Weather Forecast: Friday Preview

Our next shot at a more widespread rain won't be until Sunday night

The Drought Monitor this week gave us more of what we already know: it's dry and it's getting worse.

While 2-4" of rain fell in Worcester county over the last 7-10 days, it simply wasn't enough to put a serious dent in the drought, as deficits now climb to 4-8" across Southern New England.

We're desperate. While there are many ways to show that - with graphics on low streamflows, record low groundwater levels, or parched soil - the most telling statistic is the measly 3.02" of rain that has fallen since June 1st in Boston, making this the driest summer on record.

Typically in that time period, we see over 9" of rain! Oddly, the city of Tucson, Arizona, in the heart of the Sonoran Desert, has seen almost twice that - 5.98 inches. Sure, they're in what they call the "monsoon season" there, but it's enough to make it their 9th wettest summer on record.

So the beat goes on. Isolated showers flare in the afternoon solely in Western New England for the next few days, while humidity and heat hang on elsewhere.

Our next shot at a more widespread rain won't be until Sunday night and Monday as a slow-moving front passes through. We'll just have to hope that the towns and cities gripped by extreme drought get at least enough to keep the dust down.

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