After a costly dry spell, a wetter outlook

People walk along the beach at St. Albans Bay in September 2025. The 2025 drought brought water levels on Lake Champlain to near record lows. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerDroughts like the one that cost Vermont farmers nearly $16 million last year might be becoming less common, a new Dartmouth College study suggests, as increased rainfall makes dry spells less frequent and less intense across the Northeast.But farmers shouldn’t pack up their irrigation equipment just yet.“Wha