Pittsburgh Region Faces Unprecedented Dry Spell This August

Pittsburgh, PA — The Pittsburgh region is experiencing an unusually dry August, with no rainfall recorded in the first 10 days. The last time this occurred was in 1887, during Grover Cleveland‘s first term as president, according to the National Weather Service.

“We’re around Day 15 of no rain in the area, which is not typical, especially for August,” said NWS Meteorologist Shannon Hefferan. She noted that while precipitation levels were average in late July, the lack of rain since then has pushed them below normal.

In June, southwestern Pennsylvania received nearly 5.6 inches of rain, but over 25% of that fell on a single day, June 27. July brought 2.27 inches, which is nearly two inches beneath the annual average. Since a storm on July 16 that delivered just over an inch of rain, the region has seen less than half an inch of precipitation.

Neil Palmer, the owner of Palmers Farm in Greensburg, shared his concerns about the impact on his corn crop. “May was incredibly wet, and that continued into June,” he said. “My fields finally started to dry out around mid-June, and through July it was a nice balance of warmth and sun with some rain here and there.” However, he added that the last two weeks have been challenging. “In the heat of summer, sweet corn uses about a quarter-inch of water every day. We’re pretty far behind that, so we’ve been doing a lot of irrigation. Without that, I’d be sitting here getting nervous.”

While weather forecasts indicate rain is expected on Wednesday, the amount may not suffice. Palmer expressed a desire for rain but with caution. “If a really dry field gets heavy rain, it will just wash off. You don’t want it all at once,” he noted.

Hefferan explained that dry ground can become hard and unyielding when rain hits. “It needs some gradual rain to wet the ground and start the water absorbing,” she said.