The latest dry stretch of weather will reach 14 days on Saturday.
AccuWeather meteorologist Chad Merrill says it’s the second driest stretch in history for our region.
When you factor in August 1 through September 18, it’s been the second driest strength in that time period, in Pittsburgh, with a total of 1.97 inches of rain,” said Merrill.
Merrill says the next chance for rain is Monday or Tuesday with a pattern change coming later next week, “That will bring us, at least, a couple of showers, maybe even an occasional period of rain.”
The lack of rain is putting stress on local crops.
Adam Voll, Farm Manager at Soergel Orchards in Wexford tells KDKA Radio that many of their apple trees are going into early dormancy “to conserve energy and moisture.”
“A lot of pumpkins and that sort of stuff, those plants are showing the stress too, they're starting to shut down and shrivel up,” added Voll.
He says they’re using extra water from available ponds on the property and, in some cases, using municipal water.
With that comes extra cost.
The harvest times for many products, including apples, are happening up to a week earlier due to the lack of rain.
The good news, most everything that is currently dormant will come back when we finally start to get some rain.