The D.C. area is experiencing a moderate drought, and officials are on the alert for possible future water shortages.

Photo by Scott ShoremanHave you noticed that it hasn’t rained in a while? We may have dodged Hurricane Earl, but now the D.C. area is facing a drought. In fact, there hasn’t been any significant precipitation since August 23. For the year, rainfall as recorded at National Airport has been off by some 21%. The Capital Weather Gang has a good round-up of the current situation, and they note that things aren’t nearly as bad…

Let’s see. Flash floods and damaging thunderstorms? Check. Crippling snow accumulation? Check. Heat wave after heat wave after heat wave? Check. An earthquake? Check. A hurricane? Check (kinda). What’s missing from that list? How about a drought? Yeah, we haven’t had one of those yet this year…oh wait, never mind. The Washington Council of Governments has issued a drought watch for the D.C. region, which means that you should do the community a solid and…

If there’s one thing that we don’t have inside the corridors of the District, it’s large tracts of farmland. Considering that, you might not be aware that the Washington region is currently experiencing a drought. The Post reports that some sizable rainfalls yesterday around the region helped to reduce the deficit slightly: the weather station at Reagan National Airport measured 0.40 inches, which pushes the total precipitation for the year in D.C. to 6.5 inches….