Weeks into fall, drought is still firmly in place from York County to Waldo County, and the latest forecast offers little sign of relief.
The U.S. Drought Monitor’s newest map shows all of Maine in at least moderate drought. Nearly half the state is in severe drought or worse. About five percent, mostly along the coast, is classified as extreme drought, the second-highest category on the federal scale.

A pocket of extreme drought has sat along the shore from northern Cumberland County into southern Waldo County since mid-September. That pocket has shrunk slightly in recent weeks, but the region remains one of the driest in New England.

Parts of Maine received less than half their normal rainfall last week, and next week isn’t likely to help. The Climate Prediction Center’s outlook for Oct. 19–23 favors drier and warmer-than-normal weather across the Northeast.