A flash drought is headed for the U.S. midwest after a particularly dry month of May, officials have warned.
The National Weather Service said that a flash drought "appears to be developing" in northeastern Illinois, which hasn't seen soaking rain since early April.
"Be careful with open flames during the holiday weekend," the weather service warned in a tweet.
Chicago has so far only seen 0.42 inches of rainfall in May, and none is forecast for the rest of the month. If no additional rain falls, May 2023 will be "the second driest on record behind May 1992."
The last rainfall the area saw occurred on April 4. Officials have warned that this dry pattern could continue into June.
Neighboring Indiana is also seeing very dry, warming temperatures.
A persistent dry pattern may continue into early June. As a result, a flash drought appears to be developing especially in northeastern Illinois where soaking rain hasn’t occurred since early April. Be careful with open flames during the holiday weekend! #ILwx #INwx pic.twitter.com/FCeKRho0AZ
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) May 23, 2023
Flash droughts occur when drought conditions are seen quickly and severally over a short amount of time. It usually occurs within a few days or weeks.
A flash drought will occur when there is lower-than-average rainfall, combined with very high temperatures. These two factors can alter the climate rapidly.
Chicago and northeast Illinois have seen high temperatures—above 80 degrees Fahrenheit—over the last few days, although conditions have been cooler near Lake Michigan.
It is not uncommon for the weather in Chicago to be inconsistent as the city sits in the middle of the continent. The area sees weather extremes across the seasons, with very cold winters and extremely hot summers. This is partly due to Lake Michigan, which is so vast that it generates its own weather patterns.
By contrast, coastal cities on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts are tempered by the oceans.
Earlier this month, a boat capsized off 31st Beach in Chicago after a sudden gust of wind drastically altered temperatures in the area, WFLD reported at the time.
The incident was caused by a weather phenomenon known as a "pneumonia front." The phenomenon only occurs in this particular area, when cool winds off Lake Michigan accelerate inland, causing temperatures to drop drastically.
The term was coined in the 1960s by the National Weather Service and describes the moment when the temperature drops by up to 16 degrees Fahrenheit for around one hour at a time. It usually occurs from April through July.
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