Nearly half of Maine is now in at least severe drought

A browning infield is seen at Nadeau Field in Poland on Oct. 1. (Libby Kamrowski Kenny/Staff Photographer)

Experts now estimate that nearly half of Maine is under at least severe drought conditions as the entire state remains mired in a monthslong dry spell that hasn’t been helped by recent rain.

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor map, released Thursday, indicates roughly 46% of the state’s area is in at least severe drought, including 5% — a chunk of coastal Maine — that is experiencing a more dire extreme drought.

No part of the state is yet in exceptional drought, the most serious level.

While the entire state has been under at least moderate drought conditions for multiple weeks, the Drought Monitor reported last week that roughly 19% of the state was experiencing at least severe drought. Now, a large swath of northern Maine has been moved to that designation as well.

That original 19% — an area stretching from northern York County to southern Hancock County, encroaching inward to the Greater Portland, Augusta and Bangor regions — remains virtually unchanged this week. The coastal area of southern and Midcoast Maine under extreme conditions actually shrank slightly.

But a large new zone representing roughly a quarter of the state’s total area — spanning most of Aroostook County, much of northern Penobscot and Piscataquis counties and a slice of Somerset County — is now also under severe drought.

That’s despite recent rain, including a nor’easter that dumped up to 4 inches across the state late last month. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that, as of Tuesday, Maine needs between 9 and 11 inches of rain within a month to break the drought.

The National Weather Service’s Caribou office said Thursday that water levels are starting to near record lows, while groundwater levels remain below normal. And like the nor’easter, any rain this week won’t provide much relief, the weather service added.

Under extreme drought conditions, rivers, streams and wells dry up, crops widely suffer, and disease breaks out among wildlife, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Even under moderate conditions, honey production can decline, bodies of water drop below average levels, and the risk of wildfires increases.

Maine has battled drought conditions for much of the past two years, with conditions at their worst around this time last year. (More than 40% of the state was in extreme drought last October.)

Conditions steadily improved this spring before a dry, warm summer that was the second-hottest on record in Portland.