‘Extreme drought’ conditions declared in portion of western New Hampshire

(Screenshot: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/)

Much of the southern half of Grafton County and northern pockets of Merrimack and Sullivan counties are experiencing “extreme drought” as of early September, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

The monitor’s latest report, released Thursday, Sept. 11, shows about 7.33% of the state experiencing “extreme drought” conditions.

“Extreme drought occurs when conditions are dry enough to cause water shortages, particularly for agriculture and for residents who rely on well water,” said New Hampshire State Climatologist Mary Stampone in a Sept. 11 email to the Bulletin. Farmers in areas under this classification could see widespread crop loss, according to the National Weather Service.

The monitor relies on data tracking rainfall, stream flow, soil moisture content, reservoir levels, and more to draw its drought maps, according to the website. Extreme drought conditions are the third most extreme of four drought categories represented by the monitor. 

“This time of year, drought can enhance wildfire hazard and negatively impact fall foliage and crop health,” Stampone said. If the ground freezes before the drought ends, she added, it will become more difficult for the ground to “recharge” with groundwater — “essentially locking hydrologic drought in place through the cold season,” she said.

The state recommends mandatory water conservation measures during times of extreme drought, Stampone said, but whether to impose restrictions on water use is ultimately up to municipalities.

Across much of the rest of New Hampshire, a drought of lower classification is ongoing, with most of the northern half of the state experiencing “severe drought,” according to the monitor. Much of the rest of the state is experiencing moderate drought, leaving less than 10% of the state outside the drought conditions — although that area, which stretches between Rockingham and Hillsborough counties, is classified by the monitor as “abnormally dry.”

Despite a rainy spring and early summer, New Hampshire was plunged into drought conditions in a matter of weeks this summer. Stampone said in an interview with the Bulletin earlier in September that such a swing could become characteristic of the state’s changing climate, with rainy springs followed by the potential for hot, dry summers.

Though droughts have long been a reality in New Hampshire, they are becoming more intense with climate change, Stampone said then. The drought conditions have made for a challenging growing season for farmers across the state, who are contending with water scarcity they said has become a seasonal pattern.

And the speed with which the weather can swing from damp to dry makes it important to conserve water even when the need may not seem pressing, she added.

“When we do go into drought, we tend to go into it quickly,” she said. “Water conservation is something that should always be on our minds, even in times when we are wet.”