More than 94 percent of the state is classified as abnormally dry to severe drought by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Last week, only 67 percent of the state was considered dry, but now at almost a month of only trace amounts of rain, the heat and dry conditions are starting to take a toll. Last year at this time, not an acre of Kentucky's 40,409 square miles was considered unseasonably dry.
Abnormally dry conditions mean lawns and vegetation are brown and crops and pastures are beginning to show stress. Kentucky pastureland is already suffering with 54 percent considered poor to very poor. And as of Monday, 17 percent of soybeans and 26 percent of hay was rated poor to very poor by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service in Louisville. Corn, much of which matured under normal conditions and is now being harvested, showed only 11 percent of acreage in poor to very poor condition.
Just 0.19 inches of rain prior to today's trace amounts in Crittenden County had been recorded by the local Kentucky Mesonet weather monitoring station since Aug. 27. And the outlook is no better. According to the National Weather Service in Paducah, no rain is forecast through next Wednesday with daily highs still eclipsing 90 degrees, about 10 degrees higher than usual.
Two-thirds of Kentucky's 120 have now issued outdoor burning bans. Violation of the order is punishable by fines up to $500.
Check out next week's issue of The Crittenden Press for an update on crop conditions and the drought status. If the drought continues, Crittenden County could move to the moderate drought classification, which is indicated by further stresses vegetation, increased risk for wildfires and more problem algae and fungus growth, a problem already plaguing some large bodies of water in Kentucky.
