On Dec. 5, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) issued a drought warning for the state. It brings back not-so-distant memories of barely flowing streams and record dry weather. However, unlike the previous drought warning, Jersey Shore fares the best in the state this time around.
A drought warning is not an emergency yet — it’s an early step to manage water supplies when a drought is starting to happen. It comes after a drought watch, but before a full drought emergency. The main goal of a drought warning is to stop things from getting so bad that the state must declare a real water emergency.
“All New Jerseyans are requested to follow water conservation practices, and to use water wisely, particularly when using water outdoors,” the NJDEP wrote in their statement.
To be clear, there are no state mandatory water restrictions in place. That can only be issued if the governor declares a drought emergency. However, like we saw with New Jersey American Water last fall, water companies can issue their own restrictions to users.
The last drought warning was in effect from November 2024 to June 2025. That came just after the driest autumn on record for New Jersey. Even after June, the NJDEP still had Atlantic and Cape May counties on a drought watch, to increase our awareness of the impact on our water supply.
In the previous drought warning, the Jersey Shore had the most severely dry conditions. This time though, the coast is making out better than our friends to the west and north.
The United States Drought Monitor, which is unaffiliated with the NJDEP, issues drought updates every Thursday, using data from the previous Tuesday.
As of Dec. 4, the most recent update at the time of this writing, Cape May County, from Sea Isle City to Dennis on south, is in the first stage of drought, called “moderate drought.” The rest of the Jersey Shore is completely drought-free, though. Data shows that 55% of New Jersey is in drought, though.
Most of that is on the Delaware Bayshore and then roughly the New Jersey Turnpike northwest. About 10% of the state is in the second level of drought, known as severe drought. That’s mainly in Sussex, Salem and Cumberland counties.
The drought monitor looks mainly at the precipitation, soil, rivers and plants. Meanwhile, the NJDEP focuses on reservoirs and drinking water. Both are useful tools, though we in New Jersey will act based on the NJDEP, not the drought monitor.
Either way, both agree that the Jersey Shore is least impacted by drought.
The simplest answer to our improved circumstances here is the rain. The Jersey Shore climate region, generally east of the Garden State Parkway, had the most among the Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist’s three state climate regions since drought ended in June until October.
Coast – 18.21 inches
South – 16.71 inches
North – 16.22 inches
Then came November. It was drier than average. Cape May and Atlantic counties picked up between 1 to 2.25 inches of precipitation. The average for November is 3.37 inches at Atlantic City International Airport, and 3.44 inches at Sen. Frank S. Farley Marina in Atlantic City, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. So, it was dry.
It was even drier than average in the north. November in Boonton (Morris County) and Belvidere (Warren County) were among the driest 20% on record.
At the same time, the shore continues to pick up the most from whatever rainmakers we get. On Dec. 2, over an inch fell in Egg Harbor Township, Cape May Court House and Atlantic City. Much of Northwest New Jersey had less than a half inch.
However, we need to look at more than just what’s happened recently to get a picture of our drought situation. Drought usually is long term, occurring over multiple years. We’re probably in the middle of one. We’ll improve at times, but the ground in New Jersey is dry and has been dry for at least a year. A wetter month here and there is good. A months-long, sustained period of ample rain and snow is needed to buck this trend, though.
Groundwater levels and stream flows over the past 90 days are “extremely dry” in the Coastal South region, according to the NJDEP’s Nov. 30 update. That’s roughly Toms River to Seaside Heights on south. It’s been this way for multiple weeks. We rely on groundwater from the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer for our freshwater needs.
There was improvement during the summer, but we haven’t been “near or above normal” in at least a year.
Like last year, having a drought during the cool season is better than having one during the warm season. Sprinklers are turned off, pools and water parks are closed and water usage is just less. Moreover, the sun is weak and doesn’t evaporate as much water as in the summer.
So, does that give us enough runway to pull out of this drought? NOAA believes so. For the areas the US Drought Monitor has in a drought now, an improvement is expected over the winter according to their Nov. 30 update. For December, there is a lean toward a wetter (perhaps whiter) than average month.
For now, reduce water usage where you can. It’s not as big of a problem as last winter. This will be monitored closely.
Joe Martucci, a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and Digital Meteorologist, is the President and Director of Meteorology for Cup A Joe Weather and Drone. You can connect with him at cupajoe.live.
