Drought — Woodford, Illinois

2023-07-01 to 2023-07-11 · Woodford, Illinois

Event narrative

Severe Drought (D2) conditions that developed in June persisted across Woodford County into July, but drought conditions improved by mid-July. During early July, agricultural stress was common.

Wider weather episode

Severe Drought Conditions (D2) that developed in June continued into July across portions of central Illinois, primarily north of I-72. Some burn bans were in effect at the start of the month, and there were increased fire concerns around the July 4 holiday. However, an active pattern brought increased rainfall during the first three weeks of the month, which resulted in improvements to the drought. Most burn bans were lifted by mid-July, and by the end of the month less than 10% of the area, mainly locations to the west of Lincoln, were experiencing severe drought (D2). A hot and dry stretch during the final week of the month resulted in some minor degradation of drought conditions. Locations along and north of I-72 still had summer rainfall deficits of 3 to 7 inches at the end of July.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1116356. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.