through different mechanisms.
The difference between the two weights gives a precise measure of the soil’s moisture content in that volume, which can be compared with the satellite’s moisture measurement.
"Study tracks ‘memory’ of soil moisture: First year of data from SMAP satellite provides new insights for weather, agriculture, and climate."
ScienceDaily, 16 January 2017.
Study tracks ‘memory’ of soil moisture: First year of data from SMAP satellite provides new insights for weather, agriculture, and climate.
Retrieved June 9, 2017 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170116121807.htm Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"Study tracks ‘memory’ of soil moisture: First year of data from SMAP satellite provides new insights for weather, agriculture, and climate."

Group say Connecticut drought advisory can now be lifted.
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A coalition of state agencies says the drought advisory issued last summer in Connecticut can now be lifted.
Democratic Gov.
This development comes after much of Connecticut received above-normal precipitation in May.
Last October, the workgroup issued its’ first-ever “drought watch” for most of Connecticut.
Residents, businesses and local governments were urged to voluntarily reduce water usage by around 15 percent.
The workgroup is still asking people to practice smart water conversation techniques.
Those can include steps such as stopping indoor and outdoor plumbing leaks and replacing old toilets.
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A statewide drought advisory issued for Rhode Island in August has been lifted.
Everything’s green now.
That’s a far cry from last summer, when Tiverton firefighters couldn’t tap Nonquit Pond because it was 3/4 empty.
The Drought Classifications range from minimal to bad this way: “normal,” “advisory,” “watch,” “warning,” and “emergency.” Dry conditions worsened last summer with lack of rainfall, and the official first level “Drought Advisory” was issued.
“There are impacts on stream flows and the groundwater conditions in Rhode Island, and everybody doesn’t necessarily see those impacts on a day to day basis,” Kathleen Crawley of the Rhode Island Water Resources Board said.
The Scituate Reservoir in Rhode Island is full now.
The reservoir was designed with a “worst case drought scenario” in mind.
While the drought is over, it’s important to note historically they happen every 10 years or so here, of varying intensity, sometimes lasting in extreme cases in four and five year stretches.
Meanwhile, Water Resources Board Chairwoman Susan Licardi said Rhode Islanders should continue to keep water conservation in mind year-round.
Conservation also helps our water suppliers manage peaks in demand, so pay attention to notifications from suppliers and be sure to adhere to the guidelines set by your city or town.” The Water Resources Board recommended the following steps for indoor and outdoor water conservation: Don’t water during the hottest part of the day when most water evaporates (10 a.m. – 2 p.m.); Try not to "over-water" your lawn.

Near drought conditions concern local farmers.
VIOLA, Illinois – Farmer Chad Bell dealt with a wet May while trying to plant his corn, and now can only hope rain will fall soon to keep the crops alive.
"Everyday without rain means a few less dollars in our pocket.
The soil is bone dry and Bells’s corn is rolling, the plant’s leaves turning inward.
A few of the corn plants are turning a grayish color, and aren’t the usual healthy green.
"Not good," he said.
As long as it rains, soon.
"It’s salvageable.
But, with how dry it’s been right now, we may shave off some yields and in the end, it will cost us some money," Bell said.
"Someday, it will rain.