Despite the rain that’s fallen in recent days, all Pennsylvania counties remain under a drought watch.

The watch was issued on June 15 by the Commonwealth Drought Task Force and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Earlier this week, the agencies determined that the watch will remain in place.

But Dave Dombeck, an AccuWeather meteorologist, said that a drenching rain forecast for Sunday will be beneficial.

“Saturday will be more spotty with rain but on Sunday and Sunday night we are looking at heavy rains,” he said. Most places will see between 1 and 2 inches but some might see 3 inches or more.

Rain will begin in the morning and be the heaviest during the afternoon and evening, he said.

Dombeck referred to a U.S. Drought Monitor map that is produced through a partnership between the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The map is updated each Thursday and shows Schuylkill and Carbon counties in a “moderate drought,” while portions of Monroe and Northampton counties are seeing “abnormally dry” conditions - which is a step above “normal” conditions.

“I think by next Thursday, those designations will change for the better” because of the predicted rain on Sunday, he said.

Dombeck said that summer precipitation typically doesn’t fall like it does during other seasons.

“With summer showers and thunderstorms, sometimes you deal with a nice solid line of showers that come through and everybody does well with significant rain,” he said. “But more often than not, you get big variations. You’ll see puddles in some places and a few miles down the road, it will be bone dry.”

Also during summer, he said, temperatures are warmer, days are longer and the sun is stronger.

“Your evaporation rates are quite high,” Dombeck said. “Everything can be green and lush and if it doesn’t rain in 10 days and you have heat and those long days, it doesn’t take very long for that moisture to get sucked out of the ground.”

Those factors can cause short term drought situations.

“It is very easy to get into short term drought but it is very easy to get out of it, too,” he said.

Long-term drought can take months or even years to happen since it impacts the groundwater.

Dombeck said that the Lehigh Valley International Airport saw just 0.24 inches of rain in May. The average is 3.65 inches. June’s rainfall was about a half-inch less than it should have been.

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Airport also saw lower amounts of rain, with 0.91 inches versus the average of 3.26 inches. June’s precipitation was about an inch lower than normal, he said.

Heavy showers impacted many parts of Pennsylvania on Friday.

“While the recent rainfall has been welcome, there are still persistent precipitation deficits statewide. Persistent rain will be needed for more consistent meaningful improvement to groundwater levels,” according to DEP.

The forecast of heavy rain and severe weather was enough for planners to postpone Sunday’s Coal Miners Heritage Festival at the No. 9 Mine and Museum in Tamaqua. It will be held Sept. 3 at the No. 9, and vendors will be contacted.

As for the drought watch, residents and non-farm businesses are encouraged to voluntarily conserve water by reducing their nonessential water use.

Drought watch declarations are not based on one indicator alone, such as precipitation. DEP assesses information provided by public water suppliers and data on four hydrologic indicators: precipitation, surface water (stream and river) flow, groundwater level, and soil moisture, according to DEP.

The next Commonwealth Drought Task Force meeting will be held July 26.