Drought in the fall or winter can be a subtle thing, a farmer once told me. The landscape then is typically brown. Without crops, gardens and lawns withering in the heat, the idea of a drought may not cross your mind.

But let it cross your mind now, because we are dry. How dry are we? The yearly precipitation in Poughkeepsie is about 64 percent below normal, according to these statistics. New York City’s reservoir system, which sprawls across some of the Hudson Valley and the Catskills, is about 60 percent full when it’s usually about 75 percent full this time of year. It’s so dry across the system that the state is prohibiting fishing in a creek feeding one of the main reservoirs. Low water means stressed fish.

Additional stress on these fish from fishing may impact their ability to spawn and produce the next generation of trout.

And, if you’re looking for browns, check out the map above from the U.S. Drought Monitor. Our region is experiencing severe drought conditions.