WEST MICHIGAN — Thanks to the lack of rain lately, the Moderate Drought that plagued parts of Barry and Calhoun counties a week ago has expanded to the north and west.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, most of Newaygo, Oceana, and Muskegon counties are now in a Moderate Drought.
Much of Kent County is now in a Moderate Drought as well.
So one can clearly see: most of West Michigan is dealing with a rainfall deficit.
Officially at the National Weather Service Office in Grand Rapids, August rainfall is running 0.50″ below the long term average.
Areas of low pressure often bring summer-time showers and thunderstorms, and we do have one of those lows moving through the area.
However, the rainfall with this low looks widely scattered.
This is what Future Track HD depicts for late this afternoon: The picture doesn’t look a whole lot brighter for tomorrow, with only widely scattered showers and an outside chance of a thunderstorm: The North American Model shows around 1/4″ of rain in many parts of the FOX 17 viewing area between now and Friday evening: To begin with, this amount of rain wouldn’t be a “drought buster” for us.
Dry conditions are expected over the weekend with lows in the lower to middle 60s and highs in the middle 80s.
Be sure to keep it tuned to FOX 17 for further updates!

When it comes to predicting the Kansas City weather, abnormal is normal.
As a result, plants are stressed.
Leaves are brown or scorched or branches are bare.
The U.S. Drought Monitor places much of the metro area in the severe or extreme drought conditions.
protected by reCAPTCHA Privacy – Terms Privacy – Terms Drought conditions have caused many tree species to shed leaves.
This summer’s intense sun has scorched many leaves.
Dennis Patton Adding to the drought conditions has been the hotter summer.
The intense sun has caused leaves to scorch brown along the edges.
The defoliation, while still of concern, is not as life-threatening as the drought.
But if you are worried, now might be a good time to water.

At least 50,000 residents living in 31 villages across seven districts in Wonogiri, Central Java, have been affected by drought since July, according to local authorities, which predict that the water shortage will last until October.
Wonogiri regent Joko “Jekek” Sutopo said that residents had tried to survive the drought by buying water for up to Rp 200,000 (US$13.60) per water tank, or around 6,000 liters.
Jekek further said a limited budget had hampered the administration’s plans to solve the water crisis once and for all.
The regency required at least Rp 165 billion to build a better system, including pumping water from 180 existing groundwater sources to distributing it to residents’ houses.
Wonogiri regency allocated only Rp 2 billion this year to meet the residents’ water needs.
Water crisis is a recurring theme in the region, especially during the prolonged dry season.
“The water crisis should be addressed permanently to prevent it from recurring,” Jekek said.
Wonogiri Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Bambang Haryanto echoed Jekek’s statement, saying at least 488 tanks of clean water — worth Rp 81 million — were needed daily to meet the needs of 50,000 residents.
(vny/swd) Topics : clean-water, drought, Wonogiri

Following a recent announcement that 100 per cent of New South Wales is drought-affected, charity organisations around Australia have provided emergency aid which includes hampers, fodder delivery and food vouchers.
The Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal’s (FRRR) program manager for Queensland and NSW, Jacki Diamond, told Pro Bono News it was important for the social sector to “come together” so that programs could be coordinated and managed properly to effect change.
“We often find, particularly in a disaster scenario that communities are completely bombarded by lots of individual groups that want to help, and will all come to them for a separate conversation,” Diamond said.
She said the role of FRRR was to “provide an avenue” for consultation between philanthropic and community groups so they could work collaboratively together.
“It’s vital that level of consultation exists both within the philanthropic sector but also importantly talking to communities about what support they need and being able to cover the gaps,” she said.
While the immediate relief efforts was welcomed by FRRR, Diamond said it was important to acknowledge the aftermath of the “economic decline that accompanies drought”, which is why long term programs were critical.
“Drought, like other natural disasters, has an extended recovery period… once [drought] breaks, communities are affected for at least two years,” she said.
“Locals of rural communities are incredibly resilient and resourceful, but distance and the small size of most communities makes it hard to fundraise normally – let alone when there is a drought.” The recent announcement of extra federal government funding for drought-affected communities had a mixed response from various organisations.
Chief executive of the Country Education Foundation, Wendy Cohen, said the two $12,000 payments to families “would not go far”, especially when it came to education costs.
“Many families are determined to prioritise the education of their children, but there’s only so far limited budgets can stretch,” Cohen said.

PELLA, Iowa (KCRG-TV9) — A corn and soybean producer in Pella is feeling the drought that happened this summer.
Dennis Bogaard told WOI the lack of rain has given the crops barely enough water to keep growing.
"The corn plant right now usually in August we shouldn’t be seeing the brown husks and the yellow plants that we are seeing in some of this corn right now," Bogaard said.
Bogaard said with the corn, the heat and less rain has given them a chance to see the corn shut down.
With Soybeans, Bogaard said if the weather stays hot, the soybeans will lose energy and start letting go of some of its pods.
"This is probably one that will come off of there pretty quick if it gets really hot and dry and it’s just a little one, but there’s two beans in there and if we can make those two beans on 140,000 plants out here that makes a big difference in the yield," Bogaard said.
Only time will tell how the crops will harvest.

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Recent rain is welcome, but Ben Winsor, a local farmer says it isn’t enough.
"It’s extremely disappointing, it’s like reaching for a piece of candy and you just don’t, you just don’t get it," he said.
Recent data from the state puts his farmland in Jefferson County under drought emergency.
"It’s hitting farmers in this region extremely hard," he said.
Dry weather means more work.
It also means tighter finances due to lower yields.
Lavell Winsor explained how farmers are coping.
"Most farmers at this point are hoping to break even," she said.
"This is the worst drought that we’ve had in our area in a few years, probably 2012 was the last drought we’ve had quite this bad."
"Especially if we can get some more rain, we could maybe have an okay crop on the soybeans."

Villagers catch fish in a drying-up pond in Yinshan Village of Liuli Township in Jinxi County, east China’s Jiangxi Province, Aug. 14, 2018.
Some parts of Jiangxi Province have suffered from drought for days due to the persistent summer heat and lack of rainfall.
(Xinhua/Wan Xiang) A farmer checks rice shoots in Yinshan Village of Liuli Township in Jinxi County, east China’s Jiangxi Province, Aug. 14, 2018.
Some parts of Jiangxi Province have suffered from drought for days due to the persistent summer heat and lack of rainfall.
(Xinhua/Wan Xiang) China World Business Culture Edu Sports Sci Tech Health Entertainment Investment Doing Business Work in China Study in China Visit in China Live in China Emergency Weather Photo taken on Aug. 14, 2018 shows a cracked rice field in Yinshan Village of Liuli Township in Jinxi County, east China’s Jiangxi Province.
Some parts of Jiangxi Province have suffered from drought for days due to the persistent summer heat and lack of rainfall.
(Xinhua/Wan Xiang) China World Business Culture Edu Sports Sci Tech Health Entertainment Investment Doing Business Work in China Study in China Visit in China Live in China Emergency Weather A farmer irrigates a rice field in Pingtang Village of Liuli Township of Jinxi County, east China’s Jiangxi Province, Aug. 14, 2018.
Some parts of Jiangxi Province have suffered from drought for days due to the persistent summer heat and lack of rainfall.
(Xinhua/Wan Xiang) Wednesday, August 15, 2018 Aerial photo taken on Aug. 14, 2018 shows a farmer checking a dried-out rice field in Yinshan Village of Liuli Township in Jinxi County, east China’s Jiangxi Province.
Some parts of Jiangxi Province have suffered from drought for days due to the persistent summer heat and lack of rainfall.

Continued warm and dry conditions have prompted the province to elevate the drought rating in for east Vancouver Island, to Level 4.
As a result, a maximum reduction of water use is recommended and regulatory action may become necessary.
West Vancouver Island remains at Level 3 and will be re-evaluated as conditions deteriorate.
If voluntary reductions of water use are not sufficient to maintain flows above critical levels, the province may consider regulating water usage under the Water Sustainability Act.
These include, but are not limited to, the Koksilah, Chemainus, San Juan and Salmon rivers.
Recent precipitation has been insufficient to halt the downward trend on all of the east Vancouver Island streams.
Maximum water conservation is encouraged in these and other low-flow watersheds.
Water users on all streams are reminded to ensure that water intakes are screened to Fisheries and Oceans Canada standards to prevent fish from being pulled into water systems as water levels drop.
Residential, agricultural and industrial water users who are located within municipalities and regional districts are encouraged to observe local water conservation bylaws where they exist.
Some water conservation tips for residents include limiting outdoor watering, not water during the heat of the day or when it is windy, taking shorter showers and installing water-efficient shower heads, taps and toilets.

A total of 72 counties — virtually the entire eastern half of the state — are now under a drought emergency.
The city of Gardner has issued water-use restrictions.
“Counties in emergency stage are eligible for emergency use of water from certain state fishing lakes,” according to an announcement from the Drought Response Team in Gov.
Jeff Colyer’s office.
protected by reCAPTCHA Privacy – Terms Privacy – Terms Individuals and communities need to file a request with the Kansas Water Office before withdrawing water from lakes.
All 105 Kansas counties are either in a drought emergency or under a watch or warning.
Though the forecast this week calls for more rain, the National Weather Weather Service in Kansas City tweeted on Aug. 12: “On track to see a decent amount of rain across the area this week.
… It’s unlikely to break the drought, but it should certainly help.” Spotty showers and storms will continue through tonight.
It’s unlikely to break the drought, but it should certainly help.
pic.twitter.com/AVugnRujqQ — NWS Kansas City (@NWSKansasCity) August 12, 2018 As for Missouri, the National Integrated Drought Information System said that as of the last update on Aug. 7, much of northern and northwestern parts of the state and parts of southwestern Missouri were in extreme drought.

PELLA, Iowa – After heavy rain early in the summer, farmers in parts of the state are now worried about a drought.. Those concerns match up with the latest Iowa crop progress and condition report.
Dennis Bogaards’ farm in Pella has seen better summers.
The lack of rain is really starting to affect his soybeans and corn.
Dennis says they’ve had just barely enough water to keep growing.
"The corn really doesn’t look too bad, if you go further south you’ll see that the corn starts to tip back and these kernels don’t develop," Bogaards said.
And it’s not just the corn.
The soybeans need a big drink of water too.
"It’s harder to see drought conditions right now in the soybeans.
"This is probably one that will come off of there pretty quick if it gets really hot and dry and it’s just a little one, but there’s two beans in there and if we can make those two beans on 140 thousand plants out here that makes a big difference in the yield," said Bogaards.
"We just gotta hope that mother nature gives us the rain that we need," Bogaards said.