Drought in New York, December 1 to 31, 1998

December was another very dry month across central New York. This culminated a six month period starting back in the early summer of dry conditions. Dry weather and associated drought conditions were most pronounced across the southern tier counties of the state. During December, much of the region received between 1.5 and 2.0 inches of liquid equivalent precipitation. This equates to little more than half the normal precipitation for the month. Precipitation deficits for the six month period between June and December were greatest over the western Catskills, where totals ran as much as 6 to 7 inches below climatological normals. On the 14th, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission decided to issue a drought watch for much of southern New York state within the Susquehanna and Chemung river basins. This watch called for voluntary water conservation. The watch remained in effect through the end of the month.