INDIANAPOLIS – Good news! Over the last week, we have picked up enough rain for our drought monitor to show improvement across Indiana! With the several rounds of showers and storms, we have added to our rainfall totals, improving our drought conditions. Since June 1, we have picked up 4.81″ of rainfall. We are still running almost 5″ below where we should have since June 1, however.

Overall, it has been a dry summer. We are currently sitting at the third driest summer on record, with less than three weeks left in August. Compared to last week, Indiana has greatly improved drought conditions!

Moderate drought conditions dropped from 13% to 11%! Abnormally dry conditions dropped from 50% to 29%!

What does this mean? Each category means there will likely be different impacts from different factors around the state. “Abnormally dry” usually means the grass will turn brown, gardens will need to be watered more frequently, and crops are stressed. Once we hit the “Moderate” drought stage, there are more noticeable changes. Crops become more stressed, your lawn needs to be watered more often, and water levels begin to decrease.

The higher up the scale the drought goes, the more severe the impacts will be to crops, your lawn, and water levels. As we continue to climb the scale on the drought monitor, more dangerous conditions also begin to set up, causing concern for fire.

June and July were short compared to the average rainfall totals for the month. June wrapped up the 8th driest June on record.

August is running in a surplus, just 0.10″ above where we should be for the month already.

There are more rain chances on the way as we head into the weekend.