Trees dying from damage caused by drought, heat

Despite brief rains Friday afternoon, southern Indiana is in one of the worst droughts since 1937 and may be set to repeat its past, according to Ken Scheeringa, associate state climatologist.

The U.S. Drought Monitor map for Indiana was updated Tuesday, and southern Indiana is now dealing with D4, or “exceptional drought,” which is the worst on the scale.

“This is a long-term drought; I don’t see it going anywhere,” Scheeringa said. “You guys in Bloomington are in horrible shape. ... You’d need one inch of rain per week just to hold steady. That’s about three to four months of rain just to get back to zero.