INDIANA, USA — We started 2024 in a pretty bad drought. We got out of it, and now, it is coming back. NOAA has officially placed parts of Indiana under a drought once again. It's the lowest level of drought, but we'll see as it evolves.
June is supposed to be our wettest month of the year. This year, it's been almost our driest, with only 1-2 inches for the month. On average, we get roughly 5 inches this month.
AVERAGE JUNE: 4.95 inches
THIS JUNE: 1.55 inches (for Indianapolis)
This bottom number will change as one more storm system hits us for the last weekend of June, but overall, it was dry.
How has picked up all the rain?
States to the west of us — like Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota — have picked up a lot of water recently. Some areas in the upper Midwest are experiencing flooding. But not in Indiana. We are dry.
Parts of the state have done better than others. Northern Indiana has picked up a little bit more rain (2-3 inches) this month, but many towns are also running drier for June.
In central and southern Indiana, there have been a few locations that have picked up a little more rain, but there are many towns that have less than an inch for the entire month.
Who is under the drought?
This map shows abnormally dry conditions (yellow) and level 1 drought conditions (light brown).
- Abnormally dry
- Crop fields and pastures are more stressed
- Lawns are turning brown, and gardens/flowerbeds have to be watered frequently
- Drought level 1
- Blue-green algae blooms appear on ponds and lakes
- Creek and pond water levels are low
- Crop growth is stunted
- Supplemental feeding for livestock is necessary
There are two main areas of drought to watch (counties are listed below). Parts of western Indiana have been drier, including the Terre Haute and Rockville area. Then, a larger swath of southern and southeastern Indiana has been included in the drought, including Bedford, Seymour, Columbus, North Vernon, Greensburg, Batesville and Brookville Lake.
Here's a list of counties with at least 64 square miles of level 1 drought:
- Bartholomew
- Brown
- Clark
- Dearborn
- Decatur
- Dubois
- Fountain
- Franklin
- Greene
- Harrison
- Jackson
- Jefferson
- Lawrence
- Marine
- Monroe
- Montgomery
- Orange
- Parke
- Ripley
- Scott
- Union
- Vermillion
- Vigo
Will we get rain soon?
This forecast will constantly evolve. However, there are some limited rain chances ahead for the end of June and early July.
For Saturday June 29, we could get a quarter to half inch of rain across the state. Then another round of some scattered rain is possible around the Fourth of July with another half inch or so. In places that get skipped by these scattered chances, drought levels will worsen.