Benefit of the Drought

I was afraid of this.

Lack of spring rain prompts drought warning

BLOOMINGTON -- Jim Erdman probably won't have to mow his yard this week. When he walks over it, there's a slight crunch.

That's not a good sign for the Chenoa corn and soybean farmer.

"If you need to mow the grass once a week, the corn will be fine," he said.

Instead, the lack of springtime rain has caused the grass to go dormant and could drop corn yields. It also has prompted a moderate drought warning from Chris Miller, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Lincoln.

Miller said rainfall is down between 5 and 7 inches in most of Central Illinois since March 1.

This really has been a very dry Spring. I was just thinking last night this is starting to look like how the drought of 1988 started.