The Pittsburgh area hasn't seen any rain in nearly two weeks. Here's how the drought conditions can impact you.
The Pittsburgh area hasn't seen rain in nearly two weeks and the critical situation is bound to get worse.
The impacts of the lack of the rain in the area come on slowly, but can hit you in the wallet -- and there are things you can and should do.
You've likely been hearing drought talk for some time now, but maybe you're on city water where you live and your water is coming from a reservoir or water tower.
"Just because you have city water doesn't mean you shouldn't be conserving water, because those will go down at some point," said Northeast Regional Climate Center climatologist Jessica Spaccio.
Spaccio says that even the primary source of a lot our water, being Pittsburgh's three rivers, are impacted by the lack of rain in the region.
"As those streams and rivers have lower levels, basically the pollutants that get in there are of higher concentration," Spaccio said. "So that means that that water quality can be lower."
Spaccio says the drought can also impact available water on farms, impacting things like the price of milk.
"Cows need a lot of water," Spaccio said. "And also, we've had some warm temperatures the past week or so, and when they're stressed, dairy cows will actually produce less milk."
The farming water challenges can also trickle down to a trickle up in produce prices, and also raises fire risks.
"Any any kind of outdoor burning you know, whether it's you know, someone with a cigarette or someone trying to burn some of their fall brush, definitely need to keep an eye that when conditions are dry that those wildfires can really take off and spread motion," Spaccio said.
Spaccio says that during drought conditions, you should limit outdoor watering and do things like take shorter showers, among others.
"If you're washing dishes, you know, wash the dishes with the water off," Spaccio said. "Don't turn the water on until you're rinsing them. Same thing, brushing your teeth. Don't turn the water on and have it run the whole time while you're brushing your teeth.
Spaccio says if you use well water, cutting back on consumption is especially important.
When it comes to produce prices and farms, many are already in harvest mode, but there are fall crops and cover crops to get in before winter -- and without rain, farming costs go up and may need to be passed along.