In 30 years as New Jersey’s state climatologist, Dave Robinson never thoought October would be dry. In a normal year, New Jersey would see about 4.9 inches of rain that month, he told a Department of Environmental Protection hearing Tuesday, set to determine whether the state should move to the next level of drought designation, a drought warning, which would bring new calls for voluntary limits on residential water use and the potential for state orders to manage water supplies in the most impacted areas. So now there is a drought emergency, which could allow the governor to order mandatory water restrictions.