Friday’s drizzle still didn’t end Philly’s record-setting dryness streak

It was a record-setting October in Philadelphia.

The region had its driest month since recordkeeping began in 1872, going all 31 days without measurable rain, confirmed meteorologist Patrick O’Hara with the National Weather Service in Mount Holly. Philadelphia also tied a record set in 1946 for the hottest Halloween, with temperatures clocking in at 82 degrees as early trick-or-treaters were greeted with sweaty — as opposed to spooky — vibes.

The rainless streak was holding steady Friday, even as rain began drizzling over the region around 7:40 a.m. The sprinkles continued until the late morning, but didn’t do much to stem the persistent dryness that has overtaken the region, O’Hara said, as the rainfall wasn’t enough to officially measure.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection declared that 35 of the state’s counties are officially under drought conditions as of Friday, including Philadelphia, Chester, Bucks, Delaware and Montgomery Counties.

“While not required, residents and businesses are encouraged to voluntarily conserve water by reducing nonessential water use. Public water suppliers may request water conservation measures to ensure reliable delivery of drinking water,” the department said in a statement, also noting that the dry conditions were bringing an elevated risk for wildfires.

» READ MORE: October was Philly’s first rainless month in 153 years of recordkeeping

In Pennsylvania, officials take into account rainfall, as well as soil moisture, groundwater levels, stream flow, and information from public water suppliers before making drought declarations. In New Jersey, residents have been asked to voluntarily conserve watch since mid-October, when state officials declared a drought watch.

All 195 counties served by the weather service’s Middle Atlantic Forecast Center — which extends from Upstate New York to Virginia — reported below-normal precipitation levels for the 30-day period that ended on Oct. 30, prompting the weather service to issue a red flag warning through 7 p.m. Friday due to a mixture of strong winds and low humidity that could cause any fires that develop to “quickly get out of control and become difficult to contain.”

Philadelphia went all of October with just a “trace” of rain, falling below the 0.01-inch threshold for rainfall to be considered “measurable.” The prior months’ rainfall also barely qualified; only 0.77 inches of rain were recorded at the Philadelphia International Airport in September. The U.S Drought Monitor maintained by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln still has most of Philadelphia region in “severe drought” conditions.

As of Friday, Philly has experienced 35 consecutive rainless days, surpassing an 1874 record of 29 days.

» READ MORE: N.J. declares drought watch and asks residents to conserve water.

After Friday’s light drizzles, the Philadelphia region is forecast to be rain-free until late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning. Still, even that bout of precipitation may not be enough to quell the drought, said AccuWeather senior meteorologist John Feerick.

“The front that’s coming in during the middle of the week doesn’t look like it’s going to bring in a lot of rain,” Feerick said. “Just some showers, probably nothing terribly heavy at all.”

» READ MORE: Pennsylvania declares drought conditions in 35 counties, including Philly

To reverse course, Feerick said, the atmosphere would need to provide a “a good soaking rain,” nothing heavy enough to cause flooding, but long and steady enough to be consequential.

The Philadelphia region’s long-term dryness stems from a “high pressure front that kind of parked itself” over the east to mostly repel any inkling of moisture (until Friday morning, that is), O’Hara said. The only thing that changed over the past day to even allow some droplets to sneak through is an impending cold front that will bring high temperatures down to the low 60s on Saturday and Sunday, more in line with what we expect from fall weather.

» READ MORE: N.J. cranberry farms struggle amid worst drought many have ever seen

Weather enthusiasts also spotted a faint rainbow over Philadelphia that coincided with the final tidbits of sunrise just moments before the drizzles began Friday morning.

“Caught this image of a rainbow at 7:30 am at 58th and Walnut Street here in West Philadelphia this morning,” former Philadelphia radio personality Carl Manley posted to Facebook Friday. “It’s trying to rain here in Philadelphia, but it just can’t.”

Feerick said he saw the rainbow from his home in Northeast Philly. Those ROYGBIV-tinted arches can — in fact — occur without actual rainfall, he said. Rainbows generally form when light strikes a raindrop and is reflected back into the sky.

In this instance, however, “it probably was a situation where rain was falling but it wasn’t actually reaching the ground,” Feerick said. Call it a little post-Halloween magic.