The U.S. Drought Monitor says that parts of the Chicago area are currently experiencing a “severe drought,” and there is likely no relief in sight in the coming days.
According to the latest updates from the USDM, all of Cook County, as well as wide swaths of northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana, are currently experiencing severe drought thanks to significantly-reduced rainfall in recent weeks.
Parts of the area that aren’t experiencing a severe drought are still in a “moderate drought” phase, with this week’s rain doing little to help the situation.
The National Weather Service reports that the drought conditions are the worst the area has seen since the summer of 2012.
To make matters worse, the long-term precipitation outlook is not good. Below-average rainfall is expected in the next 10 days, according to the National Weather Service, so drought conditions are expected to persist.
To illustrated the scope of the problem, most of the Chicago area has seen just one-quarter of its normal rainfall total in the last 30 days, per NWS officials.
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As a result, large losses of soil moisture are being reported by the U.S. Drought Monitor, as well as stream flows and river flows drying up to the 10th percentile of their historical averages for this time of year.
Browning and stressed vegetation is being reported across the area, with many farmers having to resort to supplemental feeding of livestock due to reduced availability of plants to eat.
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Loss of yield for farmers remains “a large concern,” according to federal officials.
Jeff Kirwan, who owns a farm in northwestern Illinois, says that he hasn’t seen rain in more than a month.
“We went five weeks, almost six weeks without rain, and it’s starting to really affect our crops,” he told NBC 5, panning his camera across a field rife with cracked soil and browning crops. “Nutrient deficiencies are showing up because the ground is so dry. We’ve been optimistic, but it’s to the point now where we’re seeing real significant damage to our crop.”
