Drought in New Jersey, September 1 to 27, 1999

The drought that gripped the Middle Atlantic States throughout much of the growing season eased in mid August. Normal and in some cases heavier than normal rainfall returned. On September 14th Governor Christie Whitman lifted the drought emergency and mandatory watering restrictions across the eight southernmost counties in New Jersey (from Burlington and Ocean Counties south.). The drought for all intents and purposes ended with the arrival of the unprecedented rain associated with Hurricane Floyd on the 16th. As much as 14.5 inches of rain (or about 4 months worth of normal rainfall) fell from Floyd across the state. The drought emergency was lifted in the rest of the state by Governor Whitman on the 27th. The heavy rain came too late to help farmers. Agricultural losses throughout the state were estimated at around 80 million dollars. The 1999 corn harvest was only one third of 1998's (3 million vs 9 million bushels). The 1999 soybean harvest of 2.4 million bushels was 25 percent lower than 1998's. Other crops were also lower than 1998's harvest including wheat (down 17 percent) and hay (down 15 percent). The drought also dropped the apple, pumpkin and squash harvest by up to 50 percent as it not only decreased the harvest, but also the size of the crops.