UNDATED (WKZO) --  The U.S. Drought monitor has now officially added most of the bottom half of the Lower Peninsula to the area suffering moderate drought, with half of St. Joseph and Most of Branch Counties in the severe drought area.Michigan is at the top of a dry zone that includes most of Indiana, Illinois and stretches as far south as Texas.Deke Arndt at NOAA's national climatic data center says it’s the result of unusual weather conditions that reach all the way back to last year.  

He says its resulted in the driest summer in years and he doesn’t see much relief in the future. He says the warming trend could continue for decades.Forecasters are calling for a chance of rain this weekend, but say it’s only a small chance, and it’s not for the prolonged kind of soaking storms that the area really needs.