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Wednesday, July 28, 1999

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

A perspective on the drought

To the Editor:

I have been living in Buckingham Township for 26 years and do not recall such a noticeable effect of drought on the local landscape as I have seen this summer. Many lawns are almost totally brown, rhododendrons are drooping as if it were the dead of winter, and long-established pachysandra are lying limp on the ground, if not browning off altogether.

I also have been keeping precise weather records at my home since I have lived here, and I am able to put some real numbers on the drought in Buckingham Township.

This June was the driest June I have ever witnessed here (0.82 inch of rain). July, with only a few days left, is well on its way to being the driest July I have also seen (so far, 0.28 inch). This total of 1.10 inches of rain is all we have had since May 24, a two-month period that is key to summer agriculture. All of this meager precipitation also fell in tiny doses, hardly enough to wet the surface of the soil.

Since April 1, when the current monthly precipitation deficits began, Buckingham has only received 6.6 inches of precipitation. Based on my 26-year monthly precipitation averages (my "norms"), I have calculated we are 10 inches short for that time period.

Just a few other comments. The drought and the heat wave have a sort of symbiotic relationship. Once established, one tends to strengthen the other. Obviously, the high heat we have been experiencing puts more water stress on the environment, both through usage and evaporation of whatever moisture is left in the surface soil. On the other hand, the lack of ground moisture allows the sun to heat the ground and air next to it more quickly, since less energy is being used for evaporation (like in a desert). Thus it gets hotter, quicker. Additionally, the lack of moisture evaporation depresses the occurrences of opportunistic "pop-up" thundershowers that occasionally give thie area relief.

Richard Hanauer

Buckingham Township