A tree in Bryan Park turns brown in this photo from July, showing damage from the drought that destroyed crops in Indiana, Illinois and other parts of the Midwest. Jeremy Hogan | Herald-Times
Following what was considered the worst drought in Indiana in decades, much of the state, including Monroe County, has within the last few weeks recovered from the abnormally dry conditions that had lingered into winter.
Improvements in the Hoosier state’s drought condition can be attributed to recent rainfall on warmer days when the soil was not frozen, said Ken Scheeringa, associate state climatologist at the Indiana State Climate Office.
“When we had that heavy rain, it caused a lot of flooding to occur,” Scheeringa said. “We did have some flood warnings out around a lot of the central and southern counties about two weeks ago. Now, after some time has gone by and that rain has had time to soak into the ground, it has been able to alleviate those abnormally dry conditions that were on the map a week ago.”
By the end of summer, U.S. Drought Monitor statistics showed 100 percent of the state was affected by drought. In July, the U.S. Department of Agriculture designated 36 Indiana counties as primary natural disaster areas from losses caused by extreme drought. This designation allowed farm operators in 19 counties, including Monroe County, to qualify for natural disaster assistance, making all qualified farm operators in the county eligible for low-interest emergency loans from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency.
© 2024 HeraldTimesOnline, Bloomington, IN