Drought problems continue in PA

(Harrisburg) — Eight counties in central and eastern Pennsylvania are still under a drought warning while 26 face a drought watch and residents in many of these counties have been asked to limit their water use since August.

Drought watches and warnings remain in effect for another month, and officials are once again asking residents to be water conscious.

Deborah Klenotic with the Department of Environmental Protection says one challenge to overcoming these drought warnings is that a number of counties are as much as 7 inches of precipitation below what is normal.

“So even if we get some rain, some snow; it’s taking the edge off, but in many of the central and eastern counties in Pennsylvania it’s not bringing the number back up to normal,” she said.

While it’s a little unusual for a drought to last this long in Pennsylvania, it has happened before.

In 2010, drought watches persisted into December for some western PA counties.