BRANCH COUNTY, MI (WTVB) – The latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor still shows Branch County is part of a large area of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula that is considered to be in a moderate drought.
The Michigan State University Extension Service weather station at the Bloom Dairy Farm recorded 35-hundreths of an inch of rain on Wednesday. That brought the rainfall total over the last ten days up to 1.47 inches.
The weather station recorded 1.78 inches of rain in May after only 1.55 inches fell in April.
There’s not much change this week in southwest Michigan’s moisture situation. USDA reports 62 percent of the state is short to very short in topsoil moisture.
Last week’s heat and breezy conditions further aggravated things, even though we did pick up four-tenths of an inch of rain on average.
The area designated as being in severe drought from Lake Michigan inland hasn’t changed, and while many places have received as low as 10 percent of average May rainfall, the weeks ahead don’t hold promise for a big moisture recharge.
All of Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties remain in a severe drought as well as portions of Barry, Eaton, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
(Rick Shields contributed to this report)
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