Similar lack of rain here in Brooklyn/NYC too. BUT - I was sure I'd end up in Oz, like Dorothy, when those tornadoes blew through here on Thursday evening .......

Tornados in the Big Apple. Yeah.

PV

Same for me in Jeffersonville In. Right by Louisville Ky. 6 inches below normal. No rain in sight for the coming week and temps in the high 80s and low to mid 90s. Hubby tried to mow the lawn last week. Looked like he was mowing over a dirt pile. Brown dirt/dust blowing so bad you could hardly see. Hope it doesn't mean a terribly wet cold winter. Vicci

Same in Cincinnati. We're somewhere around 5.5" below normal rain. The few short showers that we've had have been just that- a quick shower, only enough to dampen the mulch.

Karen

For the most part, we had a 'perfect' summer. An inch of rain every week and beautiful sunny weather with only a few hot days thrown in. Yet, all good things must come to an end... Last weekend I was trying to transplant in soil which was repelling water - not a common things for us that's for sure! Late August was bone dry and hot for a solid week. Hurricane Earl stressed out the trees so we will not see the colorful foliage we normally covet at this time of year.

We've had some much deserved rain in the last week so I will transplant furiously in the next week.

My main concern right now is that plants were so far ahead that many flowers which normally bloom now and are high nectar sources for migrating Monarchs are going to seed.

Tornadoes in the Big Apple? That's just plain weird! Gardenweed, my New England folks have been saying the same thing; the drought is much more extensive than usual for this time of year.

Here we are still in the 90s, little rain. I keep wanting to put some things in the ground, but since 75% of what I have put in has succumbed to hot, dry weather, I'm waiting. On the plus side, my late zucchini plants are growing like monsters, and it looks like I will have some late season tomatoes, too - all the veggies are in containers or raised beds.

Here in Massachusetts, we continue to be drier than normal. I was relieved toward the end of August to have about 3 inches of rain which was badly needed, but in September, although we've had rain forecast, what I've received hasn't amounted to more than 3/4 of an inch so far this month. Looking at the months of April through September, we've had 12.5 inches total versus 24 inches for the same period last year.

There have been brown leaves falling off the trees for awhile now. I have two shrubs that lost 2/3 of their leaves and what is left is brown edged, despite watering them with a sprinkler for 2 hrs at a time once a week. I'm hoping that we will get more at some point. It is hurricane season but they keep missing us. The cape which is south of us, has received a fair amount of rain in the past two storms.

I'm thinking of ways to make adjustments for the garden but I suppose as soon as I add more drought tolerant plants, we'll get too much rain next year and they will all rot. [g]

I do have one full sun bed that has a fair amount of drought tolerant plants...sedums, perovskia, agastaches, pentas, liatris, penstemons...and that bed has faired better than other areas. It doesn't look too bad right now.

Well, I actually did wake in Kansas. This is the wettest growing season we had since I moved here. A heatwave stuck around for almost three weeks in August. Lots of annuals and several perennials went to that garden in the sky as I could not keep up with the watering. We still have temp in the 90 and hopeful will start to get cooler after Thursday.