Epi Week #24 - 2016 General Statements

We are off to another slow start to the mosquito season, with dry conditions driving a lack of habitat and lack of floodwater species. Several projects noted that populations of Culiseta melanura larvae appeared to be up at the very start of the season (before testing began), which caused some concern, but those numbers do not appear to have panned out with a significant adult emergence.

Weather

Our weather expert noted that it has been yet another dry spring for most of the state. As of this past week, Abnormally Dry conditions (yellow) have expanded into Barnstable, Bristol, and Plymouth County, with Essex and the northeastern portion of Middlesex and Suffolk County at Moderate Drought (“D1”) status (peach). With the exception of widely scattered thunderstorms predicted for Wednesday (6/22/16), no appreciable rain is anticipated for Epi Week 25, which will likely result in a modest expansion of those areas identified as D1. Epi Week 25 is also expected to be warmer than normal, but humidity will remain low.

As you can see from the Epi Week 24 map below, there was little precipitation across the state this past week. Precipitation maps from the previous 3 weeks are provided below, for comparison. Berkshire County has been receiving the bulk of the rain, with a significant rain event in Epi Week 22 and additional rainfall in Epi Week 23. Plymouth and Bristol County also received some rain in Epi Week 22, and Essex County received rainfall along the southeastern coastal region in Epi Week 23.