PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 10, 2020
The entire state of Maine is now officially experiencing drought conditions. “The last time we were in this widespread and severe of a drought was in the summer of 2002,” said meteorologist Michael Clair of the National Weather Service in Gray.The U.S. Drought Monitor map of Maine, released Thursday, classifies most of the state as in moderate drought, with parts of Aroostook, Piscataquis, Washington, Penobscot, Somerset and York counties in severe drought. Although no areas of Maine have reached either of the two most serious stages of drought – extreme or exceptional – Aroostook potato farmers have expressed concern about the impact of the prolonged dry weather on their crop.