Although the drought in southwestern and western Indiana has grown worse in the last week, northeast Indiana's drought status remains unchanged.
The U.S. Drought Monitor report issued this morning and based on conditions as of 7 a.m. Tuesday, shows that the majority of northeast Indiana remains in extreme drought. The only part of the region not in extreme drought is in the next-worst category, severe drought.
In the state as a whole, 24 percent is now in exceptional drought, the worst category for the Drought Monitor index. Last week, 19 percent of the state was in exceptional drought.
The drought report shows that all of LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Whitley, Huntington, Wabash and Kosciusko counties are in extreme drought, along with about a third of Allen County and two-thirds of DeKalb County. The rest of northeast Indiana is in severe drought.
The National Weather Service reports that at Fort Wayne International Airport, 5 inches of rain have fallen since June 1, which is 3.53 inches less than in a typical year.
Since Jan. 1, 15.35 inches of precipitation have fallen at the airport, 7.98 inches less than in a typical year.
