PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Despite the recent precipitation to hit the Philadelphia region in recent days, drought warnings are still in effect for some parts.
In Pennsylvania, Chester County faces an ongoing drought warning because of the lack of rain and the entire state of New Jersey also has a similar warning because it’s seen less rain than expected over the last two years.
It’s something Ray Kruzdlo, the Senior Service Hydrologist at the National Weather Service in Mount Holly has tracked for some time.
“We have been here in New Jersey below normal 21 of the last 24 months,” he said.
He said last year, the region got a little reprieve with some rain heading into the summer months, but that rain frequency has tailed off since the end of last summer and into this year.
Kurzdlo also defined the different categories of droughts and how some combine to create current conditions that lead to warnings. The first category is a meteorological drought, which is the lack of rain the Philadelphia region has experienced of late.
Then there’s a hydrological drought, which is a lack of surface and sub-surface water.
“Surface water can be what your rivers are doing, what your reservoirs are doing — ground water,” said Kuzdlo. “We measure what aquifers are doing.”
An agricultural drought is the hard freeze in April and combined lack of rain impacting fruit trees in parts of the region.
The last category still unseen in the Philadelphia region is a socio-economic drought, and that’s when restrictions are put on water use.