As a wildfire grew and forced evacuations west of Boulder on Sunday, the National Weather Service issued yet another red flag weather warning for the region. Forecasters cautioned about wind gusts up to 40 mph, relative humidity as low as 8 percent and the chance for rapid ignition of dry vegetation in sections of Larimer and Boulder counties. If this warning sounds familiar, it’s because forecasters have been issuing similar warnings with seeming regularity throughout this winter of strange weather. In fact, Sunday’s was the eighth red flag warning for lower Larimer County this year, according to the Wellington Fire Protection District. The warning took effect at noon and was set to expire about 7 p.m. Most of the area in Larimer, Boulder and Weld counties is abnormally dry or in a drought, according to an update last week by the U.S. Drought Monitor. A swath across the east side of Larimer County — which includes Fort Collins and Loveland…

With dry start to 2017, Douglas County listed in moderate drought.
Advertisement Douglas County and northeast Kansas are in a moderate drought with no indication that will soon change, despite the expected return of more seasonal temperatures.
Kyle Poage, meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Topeka, said Lawrence has received 1.01 inches of rain so far this year, which is 1.85 inches below normal.
Surrounding readings suggest only a trace of rain fell Monday in Lawrence, although one station a mile south of Eudora reported 1.21 inches from a locally strong storm Monday, Poage said.
The dry start to the year follows a dry 2016.
Poage said Lawrence ended last year with 32.74 inches of rain, or 5.81 inches below normal.
“It’s not going to end the drought, but at least it’s something,” he said.
Although Douglas County hasn’t experienced the devastating and deadly wildfires of central or western Kansas, rural fire departments have battled numerous grass fires the last month fed by the dry late-winter vegetation and blustery winds.
Controlled burns are prohibited on those days when the index is listed as very high, extreme or red flag, she said.
Rural residents are required to notify Douglas County Emergency Communications at 785-843-0250 if they plan to burn so that rural fire departments don’t respond to those reporting controlled burns, Smith said.

After a warm, dry February in Baltimore & D.C. areas, drought persists.
In the first week of March, only about a half-inch of precipitation accumulated while slightly heavier rains only fell around the Cumberland region, which was already relatively wet.
A severe drought is impacting all or part of D.C., Montgomery County, Howard County, Anne Arundel County, Prince George’s County and Prince William County.
A moderate drought is affecting areas in Frederick County, Carroll County, Baltimore City and County, Harford County, Calvert County, Charles County and Saint Mary’s County.
As a result, the Department of the Environment has activated a drought watch in the area.
“Virtually all real-time groundwater monitoring wells are below normal for this time of year, with a few at their lowest levels for this time of year in the last ten years,” the NWS reports.
The warm, dry weather the area saw in February created an early Spring effect, with trees and flowers budding weeks in advance.
In the past 30 days, precipitation has been “just 25-50 percent of normal in the drought-designated areas, and below normal everywhere but the Cumberland, Maryland area.
The good news is that this could change with several chances for rain – and even snowfall – on March 7, and the weekend of March 11th, respectively, and again on March 14.
All in all, drought conditions will likely carry through in March but, the NWS says, “improvement is possible later in the spring.” Time Period DC Baltimore Dulles —————————————————————— Year-to-Date : 6th driest 12th driest 6th driest Last 3 Months (12/6 – 3/5): 13th driest 14th driest 7th driest Last 6 Months (9/6 – 3/5) : 3rd driest 10th driest 2nd driest Last 12 Months (3/6 – 3/5): 7th driest 13th driest 3rd driest

Orange County Remains In Moderate Drought, NWS Says.
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA — What a difference a few months make.
In September of 2016, the start of the water year, the National Weather Service said that the majority of California was in moderate to exceptional drought conditions.
Orange County, at that time, was listed from intensity ranging from Extreme Drought to Exceptional Drought.
Five months later, after one of the rainiest winters on record, the new drought monitor was released.
"With the recent heavy rains, Orange County remains classified in Moderate Drought," the NWS said.
Most of Riverside and San Diego counties were downgraded from Moderate Drought to Abnormally Dry, a substantial difference.
According to rainfall totals from the National Weather Service, a few notable totals in Orange County included Santa Ana, with just less than 16 inches of rain, and Fullerton, with just more than 16 inches of rain, both hovering at 159 percent of normal.
Anaheim, not far away, has received rainfall totaling 21.5-inches, hovering at 216 percent of normal.
"It has been a very wet rainy season in Southern California so far, with many stations receiving more than 150% of their normal precipitation through the end of February for the current ‘water year,’" The National Weather service reported.