Michigan faces drought conditions as rainfall remains scarce

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - With no sign of a good soaking rain in the forecast, we are starting to see drought conditions in Michigan.

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If you have been looking for rain, we have not seen a lot as of late. In fact, today marks two weeks since the last measurable rainfall in Mid-Michigan. Yes, two weeks. You have to go all the way back to May 19th to find the last rain fall from the sky across Mid-Michigan, and that is causing the drought conditions to start.

This is probably the biggest weather story moving forward. Yes, it’s been hot, but we’re also witnessing these drought conditions now appearing in this week’s latest drought monitor. We have observed abnormally dry conditions, which is the lowest level in the drought monitor, starting to show up in the lower peninsula and a lot more.

Related: Crops threatened by dry weather, Michigan farmers worried about yield, prices

Much of this is due to the lack of rain we have experienced recently. In fact, the month of May finished with rainfall totals anywhere between two to three inches below the normal average. So, we desperately need the rain. However, one interesting aspect of all this is that our yearly rainfall totals are still slightly above average because of the very wet spring we had.

Looking ahead, we do not have much rain on the way. There is virtually no rainfall expected for Mid-Michigan in the near future.

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