Gov. Phil Murphy has declared a drought warning for all of New Jersey. This is just one step below the highest level of drought action.

A drought warning means messaging from the government ramps up to the public to start conserving water through actions like taking shorter showers and running only full dishwashers and washing machines. A drought warning declaration also allows water suppliers to adjust flows to help areas that are a bit worse off than others.

“Now I know we were relieved to see a few drops of rain on the weekend. The truth is that rainfall was nowhere near enough. And unfortunately, these unseasonably dry conditions will not be ending anytime soon,” said Murphy.

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette pointed to the Manasquan Reservoir levels as a major area of concern in the northern coastal region of the state.

The drought has also led to a historic number of wildfires statewide. Since Oct. 23, New Jersey has experienced six major wildfires of 100 acres or more.

There have been 537 fires since early October. That's 500 more fires than last year or a 1,300% increase. These fires could burn for weeks if not months if they take hold of root systems underground.

In 2024, more than 11,000 acres of forest have burned in wildfires, much higher than the 4,000-acre average.

Greg McLaughlin of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service points to indicating factors that show how serious the danger remains.

“The Forest Fire Service uses a standard drought index called Keech-Byram Drought Index - KBDI for short. This scale measures the dryness of those fuels on the forest floor, which includes pine needles branches and twigs. The scale reaches 800 at its maximum. Currently, we’ve measured 748 on the KBDI scale. These numbers have never been seen by the Forest Fire Service in our 118-year history,” said McLaughlin.

A drought emergency declaration would mean mandatory public water restrictions ordered by the governor. LaTourette says we’re not there yet, and that it all depends on how much rain falls over the next few months combined with the voluntary public conservation of water during this drought warning period.