Wet July chips away at ongoing drought

 

We are quickly approaching the end of July and for the first time in three months are running at a surplus for precipitation. The total month-to-date precipitation sits at 4.73 inches, just over two inches above the average. This is the first time the monthly precipitation has been above average as the last three months have had deficits. For the entire year, however, we are still at a 4.85-inch deficit.

The latest drought monitor indicates that the recent heavy rain has helped some, especially in Wisconsin where drought conditions have been nearly eliminated over the last few weeks. In Illinois there have been improvements, but there are still some counties that are dealing with moderate drought conditions.

Looking ahead to the upcoming week there appears to be a few chances for rain and thunderstorms, but the position of the jet stream may favor those higher chances more across the Upper Midwest and northern Great Lakes as heat builds to the south.

If this pattern holds throughout the week, it will mean our rain chances would likely remain limited, keeping the heat around until the pattern breaks briefly towards the end of the weekend/early next week.