DROUGHT WATCH: Some Areas Improve, Others Worsen

20160628_midwest_trdAreas across Illinois saw changes in the drought conditions. Some areas saw improvement, other saw worsening drought conditions. The drought conditions that are Northeast of McDonough County saw improvement as the area in the D1 (Moderate Drought) category shrunk. Also, East Central Illinois was in the Abnormally Dry Category on the Drought Monitor. They have now been dropped from the drought monitor as they saw lots of rain between last week and this week. The one area that saw worsening drought conditions was actually west of McDonough County in Hancock County as they increased from Abnormally Dry Conditions (D0 Category) to Moderate Drought (D1 Category). The comparisons in drought monitors from last week and this week can be seen right below this paragraph.

Last weeks drought monitor on June 21
Last week’s drought monitor on June 21
This weeks drought monitor on June 30
This week’s drought monitor on June 30

We’re about to see a big change in the weather conditions across the state. Lots of rain is expected to hit the Tri-States region as a strong warm front will move into the area Saturday evening. The rain chances will last until July 4 when the system finally clears the area. Right now, 2-4 inches of rain is expected with this system. That is a lot of rain and flooding is possible. The dry weather conditions could cause the ground problems in absorbing the moisture if this all falls at once. Make sure to keep an eye on the weather and media outlets like NEWS3 should advisories get issued for your area.

Forecast models still disagreeing over how mow much rain we'll see and where. This is raw model data on what they're thinking right now and the thinking is higher than what National Weather Service has said so far.
Forecast models still disagreeing over how mow much rain we’ll see and where. This is raw model data on what they’re thinking right now and the thinking is higher than what National Weather Service has said so far. This will change, make sure to keep abreast of later forecasts.

 

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