The drought will continue for awhile. That outlook from geology and earth sciences instructor Jeff Bradley of Northwest Missouri State University is based on several factors. Bradley says a dry May and June set the stage and there’s little moisture in the ground and vegetation to feed the formation of rain clouds.

He says the jet stream is farther north than normal, and that’s carrying Pacific storms that usually come our way into Minnesota and the Dakotas instead. It’s also keeping cooler air away from us. Bradley says at this point he doesn’t see any significant short-term relief from the drought.