Last Tuesday, September 23, 69% of Washington County was considered to be experiencing Moderate Drought conditions and 17% of the county was in Severe Drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
That was prior to several days of rain that fell on the area over the preceding week. Drought areas are shown primarily along the Potomac River on the southern border of the county.
Map from the September 23 Drought Monitor map, National Drought Mitigation Center
Neighboring Allegany County showed 31% of its area under Moderate Drought and 3.25% under Severe Drought.
In Garrett County, 44% of the county land area was considered under Moderate Drought and 26% under Severe Drought conditions. In Garrett County, 1.5% of the county – the southwestern portion — was under an Extreme Drought, according to the monitor.
The monitor is operated in partnership with the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
