WASHINGTON — The soaking thunderstorms of June are a distant memory. Lawns have turned brown and dusty across many parts of the region where rainfall has been scarce over the past couple of months.
The D.C. region is experiencing a short-term rainfall deficit of between 1 and 2 inches, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service.
Most of D.C., as well as the nearby suburbs, have seen only 25 to 50 percent of the normal amount of rain in August, including locales in central Montgomery County in Maryland and Fairfax County in Virginia.
Neighborhoods in Upper Marlboro, Brandywine, Waldorf and Mechanicsville in southern Maryland are particularly parched. Some places have seen less than an inch of rain since late July.
There is no significant precipitation in the forecast through the end of the week, according to the National Weather Service in Sterling, Virginia.
D.C. averages 2.93 inches of rain in August; the 1.16 inches observed so far at Ronald Reagan National Airport would make this the driest August since 2006.
Scattered thunderstorms last Thursday revitalized the landscape in parts of Prince William, Loudoun and Fauquier counties.
About 1 to 2 inches of rain fell between Culpeper, Manassas and Middleburg, but very little fell inside the Beltway. A few isolated storms delivered more rain to the same areas, as well as parts of Anne Arundel County earlier this week.
The recent hit-or-miss storms have largely missed Montgomery County, where some towns have seen virtually no measurable rain since Aug. 5.
August is normally the second driest month of the year in D.C. The region’s average rainfall increases next month since tropical systems graze the area most often in September.
Thanks to above average snowfall and numerous June thunderstorms, there is a surplus of precipitation to date for the entire year. The 32.89 inches recorded since Jan. 1 is 6.84 inches above normal for the year.
