MADISON, Wis. -- The National Weather Service says this is the worst drought statewide in several years. The extremely hot and dry weather is slowly damaging the crops, which could mean higher prices at the grocery store.
Parts of southern Wisconsin haven't seen a good rain since April. Agriculture officials say we're already short 5 to 10 inches of rainfall.
Columbia County farmer Bill Hoffman has been farming for 31 years and has more than 675 acres of corn.
"We need a rain and we need it fairly soon," Hoffman said. "There are a lot of crops that are in pretty tough shape, and in another week they're going to be in worse shape."
Drought has normally lush crops looking spikey, dry and brittle. With no irrigation system, a farmer's only hope lies with mother nature. Hoffman said three days of a nice, soaking, steady a rain would help. A shower here and there doesn't help much.
"We're at a point where anything less than 1 inch is not going to do much of anything," said David Fischer, a state agriculture official with the UW Extension. "A crop that could be worth $400 an acre of which 300 goes to expenses. This could really be a serious loss. If we don't see substantial rain by first of August, we are really going to see a salvage of the corn crop than the harvest."
The lack of rain will more than likely push up prices for cereal and other grain products. The last time there was a drought this bad was in 1988, and Fischer says at this point in time the weather is actually dryer now than it was back in 1988.
( Read More from WisBusiness.com: WisBusiness: Dry stretch could spell trouble for farms, wineries )
On Friday, Gov. Jim Doyle issued an executive order that allows Wisconsin farmers to tap lakes or streams to irrigate their crops because of extremely dry soil conditions. The temporary irrigation permits will be in effect until Aug. 14. The last statewide drought emergency was declared in August 2003.
Today's Forecast
Talk of rain this morning evaporated and dry conditions are expected today and Tuesday. But we could get some rain Wednesday.
Today's forecast calls for partly sunny skies and a high of 86. Tonight it cools down to the upper 50s.
Tomorrow it will be a little cooler, with a high of only 84. On Wednesday, the day is expected to start partly sunny and warm, with scattered showers and thunderstorms possible late in the day and at night. But then it's back to hot and dry again, with temps in the 90s for the weekend.
With such a long stretch of hot temps, health officials warn people to be aware of heat sickness. The first signs of heat exhaustion are physical and mental fatigue. More advanced signs are getting dizzy when you stand up, a cold sweat, or if you stop sweating completely. That is when you should get to a doctor immediately.
On hot days, people should limit their sun exposure, drink more fluids during the day, and get up and drink water during the night if they still feel thirsty, experts say.
( Read More: Are You At Risk For Heat Sickness? )
Fire Danger
Firefighters say fires like the one in Big Flats can happen a lot easier because of the extreme dry conditions.
That means you need to be extra careful when making campfires and using grills. Make sure all the coals are out before you throw them away.
Even though the winds aren't that high, low winds can feed a fire and carry a flame all over Madison.
"Especially grassy areas around the city -- anything can set off a fire right now, even careless use of discarded smoking materials," Lt. Tom Schaller of the Madison Fire Department.
The state is in a state of fire alert, but there are no official restrictions on campfires or cooking fires in our state parks yet.
Water Parks Happy
There's at least one group of businesses welcoming these hot and dry conditions. Major crowds are flocking to waterparks.
Noah's Ark Water Park in
Wisconsin Dells credits the weather with bringing up this year's sales by 30 percent from last summer, which was cool and damp.
"When we get heat like this, it brings the families out," said Tim Gantz, co-owner Noah's Park. "They get in the water right away and get relief from the heat, so it really does help us out a whole lot. We see a big plus in sales already, so that's influenced us to look for another ride."
Some of that business is coming from people you wouldn't expect to see at a waterpark -- weddings. A couple who met as lifeguards two years ago wed at the pool Sunday.
Hurricane Emily
The heat may seem unbearable here, but in Cancun, Mexico, they are dealing with Hurricane Emily.
Tourists in the popular resort town are seeking safety in schools and larger hotels.
The storm has been downgraded to category 2 and is expected to hit Cancun Monday night. About 500 buses were brought in to take the 30,000 tourists to shelters. Another 70,000 to 80,000 people were told to evacuate.
Emily is hitting the Yucatan Peninsula with high winds and waves, and 135 mph winds today. It caused heavy flooding in Jamaica Sunday, killing four.
( Read More: Emily Lashes Yucatan Peninsula ) To find out more on this, visit Channel 3000's Search page.
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