Two days of rain did little to end the state’s drought, according to a meteorologist with the National Weather Serivce in Taunton.
“It certainly provides some short term relief but for the overall drought we would need a couple more of these type storms to put a dent in it,” meteorologist Alan Dunham said. “It takes more than one or two days of heavy rain when you are down as low as we are.”
In Amherst at a co-op observer site, 2.80 inches of rain was recorded over Tuesday and Wednesday, according to Dunham.
At nearby Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. the two days of rain dropped 1.97 inches. Despite the nearly 2 inches, that location is still down a little more than a foot of precipitation from where it was at last year at this time, according to Dunham.
This is the second year the airport has seen below average rainfall. Normally, Dunham said, the site should have had 42.41 inches of rainfall. Instead, it’s only seen 29.99 inches which is less than the previous year’s 34.96 inches.
In Worcester, the two days brought 2.35 inches of rain.
“Even despite all the rain, Worcester is still down for the month,” Dunham said. “For November, it’s still down over 7 inches since the first of the year.”
According to Dunham, Worcester normally should have 44.25 inches instead of 37.13 inches it has received this year.
A large portion of the state is still in extreme drought conditions, according to The National Drought Mitigation Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com