SOUTHERN ILLINOIS - Day after day of relentless sunshine may be perfect for sno-cone stands and swimming holes, but the seemingly endless supply of sunny skies could mean trouble for farmers.

If sunny, hot and dry days continue through the next week or two, they could find their corn crops in serious jeopardy, said Dennis Epplin, crops educator for the University of Illinois Extension office in Mount Vernon.

"Corn grows well up to 86 degrees Fahrenheit, but when it gets higher than that, the plants have to expend more energy and more water to continue to stay alive and be productive. Right

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now, the plants have nearly exhausted the available water in the rooting areas," Epplin said.

Rainfall is especially critical to corn growth at this time of the growing season while crops are in or fast approaching the reproductive stage.

"Some plants have already tasseled, while others are going into the reproductive stage now. The closer they are to that stage, the more likely there will be significant yield loss under the dry conditions," he said.

Keith Morhet, who farms 500 acres of corn near Rend Lake, is watching the skies just as carefully as he is watching his crops these days.

Morhet said the last time rain darkened his fields was three weeks ago when about an inch and a half of rain fell.

"We desperately need a good, soaking, all-day rain," he said.

His crops are still in pretty good shape right now, despite their appearance. "They are twisted up some, but that's a defense mechanism provided by drought-resistant hybrids," Morhet said.

"But another five or six days without rain could cause some serious yield loss for us."

Morhet is also concerned about the 100 acres of soybeans he planted in dry soil on June 21.

"Without a rain in the next few weeks, they probably won't come up," he said.

Epplin said optimum yields occur when rainfall measures between an inch and a half to an inch and three-quarters a week, but the potential for optimum yields may have passed in some Southern Illinois fields.

"Rainfall is a very local event and varies from county to county, even township to township. I don't believe it's too late for good or average yields yet if we see a series of good rains," Epplin said.

Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel said the conditions in Southern Illinois are prevalent statewide and very similar to the last drought in 1988.

"In '88, the drought wasn't concentrated in Illinois, it was throughout the Midwest, but this time, Illinois is the heart of the drought at least for now," Angel said. "We really started having trouble around March 1. Last winter was fairly mild with plenty of rainfall, but starting around March 1, the rain nearly dried up."

In the southern third of the state, rainfall totals for the period of March 1 to June 24 are averaging between five and seven inches below normal, with some local areas up to 10 inches below average rainfall amounts. "Southern Illinois usually averages on the order of 15 to 16 inches in that same time period. I think we can safely say we are in a drought situation," he said, particularly south and west of Carbondale.

Farmers are not the only ones affected by the drought, he said. Stream flows are dropping, which could cause a drop in lakes and ponds eventually, affecting water supplies for some communities. Wildlife is affected as well, as animals must scour the dry countryside for water sources.

Angel said he does see one upside to the current dry conditions.

"This type of weather is less mosquito-friendly because we have less standing water. Droughts usually cut down the mosquito population," he said.

People, especially those who spend a majority of time outdoors, are affected as well. Greg Smothers, operations engineer for the Illinois Department of Transportation, said the heat can become an issue for the approximately 180 IDOT employees who perform hard labor outside, all day every day.

"We had a guy a couple of weeks ago who got into some trouble because of the heat and humidity," he said. "This weather really impacts the most the people who are outside doing really intensified physical labor."

Road temperatures heat up during the summer months and temps in excess of 110 degrees would not be unusual, especially on dark asphalt roadways, he said.

Cool, icy water is provided to IDOT workers and road construction crews, Smothers said, to stave off the effects of the heat and humidity, which are expected to continue for at least the next few days.

Christine Wielgos, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Paducah, said "an upper level ridge will park itself over the region and will remain there at least through the weekend. We are eyeing a system in Florida that could make its way north next week, but we're not sure yet if it will come this far north."

Wielgos said isolated "heat-of-the-day" storms could occur, but no other trigger is in sight for a soaking rain. The forecast through July 7 calls for more hot and humid days with temperatures averaging above normal.

beckym@onecliq.net

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