Blame El Nino's sister, La Nina. Cooler waters in the equatorial Pacific help push weather patterns off kilter. Wetter weather has ended up in Minnesota and Michigan instead of Pennsylvania and New York. Over the last 365 days, rainfall is down 7 to 15 inches in many places. So far in June and July, New York City has gotten 1.03 inches of rain, just 14 percent of normal.
Worst hit are the farmers.
In Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, West Virginia and parts of Ohio, officials are considering seeking federal disaster declarations, which trigger low-interest loans. Mike Behrer, a Franklinville, Pa., dairyman, has watched threatening clouds roll thunderously past without dropping much water. Dairy cows are producing 20 to 50 percent less milk than normal. Most farmers can't afford to water their crops, and many are not covered by expensive crop insurance, so without disaster declarations or help from Congress, they'll start the new century behind on the bills. N.J. The drought is turning forests into tinderboxes.