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Drought in Lower Lakes/Ohio Valley


Geos

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Oh! It rained for about 30 seconds in my backyard. Not enough to nudge the tippy bucket to 0.01 though. So semi-officially just a strong trace at the house. But it is baby steps in the right direction.

Ended up with a whopping .03" in the rain gauge, just enough to water the weeds some more.. :lol:

Also saw this on the news last night, all Indiana counties are now under a Water Shortage Warning.

http://www.fox59.com/news/wxin-as-the-states-drought-worsens-all-of-indianas-counties-are-now-under-a-water-shortage-warning-20120717,0,2645961.column

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Last 30 day precipitation totals (days with 0.01" or more) in central Indiana, through yesterday.

Shelbyville: T (0 days)

Indianapolis: 0.04" (1 day)

Indianapolis Eagle Creek: 0.24" (4 days)

Terre Haute: 0.38" (2 days)

Lafayette: 0.75" (4 days)

Bloomington: 0.90" (5 days)

Muncie: 2.18" (5 days)

Looks like the next couple of days may offer the best chance, in a seemingly long time, at a more "widespread" rainfall for central Indiana.

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A local comparison, summer of 1936 versus 2012, at the West Lafayette COOP

June 1 through July 16 total precipitation

1936: 0.84"

2012: 1.45"

June 1 through July 16 days with 0.01"+ precipitation

1936: 10 days

2012: 9 days

June 1 through July 16 highest calendar day precipitation total

1936: 0.16" on June 3

2012: 0.72" on June 29

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Was at a seed meeting today where we were told that 300 acres of corn for seed was destroyed in Northern Indiana this week. That corn was under irrigation, but extended period of heat at pollination caused the crop to fail. So even if it starts raining in the next week a lot of seed production, at least on the corn side will be taken out. So this drought is going to have at the the very least a two year effect on Midwest agriculture.

Yeah the corn is beyond repair. Have corn near me tasselled at 3ft tall. Further south, I have friends hoping to get 100 per acre. Major crop failure on our hands.

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Open-fire ban, effective immediately, has been put into place for the City of Geneva; the penalty is quite severe, as you can see from the press release:

Due to increasing drought levels and extremely warm temperatures, an open fire ban is in place for City of Geneva until further notice, by order of the Geneva Fire Department. Consideratioin for lifting the restriction will be based in part on a significant change in the current drought conditions.

“The ban includes fire pits, portable fireplaces, outdoor fireplaces without a spark arrestor and campfires. Residents are also reminded that the use of any kind of firework or other pyrotechnic device continues to be illegal under State Statute,” said DC Jerry Koster. “We want people to enjoy the outdoors but the danger is too high to be taking chances with open fire at this time.”

Any individual found violating the ban within the city of Geneva could be subject to a fine up to $750. Individuals or groups responsible for causing a fire that may also be held liable for suppression costs.

For more formation about outdoor burning restrictions and how you can prevent fires, contact the Geneva Fire Department 630-232-2530 or visit the department website.

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"The Indianapolis Airport received at least 0.24 inches of rainfall Wednesday afternoon bringing a close to the driest start to July ever and one of the longest dry spells of record. Total rainfall at the airport for the 47-day period from June 1-July 17 was a meager 0.09 inches. The previous record for 0.09 inches for a 45-day occurred from August 13-September 26, 1908. July 2012 hold the record for the driest start to July with no measurable rainfall through July 17 eclipsing July 1901 by one day."

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After the next 1-2 days the pattern looks to turn dry in the areas that need it most. 90% of the area won't have made up much ground by this time next week.

Not to be dense, but one week, or 2-3 maybe 4 days of sporadic rain isn't going to cut it. The damage is done, and it's serious damage...and will only get worse unless wholesale pattern changes happen. And that's not going to occur anytime soon unfortunately. Sad state of affairs.

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Saw a report tonight, houses are having foundation damage due to the drought. The soil is drying out so deep, foundations are majorly sinking.

Is this around where you live? Haven't heard about any foundation issues around here.

The rain we got tonight will definitely help. But we need consistent rains every week to make big difference like Chicago Wx said.

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Is this around where you live? Haven't heard about any foundation issues around here.

The rain we got tonight will definitely help. But we need consistent rains every week to make big difference like Chicago Wx said.

Here's a story about it.

http://www.fox59.com/news/wxin-drought-causing-foundation-problems-for-area-homeowners-20120718,0,6835024.column

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0.40" in the last 24 hours at IND, which puts them close to the record for the driest July on record...set all the way back in 2011. 80% chance of storms/rain today, so that may take care of that matter.

0.40" in 2012 (through this morning)

0.47" in 2011

0.49" in 1914

0.55" in 1997

0.67" in 1936

0.82" in 1881

2012 still in the driver's seat to become the driest June-July in recorded history.

0.49" in 2012 (through this morning)

2.45" in 1930

2.78" in 1940

3.08" in 1991

3.41" in 1967

3.55" in 1954

3.58" in 1936

3.66" in 1922

3.67" in 1908

3.85" in 1893

3.86" in 1887

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with close to 3 inches over the last 7-10 days, I should be back close to high end moderate...parks along LSD (non-watered) are looking much greener this morning. It's no drought breaker but it should help us avoid making the upgrade to severe/extreme...at least until death furnace v3.0 arrives next week.

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Timeline of extreme drought %'s for Indiana, per the Drought Monitor updates going back to June 12. This latest update had the biggest one week jump.

June 12: 0.0%

June 19: 5.2%

June 26: 23.5%

July 3: 23.5%

July 10: 29.8%

July 17: 53.6%

Pretty amazing just how fast the drought has developed and severity of it..

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Saw a report tonight, houses are having foundation damage due to the drought. The soil is drying out so deep, foundations are majorly sinking.

Had this problem last year myself in St. Louis. Soil in my area is expansive and contractive depending on moisture content. Dry conditions penetrated far enough down that foundation footing began to sink especially during the end of the very hot dry summer. The settling was minor for me. Doors and windows not opening & closing properly, cracks in drywall especially near door frames, drywall tape disbonding at the joints, and cracks in the basement foundation. We decided to fix the problem at that time since water was coming in from the basement cracks. Although the settling was relatively minor the fix was expensive! $13K for pier installation (the home was lifted to correct door & window problems). I live near the Missouri River and average pier depth to bedrock was about 25-30 feet. This seems to have fixed the problem and stopped the settling.

Thankfully we fixed the problem last year otherwise we would be dealing with a major settling problem this year. I see several signs that the soil continues to contract around the home significantly.

St. Louis is on day 24 of 90+ degree days. Record is 28 and we should easily beat that given the foreast. Already had a stretch of 10 consecutive 100+ days (including 8 new record highs). Voluntary water restrictions are in place, but mandatory restrictions are looming.

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Is this around where you live? Haven't heard about any foundation issues around here.

The rain we got tonight will definitely help. But we need consistent rains every week to make big difference like Chicago Wx said.

Yeah, it was on Indy tv. I read somewhere else, but I cant find it now, that the soil is drying out up to 4' sub surface. We had a crap ton of rain here today radar estimate is only about 1/2 though.. Looked like there is quite a bit of runoff though, my street was flooded. I hope it didn't come down too fast to be of real benefit.

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