Just how dry are we?

Drought conditions continue to persist over northern Illinois heading into the middle of July.  NOAA's current drought outlook through the end of September is showing a tendency for the drought conditions to either persist further or intensify.

Rockford has received less than an inch of rain since June 1st.  In fact we've only received 0.69 inches of rain.  The normal amount we should have up to this point is 5.91 inches, so we are more than 5 inches short of normal values.  We've only had 0.03 inches in July so far!!  Looking at the year, we are more than 7 inches short of normal values since January 1st.

What does this mean?  It means it will take a lot to get us out of the drought conditions.  Right now the Climate Predication Center shows it could take 6-12 inches of rain in the next month to get us out of this drought, which is not looking at all likely.

Plant life and crops release water, taken in from the soil, into the air through a process called evapotranspiration.  With such little water in the soil, and plants drying up, we see less and less moisture being put into the atmosphere.  This can only heighten the dry conditions.  This also allows temperatures to rise more than normal, as it's easier for dry air to become warmer than moist air.  Let's just hope we can get some much needed rain sooner rather than later.