Downpours may return this weekend as rains put a serious damper on drought conditions

They would be unrelated to Hurricane Ernesto — which is forecast to track hundreds of miles off the coast and rough up the ocean — but episodic downpours during the weekend could result in fresh rounds of flash flooding.

At least, it appears that the region won’t have to worry about drought for awhile.

The National Weather Service says that in addition to a flash-flooding potential Saturday afternoon into Sunday evening, severe storms are possible Sunday. The government’s Weather Prediction Center sees a 50-50 chance of “excessive” rainfall during the weekend.

The rains, which once again are likely to be capricious, are associated with an approaching cold front that eventually will cool things off quite significantly next week when on some days the temperatures may not reach 80.

Officially at Philadelphia International Airport, the temperature hasn’t seen 90 since Aug. 6 and it’s not heading back there in the foreseeable forecast future.

In the meantime, rain deficits have been routed throughout the region, and some areas are likely to build on surpluses.

“The rain rally had everything to do with last week’s downpours mined from tropical moisture,” said Curtis Riganti, with the National Drought Mitigation Center in Lincoln, Neb., which compiles the nation’s weekly drought map.

“Rains from Debby helped a lot with dryness in the Philadelphia area and across parts of the East Coast,” he said.

Before those sometimes-random tropical-origin rains arrived last week, every county in the region was running rain deficits and portions of Northeast Philly and Bucks and Burlington Counties were in states of “moderate drought,” according to the drought center.

But Philly’s official rain total this month is just over 3.5 inches, about double normal. And as of this Thursday’s update, no part of the region is in moderate drought, although parts of Philly, Bucks, and Burlington are considered “abnormally dry.” Even those distinctions could disappear with next week’s updated.

Plus, the National Centers for Environmental Prediction sees little chance of drought conditions developing through November.

At the Shore, Saturday should be a decent day with sun and highs around 80, and no showers expected before nightfall, the weather service says.

But if you’re planning to take a dip, be aware that Hurricane Ernesto is working the North Atlantic into a foaming frenzy, with rip currents rippling all along the East Coast.

The weather service describes them as “life threatening.”

Also, some coastal flooding is possible during times of high tide, the agency says.

If you’re making a week of it, the weather looks splendid from Tuesday on, with highs mostly in the 70s, and nights so cool you might not need the A/C.