Northwest Indiana, Much of State Considered Abnormally Dry

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor Map released Thursday June 1, 2023, now shows all of Northwest Indiana and much of the state as Abnormally Dry. The only counties in the Hoosier state not classified in any drought category at this time are in eastern and southwestern Indiana. In Illinois, a large portion of Cook County and the Chicago area are one level higher in Moderate Drought. The Drought Summary said the “story for the Midwest was continued drying of soils, low streamflow, and mounting precipitation deficits over the last 1 to 3 months.” Here is a link to the map. The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).