Rain too little to end drought

Many parts of central Indiana had rain in the past couple days, some areas receiving up to five inches. But it was only temporary relief, though, with a streak of dry weather expected to return.

The drought still stands, a local National Weather Service expert said.

"Things haven't changed here,” said Al Shipe, certified hydrologist with the NWS in Indianapolis. “They've temporarily improved."

The rain helped reservoir levels rise, and some grass may have started to turn its natural shade of green. But Shipe said a lot more rain is needed for improved conditions to stick around.

"We would need rains like this on a regular basis for at least six to seven weeks," he said.

Even those isolated areas north of Indianapolis that picked up more than five inches of rain will soon return to drought mode, Shipe said. The cloudy skies on Friday helped moisture to stay around and not evaporate, but that will end soon, he said.

"After [Friday] another heat wave begins,” he said. “It won't be as hot as we've seen, but we're still seeing the forecasted temperatures to be in the mid- to the low 90s. With those temperatures, the evaporation rates go even higher."