A good start to the year for rainfall has Delaware battling back against a historic drought.
In the late months of 2024, many places in Delaware and the Northeast U.S. went more than a month without measurable rain. That created severe drought in almost every county in Delaware, luckily right after the heart of growing season. Now, more than a month of solid rainfall has washed away the drought conditions that threatened to bleed into the start of this year’s growing season.
“We’ve had a lot of good steady, not like drenching rain, but steady rains frequently for the last month and a half to two months, that’s really been a key at putting a dent into the drought conditions as of late,” National Weather Service meteorologist Sarah Johnson said.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, Delaware is mostly out of drought conditions as of April 15. Dover and northward are “abnormally dry,” and southern Delaware is experiencing no drought conditions at all.
U.S. Drought Monitor for Delaware on April 15, 2025.
According to the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, New Jersey, Wilmington has had the historical average of rainfall in 2025, around 12 inches. Georgetown has had 14 inches, which is 2 inches above normal for this time of year.
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According to the Delaware Climate Office, April 8-14 was the state’s wettest week since mid-July. The average precipitation in the Delaware Environmental Observing System network was 1.81 inches for the week. In the 30 days preceding April 16, some parts of Sussex County had more than 8 inches of rain. The network average for the 30 days was 6.8 inches, well above the normal total, according to the Delaware Climate Office.
Both Wilmington and Georgetown broke records for dry streaks from October through November. Wilmington broke its record of 34 days with no measurable rain, and Georgetown broke its record of 35. This year’s rain is a welcome development as the growing season begins.
The weather service’s three-month outlook has Delaware with slightly better chances for above-normal precipitation, but the details are not ironed out.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware mostly recovered from historic late 2024 drought
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