Most of Michigan is now rated as abnormally dry or in moderate drought.
The amount of land area rated as abnormally dry or in drought increased by 40 percent in the past week.
The U.S. Drought Monitor now has two large areas of Lower Michigan in moderate drought.
The second area of moderate drought doubled in the past week.
Moderate drought covers most of the Thumb and now most of northeast Lower Michigan.
We’ve had some rain in Michigan since last week.
Some areas have a little relief from dry conditions.
Most areas of the Thumb had less than one inch of rain in the past week.
That moisture helped the crops for a few days, and then was gone.
This coming week has one rain in the Thumb and southeast Lower, but the rest of Michigan looks generally dry.