The portion of Upstate New York considered abnormally dry (yellow) increased this week (left) over last week, while the areas of moderate drought (tan) and severe drought (orange) remained the same.U.S.
Drought Monitor Syracuse, N.Y. — While the southern part of Upstate New York got drenched again over the past week, the rain stayed away from the Adirondacks and North Country.
Today’s weekly report of the U.S. Drought Monitor shows the drought status is unchanged in parts of the Adirondacks, and Tug Hill and the North Country have gotten drier.
Farmers were already hurting from the lack of rainfall, and their fields were "suffering serious crop stress," said Cornell Cooperative Extension’s North Country team.
"Some hay fields and pastures have come back a little bit from the late summer slouch, but not all."
About 2 percent of New York state, mostly in Essex County, remains in a severe drought, the report said.
The percentage of the state that is abnormally dry increased from 8 percent last week to 20 percent this week.
The report is based on rainfall and conditions as of 8 a.m. Tuesday, so any rain that fell after that wouldn’t be included in today’s report.
The Southern Tier received soaking rain while the northern half of the state got little.
Since June 1, Elmira has received 34 inches of rain, while Saranac Lake has had just 13 inches.

Syracuse, N.Y. — Even as a tropical storm bears down on Upstate New York, drought is worsening in some areas.
For the first time this year, a portion of Upstate New York has reached the "severe drought" stage, according to this week’s report by the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The severe drought, which affects just 3 percent of the state, affects parts of Essex, Clinton and Franklin counties, at the top northeast corner of New York.
"Little or no rain and well above-normal (6 to 10 degrees) temperatures worsened conditions in Upstate northeastern New York," the report said.
The criteria for severe drought includes "crop or pasture losses likely, water shortages common, and water restrictions imposed."
In addition to the severe drought area, 13 percent of New York state remains in a moderate drought, the lowest of the four drought categories.
That area includes the Adirondacks and a small slice of Western New York.
Heavy rain is headed for Upstate New York early next week as a cold front drags in the remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon.
Up to 3 inches of rain could fall, especially in Western New York.
How much rain reaches the drought areas, and how much effect it will have, remains to be seen.

Syracuse, N.Y. — Up to an inch of rain could fall in Upstate New York today and Thursday, helping to ease pre-drought conditions from an extended dry spell.
While few severe storms are expected, isolated thunderstorms could dump heavy rain and cause minor flooding.
"With the locally heavy downpours expected, some minor flooding of low-lying, poor drainage or urban areas cannot be ruled out," said the National Weather Service in Albany, where the heaviest rain is expected.
"This could allow for some minor rises on rivers and streams, but no flooding is anticipated on main stem rivers."
Storms will move quickly, limiting the chances for flooding.
Rain will move into Western New York this morning and reach Central New York by early afternoon.
It could continue on and off through Thursday morning.
Last week, about half of New York state was considered "abnormally dry," the step before a drought is declared.
Therefore, this week’s report won’t include rain from today, so it might exaggerate the extent of dryness.
A heat wave this weekend, however, is likely to exacerbate any potential drought.

State employees working in the Albany office building that’s the tallest in upstate New York are drinking bottled water after a chemical used in mothballs was detected in water samples.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – State employees working in the Albany office building that’s the tallest in upstate New York are drinking bottled water after a chemical used in mothballs was detected in water samples.
The Office of General Services says trace amounts of naphthalene were found in samples taken from faucets inside the 44-floor Corning Tower, located on the Empire State Plaza in downtown Albany.
OGS, headquartered in the tower along with the health department, says the amounts were well below the state and federal drinking water standard for naphthalene.
The tests were conducted Friday after workers complained the water from sinks and fountains was cloudy and had an odor.
OGS is supplying bottled water for workers.
The agency says it’s looking into whether work being done on several water tanks led to the problem.
(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press.
All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)