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Illinois climatologist hesitant to mention drought yet
Illinois’ state climatologist says it is a little early for drought concerns even as above average heat covers the state.
Trent Ford tells Brownfield heavy spring rains have helped maintain deep layer soil moisture so far this summer.
“And because it was somewhat dry during planting I think, this year especially compared to last year, crops have really established a good rooting depth and so we really haven’t seen the crop stress yet that would come along with many days in the 90’s.”
On Thursday, the US Drought Monitor placed a small area of central Illinois in the moderate drought category.
“With that being said, if we don’t get a good amount of rain by the end of this month we will probably see some of that stress start to set in especially in the northern half of the state.”
Ford says the forecast for the reminder of July shows a continuation of above average temperatures, with scattered rains that should alleviate some crop stress in the northern half of the state and keep status quo in the south.
Tags: crop stress, Drought, heat, Illinois, July 2020, rain, soil moisture, state climatologist, Weather
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