Drought conditions, which started in August, 2003, continued through the month of October 2003, across south-central and southeast Wisconsin.  The entire area was in a moderate (D1) to severe drought (D2) status during the month of October.  The monthly rainfall at Madison's (Dane Co.) Truax Field was 1.60 inches, or 0.58 below normal.  At Milwaukee's (Milwaukee Co.) Mitchell Field, only 1.51 inches of rain fell during October, 2003, or 0.98 below normal.  The Wisconsin Dells (Columbia Co.) area only picked up 0.98 inches for the entire month.  Two isolated areas had slightly over 2.50 inches, one east of Watertown (Jefferson Co.), and the other just south of West Bend (Washington Co.).  Otherwise most locations in south-central and southeast Wisconsin picked up 1.5 to 2.0 inches for the month; however, most of the rain fell on only a few days.  At Madison, there were only 5 days with 0.10 inches or more, and Milwaukee only had 4 days.  Water levels in lakes, rivers, and streams remained below normal for the entire month, and at some spots they were near record-low levels.  Newspaper reports indicated that some farmers didn't harvest much of anything in October.  In addition, some wetland basins had substantially or completely dried up, especially in Kenosha County.  It was noted that soils in southeast Wisconsin were dry to a depth of 18 to 30 inches.  Some parts of south-central and southeast Wisconsin have only received 45 to 50% of their normal precipitation from November, 2002 through October, 2003.  However, some spotty locations in 2003 have managed to pick up enough rain to have near average crop yields.  Some farmers felt that the drought in 2003 was perhaps as bad as the 1988 drought, or worse, and that one would have to go back to 1933 to find a growing season as dry as the 2003 season.  Throughout south-central and southeast Wisconsin, some trees continued to drop their leaves (without color) due to the continued dryness.  A 6-month old female died in the city of Middleton (Dane Co.). Heat was listed as a contributing cause, thus this death is indirectly related to excessive heat.  Maximum temperatures in the Middleton area on October 7th and 8th were around 79, about 15 degrees above normal.

Drought in WASHINGTON, WISCONSIN
From 01-OCT-03 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-03 23:59:00 (CST)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought in OZAUKEE, WISCONSIN
From 01-OCT-03 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-03 23:59:00 (CST)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought in MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN
From 01-OCT-03 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-03 23:59:00 (CST)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought in IOWA, WISCONSIN
From 01-OCT-03 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-03 23:59:00 (CST)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought in DANE, WISCONSIN
From 01-OCT-03 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-03 23:59:00 (CST)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought in JEFFERSON, WISCONSIN
From 01-OCT-03 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-03 23:59:00 (CST)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought in WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN
From 01-OCT-03 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-03 23:59:00 (CST)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought in LAFAYETTE, WISCONSIN
From 01-OCT-03 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-03 23:59:00 (CST)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought in GREEN, WISCONSIN
From 01-OCT-03 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-03 23:59:00 (CST)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought in ROCK, WISCONSIN
From 01-OCT-03 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-03 23:59:00 (CST)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought in WALWORTH, WISCONSIN
From 01-OCT-03 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-03 23:59:00 (CST)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought in RACINE, WISCONSIN
From 01-OCT-03 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-03 23:59:00 (CST)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought in KENOSHA, WISCONSIN
From 01-OCT-03 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-03 23:59:00 (CST)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought in MARQUETTE, WISCONSIN
From 01-OCT-03 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-03 23:59:00 (CST)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought in GREEN LAKE, WISCONSIN
From 01-OCT-03 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-03 23:59:00 (CST)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought in FOND DU LAC, WISCONSIN
From 01-OCT-03 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-03 23:59:00 (CST)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought in SHEBOYGAN, WISCONSIN
From 01-OCT-03 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-03 23:59:00 (CST)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought in SAUK, WISCONSIN
From 01-OCT-03 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-03 23:59:00 (CST)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought in COLUMBIA, WISCONSIN
From 01-OCT-03 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-03 23:59:00 (CST)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought in DODGE, WISCONSIN
From 01-OCT-03 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-03 23:59:00 (CST)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC