WASHINGTON — The winter drought is easing across the D.C. region.
In a dramatic turnaround, the skies above Washington opened up in February, bringing copious amounts of rain and snow after one of the driest Januarys on record.
The U.S. Drought Monitor, a collaboration between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Drought Mitigation Center, reports the region is no longer in a severe drought.
In some parts of Virginia, heavy rain has completely erased drought conditions. A moderate drought persists along the Interstate 95 corridor, “with slow-to-recover groundwater levels still the greatest impact of this winter’s drought,” according to the drought monitor’s weekly bulletin.
Since the beginning of February, over 4 inches of rain has fallen at Reagan National Airport. Strong storms brought drenching rainfall on Feb. 4 and between Feb. 10 through the Feb. 11. Precipitation has fallen near D.C. on 13 days of the month. So far, D.C. has seen double its normal 2.62 inches of February precipitation.
The region’s three-month precipitation deficit is also shrinking. Most areas are only down about 2 to 4 inches for the season following one of the driest Januarys on record.
Storm Team4 is forecasting more rain later this week.
