Visibility Issues in Central Illinois Due to Drought and Harvest Dust

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — Drought conditions and harvesting season are proving to be a dangerous combination, kicking up dust and reducing visibility across some area highways in Central Illinois.

Ed Shimon, Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said drivers should know what to do in case they encounter a localized area where harvesting activities are kicking up localized dust events.

“Those really dry crops, because of the low moisture content, is creating more of that dusty debris that’s actually reducing visibility across roadways more frequently this year,” Shimon said. “The guidance on that is to pull off to the side of the road as far off the road as you can get.”

It’s not the only negative coming out of this year’s drought though. U of I agronomy professor Giovani Preza Fontes said it’s so dry, farmers are looking at potential yield losses. He said soybean fields are supposed to be harvested at 13%. 

“Most of the fields will be harvested with moisture below 10%,” Preza Fontes said. 

The agronomist said that a difference of 3% can make a big impact for most farms.

“Depending [on] how big your farm is, if it’s 300 acres, 500 acres, you just multiply by that and you can see how much money you’re leaving on the table,” Preza Fontes said.

Still, both Preza Fontes and Shimon said field fires should remain at the front of most people’s minds.

“The winds being 20 to 25 [mph] gusting this weekend, that could be enough that if a small fire developed, that a farmer might not be able to put it out before it starts inundating other fields,” Shimon said.