State environmental officials ended the drought status for Martha’s Vineyard this week, after about a year of dry conditions.
The National Weather Service reports that the weather station at the Island airport recorded nearly seven inches of rain in the month of January. That’s more than double the usual amount of precipitation. Typically the Vineyard sees about three inches each month.
The Massachusetts Drought Management Task Force said in a release that above-normal rainfall amounts across the state allowed them to lift the drought status for every region to a classification of normal. The release states that the rain has helped groundwater levels and rivers and ponds recover after a historically dry summer.
The Vineyard hasn’t been classified by the National Weather Service as normal since a report issued in September 2021.
