Drought — Coastal Rockingham, New Hampshire

2020-11-01 to 2020-11-30 · Coastal Rockingham, New Hampshire

Event narrative

The drought peaked in intensity during the first week of October before beneficial widespread rains impacted the state towards the middle of October. Concord received a monthly rainfall total of 5.11, Manchester received 4.01, and Durham received 4.59. Conditions became dry once again during the beginning of November before three soaking rain events impacted the region. Concord received a monthly rainfall total of 4.15, Manchester received 4.26, and Durham received 4.56. Even with the October through November rainfall, deficits since Jan 1st remained at -9.44 at Concord, -9.72 at Durham and -11.14 at Manchester. Drought classification remained the same throughout the entire region during the month of November. D2 and D3 classification remained centered across southeast New Hampshire with no improvements during the entire month. Severe drought impacted 19% of the state with 11% of the state under Extreme drought conditions. Hydrologic conditions began to trend back down to below normal on numerous rivers once again during the first half of November. River levels rebounded to near normal by the close of the month as heavy and frequent rains led to increased river flows. Reservoir levels continued to trend below normal on the upper Connecticut River along with Lake Winnipesaukee before a modest increase towards the end of the month. Overall lake levels were on par with the 2016 drought. The biggest impact of the drought after the growing season ended continued to be below normal soil moisture and ground water. All USGS groundwater wells remained below normal for the month, but most locations began to record significant recharge towards the end of the month. An estimated 1000 private residents had dry wells with state agencies reporting over 100 applicants for well assistance. A final summary of estimated agriculture impacts for the growing season were as followed. Hay crops were greatly impacted with an estimated 30% loss in yield due to the drought. Vegetable production was estimated to be down 15% compared to normal along with a similar reduction in tree fruit, primarily the apple crop. Corn was also impacted with a 15% reduction in yield compared to normal. Overall estimated economic impacts for the drought were 9 million dollars.

Wider weather episode

Dry conditions developed rapidly across New Hampshire starting in the middle of May. The period May 16 to June 25 was exceedingly dry. There was some relief in late June and July, especially in the White Mountains and parts of southwest New Hampshire due to thunderstorm activity. By the middle of August, dry conditions set in again with September being exceedingly dry with some locations reporting their driest September on record. The National Centers for Environmental Information reported that September was the 7th driest on record for New Hampshire. D2 severe drought was confined to coastal New Hampshire, the Merrimack River Valley and the Lakes Region during the beginning of the month. The D2 severe drought rapidly expanded through the entire state by the end of September. An area of D3 extreme drought area developing towards the end of September in Southeast New Hampshire with Strafford County being the hardest hit, along with regions of surrounding counties. The drought peaked in intensity during the first week of October before beneficial widespread rains impacted the state towards the middle of October. Concord received a monthly rainfall total of 5.11, Manchester received 4.01, Whitfield received 5.48, and Durham received 4.59. The first half of November returned to relatively dry conditions once again with well below normal precipitation across the state. Things changed during the second half of November with three soaking rain events that resulted in near to slightly above normal precipitation across Central and Southern NH, with slightly below average north of the White Mountains. Concord received a monthly rainfall total of 4.15, Manchester received 4.26, Whitefield received 2.36, and Durham received 4.56. Drought classification remained the same throughout the entire state during the month of November with the majority of the region remaining in D1 classification. D2 and D3 classification remained centered across southeast NH with no improvements during the month.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 930630. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.