Somerset County Farm during drought

MARYLAND -- Weather forecasters say a flash drought is developing on parts of Delmarva, and some farmers are already feeling the impact of the dry and hot conditions on their crops. 

A flash drought occurs when very hot temperatures combine with little to no rainfall over just a few days or weeks. Any moisture in the ground evaporates. 

Michael Edwards, a Somerset County produce farmer, is seeing the effects first hand. 

"Our cover crop in certain fields hasn't germinated due to lack of moisture," says Edwards. "Our other issue that we have is the amount of dust." 

"The excessive heat that we have, that even makes it worse," adds Edwards. "The moisture is just poof, gone. What we need is a general slow steady rain for a little while."

Ben Holloway's family runs a sod farm in Wicomico County. 

"If it really comes down to it, we might have to just not cut it unfortunately, but we might be able to come back through if the grass isn't mature enough by the time it grows to be where the rest of the field's at," says Holloway. 

Both farmers say they are using their irrigation systems to water crops overtime right now, which costs more money and resources. 

In contrast, the farmers say too much rain can also adversely affect their crops. They are now just hoping for better days ahead.

Broadcast/Video Journalist

Kirstyn Clark joined the WBOC News team in July 2022. She is a Sussex County reporter and anchors the WBOC Weekend Morning show. She was nominated twice for AP Awards for her work as a reporter and multimedia journalist. 

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