MILWAUKEE - The latest U.S. Drought Monitor is out for Wisconsin, and despite heavy rain in many spots this week, dry conditions persist across much of the state.
Moderate to severe drought
By the numbers:
About 50% of Wisconsin is abnormally dry, while nearly 40% of the state remains in moderate to severe drought. Most of the severe drought is confined to parts of northern Wisconsin.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android
Monday rain not enough
Local perspective:
While many communities picked up soaking rain during two rounds of severe storms on Monday, July 27. The rainfall wasn't as beneficial as you might expect.
Much of the rain fell in a short period of time and at very high rates, causing more water to run off than soak into the soil. After weeks of dry weather, the hardened ground also struggled to absorb such heavy rainfall.
To make meaningful improvements to drought conditions, what we really need is a slow, steady rain that has time to soak deep into the ground.
Dry July
Big picture view:
Before Monday's record-breaking rainfall, Milwaukee had received just 0.16 inches of rain for the entire month of July.
In just 24 hours, the city went from having its driest July on record to the 53rd driest. Even after the soaking rain, Milwaukee is still more than an inch below normal for precipitation.
Milwaukee's rainfall has been all over the map this year. April was the wettest on record, with more than 9 inches of rain, only to be followed by the driest May on record with just 0.36 inches.
June returned to near-normal, ending slightly above average with over 4.7 inches of rain. July is still on track to finish below average, but with more rain in the forecast Friday, we could trim that deficit a bit before the calendar flips to August.
The Source: Information in this story is from the FOX6 Weather Experts and the US Drought Monitor.