PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Philadelphia region is in the midst of a record-breaking dry spell, with more than 30 days without measurable rain.
Bob Larson, senior meteorologist for Accuweather, says October is usually a dry month, but this “takes the cake.”
“We've never seen anything quite like this,” he said.
Larson says we have not had measurable rain since the end of September, breaking a record from 1874.
“Since the start of June heading into summer, we were about four inches behind average before this dry stretch even started. So it's just something that began over the summer and has been greatly magnified these past five weeks or so,” he said.
With this lack of rain, the New Jersey Fire Service says vegetation on the ground is dry and could quickly become fuel for fires; something as small as a lit cigarette could ignite it.
The entire state is under Stage 3 fire restrictions, which means fires in wooded areas are prohibited unless they’re contained a certain way; charcoal fires are banned.
Over the last two weeks, New Jersey fire crews have battled wildfires across the state, with the most recent one Wednesday in Burlington County. As of 7 p.m., officials say a wildfire that started near Sycamore Avenue in Evesham Township is about 50% contained. Though five structures are threatened, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service says nobody has been evacuated.
“The water tables are greatly reduced, we desperately need rain at this point,” Larson said.
Larson says there’s a chance for a possible light shower early Friday, with another small chance of rain late Sunday afternoon, but even if it does rain, it won’t be enough.
“We did not get into this drought overnight, we're not getting out of it overnight. It will take several soaking rainstorms to get us out of this deficit,” he said.