Drought concerns continue to grow across Wisconsin

Rain has been hard to come by in 2021. Milwaukee, for the year, is just over half its average amount of precipitation since the start of January. We're only 1.40" above the driest start to the year on record back in 1958, where between January 1 and June 9, Milwaukee only received 6.46" of precip. 

Precip statistics for Milwaukee

The current drought monitor for southern Wisconsin has everyone at some level of drought. What's concerning is the area of severe drought continues to expand rapidly across the region. 

With only isolated thunderstorms and rain recently it's likely this severe section will grow in updated maps.  

Drought monitor as of June 9, 2021

Is there hope on the horizon? Not likely anytime soon. Long-term precipitation outlooks keep us drier than average heading into mid-June with temperatures likely staying above average as well. 

The combination of increased heat and more evaporation spells trouble for our current drought. 

Precipitation outlook for June 14th through June 18th, 2021