The U.S. Drought Monitor released the latest drought map, showing that the “severe” D2 drought has expanded across much of northern Illinois. Only an area in the northeast part of the state remains in moderate drought (first figure).
The Climate Prediction Center also released their drought outlook today. They expect the drought in the central U.S. to persist over the next 3 months (second figure).
While I understand that a tornadic winds drought is expected during drought, it appears that flat-line high-speed winds (60-90mph) are more prevalent during drought-year thunderstorms. Would you comment?
There has been some evidence that we see straight line wind events even during droughts. However, we have so few widespread droughts in Illinois, it is hard to know if and how the two are related. I’m sure we will hear more about the derecho event that rolled through Illinois in July. Here’s a link for more on derechos from the NWS.