Drought conditions are already persisting in parts of Illinois and things are only anticipated to get worse as the National Weather Service predicts long periods of hot and dry weather throughout July and August.

Chris Miller at the National Weather Service in Lincoln tells Regional Radio News drought conditions are already prevalent in many areas of Illinois and they are monitoring the number of 90-degree days ahead along with any rainfall coming our way.

Miller is predicting dry and hot weather lasting through July and into August. He indicates last week, drought conditions for roughly 30-percent of Illinois showed up as abnormally dry.

If you're in eastern or western Illinois, things don't seem to be too bad right now. Miller says pop-up thunderstorms this summer have aided in keeping their moisture levels at an adequate level.

Miller says to get a good, consistent rain in some parts of the area you need a strong weather system to move through. Miller says while a million-dollar rain would go a long way in easing the stress on the crops in many places in Illinois, he just doesn't see the dry weather breaking any time soon.