Drought warning, watch lifted for county

Times Leader Staff

HARRISBURG -- Following the recommendations of the Pennsylvania Drought Task Force, the state on Wednesday removed about two-thirds of the state – including Luzerne County – from drought watch and warning status.

DEP lifted the declarations for 46 counties located primarily in central and eastern Pennsylvania. In western Pennsylvania, 21 counties either remain in or were reclassified to drought watch status.

“The remnants of Tropical Storm Nicole dropped 2 to 7 inches of rain above the average for the eastern two-thirds of the state in late September, helping to return stream flow measurements in those regions to normal,” said DEP Secretary John Hanger. “That same weather system bypassed the western part of the state, though, and more recently, ongoing dry conditions have worsened the region’s precipitation deficit, so we’re keeping drought watch designations in place for the time being.”

Effective Wednesday, drought watch and drought warning designations were lifted in 44 counties, including Luzerne, Lackawanna, Wyoming, Schuylkill and Carbon.

A drought watch and drought warning was declared on Sept. 16 after months of below-normal rainfall that resulted in low stream flow conditions and precipitation deficits of as much as 5 inches.