Needing the Rain - Current Drought Monitor

As mentioned in previous posts northern Illinois is really needing the rain, at least most of it does. While some areas of the Stateline have received quite a bit of rain (southern portions of Lee and DeKalb counties) others like Rockford have really missed out on the heavy soaking rain we need. Currently for Rockford, the deficit is up to 2.40" from the 4.52" we need for the month. The current total at 2.12."

The newest drought monitor posted today, surprisingly not showing the abnormally dry conditions expanding northward, but southward. There has also been moderate drought conditions expanding in western Illinois and continuing into Iowa. Currently 67.69% of the state is not experiencing any type of drought condition, which is down from the 72.3% last week. The moderate drought category has moved from 2.38% of the state to 2.78%, and the abnormally dry category sits at 27.7%.

With minimal rain expected for northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin through next week, we'll watch again for the possibility of the dry conditions to spread northward.