EVANSVILLE— It might not seem like it — especially by comparison to last year when a prolonged drought hit Southwestern Indiana particularly hard — but the Hoosier State is gradually starting to dry out again thanks to several weeks of little rainfall.
The U.S. Drought Monitor’s weekly report listed most of Indiana’s midsection and the northwestern corner as “abnormally dry,” which is the lowest drought condition. The report places 38 percent of the state in that category. No Southern Indiana counties have received such a classification as of the latest drought maps, which are released every Tuesday morning. No parts of the state were dry enough to receive any drought classification when the previous maps were released on Aug. 13.
The weather service has measured less than an inch of rain this month in Indianapolis, with no rain forecast for the coming days. The Evansville-area has gotten a little bit more rain than that, but its August total is still well-below normal. According to the weather service, 1.36 inches of rain had fallen through Thursday for the month. The average rainfall for the entire month in Evansville is almost 3 inches, according to weather service statistics.
In comparison, more than 80 percent of Indiana — including local areas — was in severe to exceptional drought at this time a year ago. In fact, conditions were so dry during the spring and early summer months in 2012 that much of the Hoosier state was labeled with some sort of drought designation through September even though August and September were actually abnormally damp last year.
Last August, more than 4 inches of rain fell in Evansville, according to weather service statistics. In fact, technically the southwestern region of the state didn’t escape last long drought until January of this year, based on the drought monitor’s maps. There were also times during last summer when the entire state achieved official drought status.
Counties in Southwestern Indiana were first classified as being “abnormally dry,” in April of last year and some spent several weeks in an “exceptional drought,” which is the driest of the monitor’s five degrees of dryness.
Whether more rain comes or not though probably won’t have much bearing on the rest of the growing season. Statewide, farmers’ corn and soybean crops don’t seem to be suffering from lack of rain. with about 75 percent of each are listed in good or excellent condition.
Locally, Jon Neufelder, Purdue University Posey County Extension educator, said the region’s corn crop is looking solid this year and said that most of it is far enough long in development that whether the area gets more rain this season won’t have much bearing on yield. He noted that most of the area’s corn was planted later than normal, but Mother Nature provided enough moisture for it to thrive earlier this summer.
“We’re looking very good on corn right now,” Neufelder said. “We’re looking for a good harvest.”
He noted that some of the area’s soybeans would benefit from a “good shower to finish them off,” but he said the soybean harvest should be good regardless of how much rain the area gets from now on.