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Indiana drought conditions improve slightly

INDIANA — Every Thursday the Drought Monitor is updated and this week our drought conditions have improved! So far for the month of September, Indianapolis has picked up 1.78″ of rainfall, which is 0.42″ below where we should be so far.

There are still no moderate drought conditions across the state as there were during the summer months. We did decrease in drought coverage from last week! We dropped from 21% coverage to 17% coverage!

What does this mean? Each category means there will likely be different impacts from different factors around the state. “Abnormally dry” usually means the grass will turn brown, gardens will need to be watered more frequently, and crops are stressed. Once we hit the “Moderate” drought stage, there are more noticeable changes. Crops become more stressed, your lawn needs to be watered more often, and water levels begin to decrease.

The higher up the scale the drought goes, the more severe the impacts will be to crops, your lawn, and water levels. As we continue to climb the scale on the drought monitor, more dangerous conditions also begin to set up, causing concern for fire.

Looking ahead to next week

There are few rain chances over the next few days. Looking ahead to next week, our pattern looks drier than average, not good news for the drought conditions.

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