Has the Recent Rain Helped Harford County’s Drought?

Harford County has been experiencing drought conditions for nearly two years, going back to the fall of 2024. Conditions have improved at different times, but we entered 2026 still dealing with drought.

By March, much of the area was experiencing moderate drought conditions. Things continued to get worse during the spring, and by May 2026, all of Harford County and much of Maryland were experiencing severe drought.

Since then, though, we have finally started to get some rain.

With August turning out to be a much wetter month, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at how much rain we have actually received since May and whether it has been enough to make a difference.

Where Are the Rainfall Numbers Coming From?

For this article I am using rainfall measurements from the Bel Air 1.7 W weather station, identified as MD-HR-11. The station is part of the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network, or CoCoRaHS.

CoCoRaHS is a network of trained volunteer weather observers who measure rain, snow and hail from their homes and other locations. The program started in Colorado in 1998 and now has observers throughout the United States.

I like using this type of data because it gives us a much more local look at what is happening. Rainfall can vary quite a bit over relatively short distances, so a weather station in the Bel Air area gives us a good idea of what has been happening here in Harford County.

Rainfall Since May

Here is what the Bel Air station recorded:

Period	Recorded Precipitation
May 2026	3.59 inches
June 2026	2.76 inches
July 2026	3.08 inches
August 1–18, 2026	5.59 inches
Total, May 1–August 18	15.02 inches

The number that really jumps out is August.

During just the first 18 days of August, the station recorded 5.59 inches of rain. That is more rain than fell during any of the previous three full months.

So yes, the recent rain has helped.

The problem is that we have been running a rainfall deficit for a long time, and one wet month is not enough to completely make that disappear.

We Are Still Behind

Another way to look at it is to compare how much rain we have received this year with how much we would normally expect.

Through August 24, the Bel Air station had recorded about 23.52 inches of precipitation during 2026.

Normally, we would expect about 30.87 inches by the end of August.

That puts us roughly 7.35 inches below normal.

I think this is probably the best number for understanding where we are right now.

We have had quite a bit of rain lately. Your yard may be greener, streams may be flowing better and the ground may not look nearly as dry as it did earlier in the summer.

But we are still trying to make up for a rainfall shortage that developed over many months.

That is one of the tricky things about drought. A couple of good thunderstorms can make everything look better very quickly, but it takes much longer to replace moisture that has been lost from the soil, streams and groundwater.

So, Are We Still in a Drought?

The answer is basically yes, but things are getting better.

The rain we received this summer, and especially during August, has helped improve drought conditions in Harford County. Conditions in parts of southern Harford County have improved compared with where we were during the spring.

But the rainfall numbers also show that we are not completely caught up yet.

Even after a wet August, we are still several inches below the amount of precipitation we would normally expect by this point in the year.

That means what happens during the fall is going to be important.

If we continue to receive normal or above-normal rainfall, drought conditions should continue to improve. If we go back into another long dry stretch, we could lose some of the progress we have made.

And Then There Is El Niño

This also ties into something I wrote about earlier—El Niño and what it could mean for our weather.

If a strong El Niño develops and continues into the colder months, it could have an effect on the weather pattern we see this fall and winter. That makes the next several months especially interesting to watch.

Will we continue to get enough precipitation to finally erase the rainfall deficit we have built up since 2024? And if El Niño becomes a major influence on our winter weather, could that help bring additional precipitation to the region?

Those are questions I will be watching as we move through the fall and into winter.

A Much Better Situation Than We Had in May

For now, I think it is fair to say that Harford County is in a much better position than it was back in May.

We have received some badly needed rain, and August in particular helped.

But after nearly two years of recurring drought conditions, we still have some catching up to do.

One rainy month helps.

A sustained period of normal or above-normal precipitation is what we really need.