Limited July rainfall results in worsening drought conditions

 Rainfall has been especially hard to come by over the last few weeks, resulting in spreading drought conditions across the Stateline. We started July on a wet note, with 2.35" of rain coming down in the first 5 days of the month. But since then, only 0.18" of rain has fallen, with no measurable rain since July 20th. That puts our monthly rainfall at 2.53" of rain, over an inch below normal through the 30th.

The lack of rainfall has not been exclusive to Rockford either. Much of the Stateline has not seen abundant rain this month, with much of the area North of Highway 20 seeing less than 2" of rain in the last 30 days. Compared to typical, most areas have only seen half of the rainfall that is typically expected during that time.

And the dry stretch over the last few weeks has resulted in developing drought conditions, with nearly the entire Stateline now experiencing at least "abnormally dry" conditions, with moderate drought across parts of Northern Illinois, including much of Winnebago County. Thankfully, a soaking rainfall is likely Friday night into Saturday, which will eat into the rainfall deficit quite a bit.