Drought conditions remain mostly unchanged in Maine, with little short-term relief ahead in the form of precipitation.
An area along coastal Maine roughly between Portland and Bar Harbor remains under extreme drought, which is the second highest drought condition.
Severe drought has grown slightly in the past week to now cover more than half the state.
All of Maine is under at least moderate drought. Forecasters are predicting any significant rainfall in only one of the next 10 days.
More than 1.3 million Mainers live in some sort of drought condition.
The entire state became emersed in drought on Sept. 10, while extreme drought became present the next week on Sept. 17.
The fall outlook from the National Weather Service calls for above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation.
Maine experienced its most damaging drought between 1999 and 2002, during which an estimated 17,000 private wells ran dry, and farmers lost more than $32 million in crop yield.
More recently, Maine experienced significant droughts in both 2016 and 2020-2022, with widespread impacts to water supply, agriculture, and recreation.
