Lack of recent rain creating abnormally dry conditions

After a wet first half of the year, our recent weather pattern has been almost the exact opposite when it comes to rainfall. And when we have gotten rain this month, it's been a lot coming at one time, sparking heavy rain events and a couple rounds of flash flooding. Thanks to that, our seasonal numbers aren't too far off, but the monthly number is falling behind as august starts Thursday.

And speaking of August, precip may continue to be hard to come by after the calendar flips. Drier-than-normal conditions are a possibility for our area through the first half of the month. That's not much cause for concern now as that typically happens during the dog days of summer, but it's just a reminder to help out your lawns and gardens over the next couple of weeks. After today's storms, there's not much help coming from Mother Nature.

Let's take a closer look at the quick change in rainfall numbers. Pretty much all of 2019 has been wet, with the exception of last week. Since the meteorological summer season started on June 1st, we have 7.85" of rain, which is definitely above the normal amount for that span. That's been the trend all year. But, last week was the first time this year where we had no rain at all at the South Bend Airport. 

Again, we typically notice drier-than-normal conditions during the hottest time of the summer season, but it's concerning that there's not much relief outside of today's rain. And early forms of drought are already popping up for southern Michiana, along and south of highway 30. Looks like the area of "abnormally dry" conditions will spread. Continue to water your lawns and gardens over the next couple of weeks.