BANGOR, Maine - The dry conditions that have plagued much of New England this summer are expanding, and will persist through the harshest months of winter.
That's according to the latest predictions released by the National Integrated Drought Information System, which also show drought conditions pushing north of the state's central highlands and into Aroostook County.
The news is especially unwelcome by those who rely on private wells. "You'll see people running out of water," says Hydrologist Tom Hawley with the National Weather Service.
Hawley says the condition of wells next spring will depend heavily on whether Maine gets adequate snowfall this winter. "Once that snow melts, it percolates into the ground and starts recharging the ground water in the spring. We certainly don't want to see a winter like we had last winter, where the snow disappeared before March."
Hawley says ground water recharges very little in winter when the ground is cold; the water generated from brief freeze-thaw cycles winds up instead in surface sources.
The latest data show the outlook for the drought persisting at least to the end of February.
