Schuylkill County is currently under a Drought Warning.
The dry conditions that have persisted nearly all summer led to that declaration from the Pennsylvania Drought Task Force.
Berks County was also placed under a Drought Warning late last week. They and Schuylkill County are the only two counties in the state to be given that designation.
Thirty-three other counties were placed under a Drought Watch.
According to the US Drought Monitor, which is produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the USDA, and NOAA, Schuylkill County remains under Moderate Drought conditions.
However, that same US Drought Monitor has nearby Berks and Lehigh counties under Severe Drought status.
The Canary recently reported that Schuylkill County hasn’t received at least one-quarter inch of rain in a 24-hour period since late-September and it was just once last month.
Prior to that, it wasn’t until mid-August when Schuylkill County got at least that much rain in a day.
National Weather Service says Schuylkill County is about 8 inches below average in terms of rainfall over the last 2-3 months.
The dry conditions have led to more and more brush fire calls in the county. Over the weekend, crews in central Schuylkill County were called out several times to battle smaller brush fires.
Under a Drought Warning, water conservation is urged but not required. The state is encouraging Schuylkill County residents to reduce water usage by 10-15%.
Should dry conditions persist – and it’s not predicted to rain substantially for at least another week – a Drought Emergency could be issued. Under a Drought Emergency, which is issued by the Governor, emergency water restrictions could be implemented.
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