PEORIA, Ill. – Storms last week in central Illinois gave a little relief to persisting drought conditions.
The latest U.S Drought Monitor report shows the area between moderate to severe drought levels. A tiny portion of Peoria County, the southeastern portion of Woodford, and the southern half of Tazewell County are all still in severe drought conditions.
Last week’s report showed all of central Illinois in severe drought.
Nearly 85% of Illinois is at a moderate drought level, while more than 45% of the state is in severe drought. Last week, those numbers were around 93% and 59%, respectively.
Storms last week, which also produced a derecho, dropped 1-2 inches of rain in the Peoria area, while some towns saw up to five inches of rain. But data from the state climatologist office shows rainfall totals are between 1-8 inches below average totals for the past 90 days.
