The average has a numerical value of 12. But this year it was less than one– a record low. That follows a record high of 35 last year.

So what’s happening? It’s the water.
Striped bass spawn in the bay’s fresh water tributaries. This spring and summer, hydrologists who monitor stream flow found a number of Maryland waterways with extremely low levels.

“It’s not only dry. It’s been excessively hot,” Wendy McPherson, a hydrologist with the United States Geological Service (USGS), said. “There’s been several temperature-setting records.”