LOUISVILLE, KY. (WDRB) -- It's the beginning of summer, and already lawns are turning brown. But there are things you can do to help.
Already much of the area is experiencing drought conditions, and with triple-digit heat and no rain in the forecast, it will certainly get worse before it gets better.
Andrea Schoettmer with the National Weather Service explains, "We will continue to see a July dry pattern and hot as well, and then for the rest of the July, August period we'll continue to see above normal temperatures again."
This should come as no surprise. Typically when you get into a drought scenario at the beginning of your summer, it tends to continue. We call this the drought cycle and as bad as it's been here, it's even worse to our west.
Schoettmer says, "There is D3, which is extreme drought conditions over western Kentucky currently. And if we don't see any rain, which we don't have much in the forecast for this coming week at all, we will see those D3 extreme drought conditions spread eastward."
Typically May and June are the wettest months of the year for Kentuckiana -- simply put, that has not been the case this time around. We're about 2.5 inches below normal now for the month of June, making many lawns already crunchy and brown."
The Head Grounds Keeper at Glen Mary Golf Club says don't worry, the lawn's not dead. Ben Hines explains, "That's a misconception that when you come across a lawn that's brown, they obviously think it's dead. But what I like to call it, it's asleep."
But if you are like many proud homeowners and you want to keep your lawn nice and green, you better start watering. Hines says that certain times are better than others. "You definitely don't want to do it during the heat of the day. Your hottest period of time is like 12 to 4. I wouldn't do any watering then. It's best to do it right before sundown or right before sunup, early mornings. "
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