Great Forecast: Rain in New City's Work Week

NEW CITY, NY — Rain is in the forecast through the work week, and that's a really good thing, because we're still in a drought in the lower Hudson Valley.

In the big picture, things are better than they were — at the start of 2017, 40 percent of New York State was at Moderate Drought Status, and now upstate is off the list (the heavy snowfalls helped).

But Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Ulster and Westchester Counties (except for the Sound Shore) remain more than abnormally dry.

Rockland is still exploring ways to conserve water after years of fighting about how best to deal with its finite supply.

SEE: SPECIAL PROGRAM -- Moving Ahead: Effective Water Planning Approaches in Rockland

And we continue to see below-average precipitation in the region. The year-to-date average is 8.73 inches, but this year so far we've only had 7.50 inches of rain, according to Hudson Valley Weather's Poughkeepsie almanac. We have had more snow than usual, most of it (33 inches was our highest total) in the March blizzard.

As for this week, we can expect a respite from the chill on Tuesday, but more cold air is expected Wednesday. Showers are also possible Thursday - Friday.

Here's the National Weather Service's work week forecast for Rockland County:

Today
Cloudy. Areas of fog this morning. Rain with areas of drizzle this morning...then a chance of rain this afternoon. Highs in the mid 50s. East winds around 5 mph...becoming south this afternoon. Chance of rain 90 percent.

Tonight
Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of rain. Lows in the mid 40s. South winds around 5 mph...becoming east after midnight.

Tuesday
Cloudy with a 40 percent chance of rain. Highs in the upper 50s. East winds around 5 mph.

Tuesday Night
Cloudy. Rain likely...mainly in the evening. Lows in the lower 40s. North winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent.

Wednesday
Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 50s. North winds 10 to 15 mph.

Wednesday Night
Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 30s.

Thursday
Sunny. Highs in the lower 50s.

Thursday Night
Partly cloudy in the evening...then mostly cloudy with a chance of rain after midnight. Lows in the mid 30s. Chance of rain 30 percent.

Friday
Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of rain. Highs in the upper 40s.

Friday Night
Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of rain. Lows around 40.

To find out how drought is affecting your neighborhood, click, scroll down and enter your zip code.