Drought’s Waterloo? Strong storms, heavy rain due
Up to 2 inches of rain possible; outside shot at severe weather.
At mid-month, Pennsylvania's drought task force is scheduled to meet to talk about the region's ongoing drought watch, which seems to have more staying power than a spring cold.
The overall precipitation landscape has improved dramatically in the last three months, but rainfall for the last 30 days remains substantially below normal in all eight counties.
That could change by day's end on Friday as a potent storm migrates toward the Mid-Atlantic coast, and the National Weather Service is calling for 1 to 2 inches of rain.
The Storm Prediction Center, in Norman, Okla., lists a "slight risk" of severe weather — winds approaching 60 mph — through the entire region.
A flow from the south will import moist air ahead of the mass of showers, the storm center says.
So far, the weather service hasn't issued any flood watches. This time of year, the foliage develops a mighty thirst, and stream levels remain quite unimpressive.
Groundwater supplies have been stubbornly low, and that is one reason that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has continued the drought watch in Philadelphia and its neighboring counties.
Friday might well be the drought's last stand.