BRANCH COUNTY, MI (WTVB) – The rain that fell Sunday and Tuesday has apparently done little to alleviate dry conditions in Branch County and the rest of the Lower Peninsula.
The U.S. Drought Monitor reported on Thursday that most of the southern half of the Lower Peninsula is considered to be in a moderate drought. The Thumb and the northern part of the Lower Peninsula are reported to be abnormally dry.
According to the weekly report, a storm system over the Midwest and Great Lakes over the weekend did little to halt widespread degradation of conditions across the Midwest. Although some locations did experience modest improvements, mainly in areas seeing in excess of two inches of rainfall, degradation to moderate drought (D1) and expansion of abnormal dryness (D0) is widespread across the Corn Belt, the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, and the Upper Midwest..
The report went on to say high rates of evaporation from soils and vegetation over the past one to two months have resulted in large losses to soil moisture, with stream flows also dropping significantly across many of these same areas.
There are many reports of browning and stressed vegetation, with several producers already resorting to supplemental feeding for their livestock due to reduced forage. Loss of yield remains a large concern for many.
Drought conditions are expected to get worse in our area. The forecast for the next week is calling for dry conditions with daytime highs in the 80s.
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