Weather
NJ-PA-DE-MD Drought: Dry Area Shrinks to 27%
Mount Holly, NJ – Drought conditions continue to improve across the Philadelphia/Mount Holly region, although pockets of abnormal dryness remain as groundwater recovery lags.
By Paige Sullivan · 2026-10-01T14:26:12.846Z
Mount Holly, NJ – Drought conditions continue to improve across the Philadelphia/Mount Holly region, although pockets of abnormal dryness remain as groundwater recovery lags.
According to the National Weather Service in Philadelphia/Mount Holly, the U.S. Drought Monitor valid Sept. 29 shows 26.85% of the forecast area classified as abnormally dry or worse. That is down from 36.04% one week earlier.
Moderate drought or worse now covers 2.74% of the area, a sharp decline from 13.60% the previous week. The latest analysis shows no severe, extreme or exceptional drought within the NWS Mount Holly forecast area.
At the same time, 73.15% of the area is now free of drought or abnormal dryness, up from 63.96% a week earlier.
The improvement is even more pronounced compared with early summer. Three months earlier, 99.27% of the forecast area was classified as abnormally dry or worse, while 85.30% was in moderate drought or worse. Severe drought or worse covered 61.70% at that time.
The Mount Holly forecast area includes portions of New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware and northeastern Maryland. The latest map still shows scattered areas of abnormal dryness, along with a smaller pocket of moderate drought.
The NWS said groundwater levels are the primary reason many locations remain classified as abnormally dry, noting that groundwater has not yet recharged sufficiently despite recent improvements.
The U.S. Drought Monitor reflects longer term moisture conditions rather than a short term rain forecast, so classifications can persist even after wetter periods.
Residents can expect future weekly Drought Monitor updates to show whether continued groundwater recharge is enough to remove the remaining pockets of abnormal dryness and moderate drought.