Rainfall between September and February remains about 12 inches below average.
By: David Campbell
March rains did little to ease the drought in New Jersey, according to the state’s climatologist.
Precipitation in March statewide was 4.26 inches, which is slightly above the 4.17 average, State Climatologist David Robinson said Thursday.
March brought the first above-average rainfall the state has witnessed since June. Rainfall between September and February has been around 12 inches below average. The March rains ended the drought’s "downward spiral," but not the drought itself, Mr. Robinson said.
"The good news is that we didn’t have a dry month," he said. "The bad news is we didn’t do anything to chip away at the deficit."
Gov. James E. McGreevey on March 4 issued an executive order declaring a statewide water emergency, and a week later the state Department of Environmental Protection issued a nine-page administrative order imposing mandatory outside-use water restrictions, which remain in effect.
Mr. Robinson said some more good news is an increase in reservoir levels from 40 to 50 percent, but the bad news, he said, is that they’re still 40 percent below normal.
"The fact your feet might be getting muddy underfoot shouldn’t fool people the rain eliminated the drought," he said. "It is still a significant drought. It will take many months of normal rainfall to climb out of what is a very deep hole."
Mr. Robinson said the forecast for the first 10 days in April looks dry despite the precipitation on Wednesday, which he said was minor.
"It doesn’t look good in the short term to get much precipitation here," he said. "Beyond that, we don’t know. It’s wait and see."