Rainfall

We had a couple of rounds of showers in the area today. The first round came through around 11am, but went through the area just to our north so we didn't receive any precipitation locally. I happen to be on my way to Rushville at that time though and went through a very heavy rain between New Salem and Rushville. The rain was coming down quite heavy. I couldn't predict with any accuracy what the rainfall rate would have been, but it was a wipers on constant low (not intermittent) type of rain.

Later in the afternoon, a second round of showers came through the area around 2pm. This round gave us our first significant rainfall since June 3 and 4th when 0.26" fell on the third and 0.09" fell on the 4th. Today's rainfall totaled 0.36". The image below is a radar estimate of the rainfall from 11pm on June 18th to 9pm today. I wanted the Indianpolis radar estimate, but their website wasn't working at the time of this post.

The updated drought monitor will be out Thursday. I think this bit of rain we received today will prevent us from being placed in the "severe drought" category this week. I think we will remain in the "moderate drought" category though. According to the current forecasts, there isn't much of a threat for rain in the next few days. It also is supposed to be getting HOT. I saw a forecast out of Cincinnati calling for a high of 97 on June 25th. Maybe this will be the year we hit 100! I hope so. The combination of heat and dry conditions would be a double extreme for the summer.

Moderate Drought

Well, it happened. Southeastern Indiana has been placed in the 'moderate drought' category. I'm sure that by next Thursday when the new update is made we will be in the 'extreme drought' category. I think the dry weather helps to perpetuate itself. As the ground becomes drier and drier it makes it that much more difficult for the atmosphere to become saturated enough for signifcant rainfall. We had a brief shower come over the house yesterday afternoon, but it was only enough to make things damp, not really wet. About five minutes after the shower, everything was dry once again.

Gnats!

I don't know if it is the dry weather or what, but this year the gnat population has exploded. Everytime you walk outdoors you get swarmed by them. I read an article online about bufalo gnats in Illinois that bite and kill chickens. I don't think that's what we have here, but nonetheless, the little buggers drive you 'gnutty'!
The drought monitor comes out with an update tomorrow morning. I think most of east central and southeast Indiana will be in the moderate drought category. I'm sure others will not take this position, but I'm hoping the drought gets much worse. I'm one who likes extremes and if we can't have extreme heat then bring on extreme drought. The last time I remember seeing such dry conditions was in 1983. There may have been several times since then that have been equally dry, but that's the date I remember.
A severe thunderstorm watch was issued for southwest Ohio this evening for storms in central Ohio that were moving southwest. They never got any closer than maybe 50 miles east of Cincinnati though. In fact, the watch was canceled for the southwest Ohio area, but remained in place for south central Ohio. I did see the towering cumulonimbus clouds in the distance at 9pm though. Our next chance for widespread rain is Tuesday, June 19. After that, I hear there isn't much else through the end of the month! :-)

Dry Conditions

It's dry out and getting drier. I haven't seen such dry conditions in June for quite some time. The grass is growing slowly and is brown in some areas. That's not a bad thing in my mind though since I don't have to mow as often and I save money on gasoline too! Anyway, the brown grass is just one indication of how dry we have been since the start of May. Water levels in area ponds and creeks are dropping, corn fields are beginning to curl from the dry conditions, and I notice the water truck making more deliveries to homes in the area.

The US Drought Monitor has rated us "abnormally dry." I think by this Thursday, when the next map comes out, we'll be rated as being in moderate drought.

Warmest May in 16 Years

From the NWS in Indianapolis...

May 2007 will be remembered for its extremes in warmth and lack of rainfall. An extended period of warmth covered nearly the entire month. Dry conditions were also remarkable during the month. This continued the drying trend which began in April 2007 after an eight month period of wetness dating back to late 2006. The following is a weather summary for selected points in Central Indiana during May 2007. TemperatureThe average monthly temperature for May 2007 was 68.1 degrees in Indianapolis. Compared to a normal of 62.4 degrees, this was above normal by 5.7 degrees. This made May 2007 the warmest May in Indianapolis since May of 1991 when the average temperature was 68.3 degrees. This was enough to tie May 2007 for the 10th warmest May ever recorded in the Indianapolis area. May was remarkable in that every day except for the 16th through the 19th were above normal. Many of these days were well above normal, and ten days saw a temperature that was at least 10 degrees above normal.17 days during the month of May at Indianapolis saw a high temperature of at least 80 degrees. A normal May would bring 9 days with highs in the 80s. The last time that May had more highs in the 80s was back in 1991 when 18 such days were recorded.Across Central Indiana, every site saw a monthly average temperature well above normal in May 2007.
Site
Avg. Temp. Normal Avg. Temp. Diff. From Normal # Days w/ Highs in the 80s
Indianapolis Intl. Airport
67.9 62.4 +5.5 17
IndianapolisEagle Creek
67.6 62.4 +5.2 17
Lafayette
66.6 61.4 +5.2 16
Terre Haute
67.3 63.0 +4.3 19
Bloomington
67.7 62.7 +5.0 20
Shelbyville
67.3 62.9 +4.4 19
Muncie
66.9 61.4 +5.4 15

PrecipitationMay 2007 totaled 1.97 inches of precipitation at Indianapolis. This was well below the normal value of 4.22 inches. This is the made it the driest May since 1992 when only 1.56 inches of rain was measured. The driest period of May 2007 came between the 17th and 24th of the month, when only a trace of precipitation fell. Despite the dry April and May, the year 2007 still remains above normal for precipitation at Indianapolis.Across Central Indiana, every site saw a monthly precipitation total well below normal during May 2007. All sites were more than one and a half inches less than normal.
Site
Precipitation Total Normal May Precipitation Difference from Normal
Indianapolis Int’l Arpt.
1.97 4.36 -2.39
Indianapolis Eagle Creek
1.68 4.36 -2.68
Lafayette
2.63 4.35 -1.72
Terre Haute
1.51 4.46 -2.95
Bloomington
1.44 5.12 -3.68
Shelbyville
1.91 4.47 -2.56
Muncie
1.17 4.17 -3.00

Severe WeatherNoticeably absent this month was severe weather. This is not too surprising given how dry the month was. The overall pattern during the month left high pressure over Central Indiana, which is not conducive to thunderstorm development. May 1-2 and the 26th saw a few instances of dime to nickel sized hail and flash flooding. Otherwise, the month was event free.