Much of Connecticut is still experiencing a drought despite heavy rain after the July 4th storm.
Parts of the state got more than 5 inches of rain while Danbury got over 6 inches - enough rain to last for two months. But the U.S. Drought Monitor still shows most of Connecticut in a Level 1 moderate drought and parts of Fairfield County in a Level 2 severe drought.
Connecticut’s pattern of drought and heavy rain is not abnormal for the state but it is expected to worsen with climate change, according to Michael Dietz, an educator with University of Connecticut Extension.
“We are oscillating between these very intense [rain] events happening and long periods of drought,” Dietz said, “which is really problematic.”
Droughts are especially problematic for farmers who rely on rain to irrigate their crops, while heavy rain and flood water can contain debris and sewage, contaminating beaches and local residential wells.
“If you have flood waters come up in your yard and you have a private well, that flood water can get into your well and contaminate it, basically. So you would need to chlorinate it, test it,” Dietz said.
Several Connecticut beaches were initially closed after the July 4 storm due to high levels of bacteria.
Those include West Beach in Niantic, Sherwood Island State Park in Westport, Silver Sands State Park in Milford, Chatfield Hollow State Park in Killingworth and Wharton Brook State Park in Wallingford.
The beaches re-opened Friday, according to the state’s park website.
How climate change worsens Connecticut’s pattern of rain and drought
Warmer air can hold more water and it can also drop more water in the form of rain. That means Connecticut’s standard for a ‘once in a 100-year storm’ is changing from approximately 7 inches of rain in 24 hours to a little more than 8 inches, according to Dietz.
“That may not seem like a huge change, but when you think about getting seven inches of rain in 24 hours, everything will be saturated. So now you dump an extra inch on top of that, it's going to generate a lot more runoff and cause a lot more damage to property,” Dietz said.
The state is no stranger to flood damage. Infrastructure repairs were still being paid for in Oxford this year, after a “once in a 1000-year storm” brought 10 inches of rain and washed out several roads in parts of Connecticut in 2024.
At the same time, heavier rain events aren’t always enough to fully counteract the effects of drought.
“During periods of little to no rain, plants will continue to dry out soils and ground water levels will keep dropping because gravity pushes the water out into streams,” said James Knighton, an associate professor at UConn’s department of natural resources and the environment.
“Even if we get a substantial amount of rain, it takes a lot to refill these buckets that plants empty,” Knighton said.
Áine Pennello is a Report for America corps member, covering the environment and climate change for Connecticut Public
