The snow is expected to melt and WNDU meteorologist Frank Waugh insists that the ground is still dry enough to soak up the moisture.
“This stuff is just going to melt and it’s going to go right down into the ground in most cases,” said Waugh. “In some cases, it is going to run off and fill up some of those ponds. I know the ponds could still definitely use some water. We’re going to melt a lot of this because over the next couple of days we’re going to be up above freezing for our highs. This weekend, we should be in the mid- to upper-40s and we’ll likely see some rain to kick off next week. Those stubborn piles of snow will really reduce once we add some rain on top of them.”
The approximate ten inches of snow received in the Kankakee Valley amounts to one inch of rainfall and that will help raise the water table in the area.
We’re coming out of one of the driest summer seasons on record and this winter, according to Waugh, has cleared the drought monitor.
“Going into winter, we were in an extreme drought,” he explained. “Right now we have all but erased our coloring on the drought monitor map.”
The moisture is good news to farmers who suffered with dry conditions and it cost them dearly in the fields. Many of them had to file losses with crop insurance agencies.
