Drought officially erased from NJ, thanks to Debby’s downpours

Winter was wet. Early Spring was wet. And then as Summer began, New Jersey's weather suddenly turned very dry.

Just two months, I wrote a dire article about how a flash drought could spiral into a very serious situation.

"And if the usually-stormy summer season continues to trend dry, I would be concerned about water restrictions, effects on the autumn harvest, and more."

Spiraling into Drought

We started to see the effects of below-normal rainfall, in the form of brown lawns, low streamflow, and elevated fire danger. A few NJ towns even took proactive, preemptive measures to mitigate a potential drought, including mandatory water restrictions.

Those drought concerns peaked in mid-July. The July 16, 2024 Drought Monitor report from the U.S. Drought Mitigation Center showed over 16 percent of New Jersey was classified as being in "Moderate Drought" — the first of four official drought categories. At that time, a total of 60 percent of New Jersey was "Abnormally Dry".

The Big Turnaround

Our weather turned more active in late July and early August, wetting the ground, filling up waterways, and easing drought concerns.

And then along came Debby.

Between August 6 and August 10, the remnants of Hurricane Debby swept several rounds of rain through New Jersey. Including some very heavy downpours.

Every corner of New Jersey got soaked. Some places recorded over 9 inches of rainfall, which sparked bouts of flash flooding.

Tropical rainstorms are very effective drought-enders. And many were speculating that Debby's downpours would do the trick.

On Thursday morning, the latest edition of the U.S. Drought Monitor was issued and confirmed those suspicions.

Looking Ahead

For the first time since June, Moderate Drought is officially gone from the Garden State!

About a quarter of New Jersey is still in the "Abnormally Dry" classification. But I suspect that is a technicality — except in extreme circumstances, the Drought Monitor tends to only change one category (up or down) from week to week. Therefore, I expect more improvements to the next edition of this graphic next week.

Especially since more rain is in the forecast for this weekend. A batch of rain late Saturday and another on Sunday could produce over an inch of rain in spots. That is healthy rainfall, and about on-pace with average rainfall in August — New Jersey's second wettest month of the year.

Hopefully the trend toward at-or-above normal rainfall continues. Overall, this update is great news for the fall harvest season and heading into the drier winter months.

Dan Zarrow is Chief Meteorologist for Townsquare Media New Jersey. Check out Dan's weather blog or follow him on Facebook for your latest weather forecast updates.