Spring rain brings an end to drought in western Mass.

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) - Our ongoing drought that began last fall is finally over.

We have seen quite a bit of rain this spring, and all the wet weather has finally brought an end to our prolonged drought.

Our drought began last fall, and in November, the very dry conditions led to brush fires all across western Massachusetts. Then this spring, we started to get more rain, and conditions gradually improved, and the persistent rain we've been getting this month has helped us out.

22News Storm Team Meteorologist Chris Bouzakis says, "Many areas across western Massachusetts have seen 2 to as much as 5 inches of rain just over the past few days. Westover picked up just over 2.5 inches, but there have been some spots, especially in Franklin County, that have gotten around 4 or 5 inches of rain."

According to the latest US Drought Monitor, none of western Massachusetts is experiencing drought conditions. It does, however, remain abnormally dry in eastern Franklin County and eastern and central Hampden and Hampshire Counties. All the rain we've gotten this spring has helped make everything nice and green. There is a downside, though, to getting too much wet weather. All the rain we've been getting recently has caused the area's river levels to rise. Bouzakis adds, "Of course, when you get all this rain, flooding is a problem or something you have to watch out for. There is a flood watch with this next system coming on in."

Right now, the Connecticut River is running a little higher than normal, and with more rain on the way, it's expected to continue to rise.