Dry weather in our area is not good news for the increasing drought. We haven't seen an inch of rain since July 19th and another inch is going to be hard to come by.
While drought conditions are worsening in Iowa, Central Illinois has seen some pretty good rains this week. For that reason, the drought statewide in Illinois is improving. All the while, Missouri is now seeing 95% of its land area in official drought conditions.
Here is a look at rainfall projections for the next week or so, courtesy of the National Weather Service GFS computer model. There is a big hole in the map across northern Missouri and Western Illinois. Let's hope that changes somehow.
There's a very small chance of a thunderstorm here Friday morning, with completely dry skies through early Monday morning. If our dry weather pattern does not change, there will be impacts on the size of pumpkins and apples in the Fall.
-Meteorologist Eric Sorensen
