Michigan Drought Not Going Away Soon

The dry conditions in the state won't be easing up for awhile, the two week forecast shows heat and very little rain.

Michigan may be in its driest spring since the beginning of recorded weather, and it appears there is no relief on the horizon.

The long term forecast issued by the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids shows for warmer than average temperatures and lower than normal rainfall through the middle of June.

Temperatures are headed for the 90s beginning this weekend and into next week, and while that's great if you're a boater or a swimmer, it's not so great if you're a farmer, where the drought here in the state is starting to get pretty serious.

Severe drought conditions have been present in West Michigan for a few weeks now, and the little rain we had late last week did nothing to slake the ground's thirst. Most of the rest of the Lower Peninsula is still at moderate drought levels, but that could worsen this week.

There is a slight plus side, as Great Lakes water levels, which just a year ago were at all time highs, have come down dramatically this spring. Lake Michigan has dropped a pretty incredible 18 inches in the past year, which means the beach frontage at public parks will be back to where they were a few years ago.

Amazingly the lake is still 18 inches above normal, that's how high the levels had gotten.

It's not all bad news for farmers. The dry weather has allowed for more opportunities for fieldwork according to Eric Anderson of the Michigan State University Extension Office.

And the drought could cause soybean and corn prices to rise says the Daily Reporter:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released 2021 corn and soybean May World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates. In the report, the market year average prices for 2021 are projected at $5.70 per bushel for corn and $13.85 per bushel for soybeans, both near-record prices.