Weekend rain totals and latest drought monitor

This year has been relatively dry, but rain totals are up after a rainy Sunday. We may be caught up for the month, but that doesn't mean we should stop worrying about drought conditions.

The southern half of Michiana picked up the highest rain totals. Here are a few samples from this weekend. You can also visit this list from National Weather Service for totals from other areas.

Our Michigan counties had lower totals - for example, in Niles, there was only 0.52" in total.

For South Bend, the month-to-date rain total (through May 9) is 1.55" now. We are slightly above normal by 0.34" which is good news.

When looking at South Bend for all of 2021, however, we get a clear picture that we need more rain still. We have a total of 9.55" of precipitation for the year (through May 9), which still puts us at a deficit of nearly two and a half inches of rain.

This is the latest drought monitor - which was released before the weekend rain. Areas in yellow are in an abnormally dry stage, while areas in tan are in the moderate drought stage.

Even with the weekend rain, we may stay in these categories. Little additional precipitation is expected through this week.

While waiting for these showers, you may need to do a little extra yardwork and watering to ensure green grass and a growing garden.