Drought in Illinois clears up as it remains impactful on Texas Residents Unveiling a Historic Dino Surprise.

                                        Courtesy of New York Times

By: Hannah Mitchell

Climate change has been impacting the world at a fast rate causing alarm for most with an exception of a few.

Throughout the summer months of this past year, a large swatch of the far southern and southwestern suburbs of Illinois including Will County were experiencing abnormally dry conditions according to reporter Tim McGill from Fox News. Dry, yellow-colored lawns could be seen repeatedly throughout these areas. It was also found that the U.S. Drought Monitor’s latest analysis of our state has 6.9% of the state (primarily in Central IL) in a moderate drought. 

Luckily for Illinoisans, there was no shortage of precipitation to follow which benefitted these areas that desperately needed it. There was actually an overshot of rainfall leading to soaking wet conditions. Some areas saw more than half a foot of rainfall. As Illinois’ abnormal drought conditions begin to clear up finally, TX recently has been experiencing extreme heat and lack of rain leading to the discovery of 113 million-year-old dinosaur tracks revealed at Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose, Texas. The Paluxy River which usually covers these, completely dried up this past summer leaving the community with discernable pieces of the past. This exciting discovery is not permanent though. Eventually, these tracks will not be visible due to the re-emergence of water, creating sediment that will help prevent them from eroding away. 

A reporter from NPR stated, “There's some irony in the fact that dinosaurs, which were ultimately wiped out by very rapid climate change, now [the] evidence of their living animals was exposed because of human-made climate change today.”

If you get the chance, get out of your normal Will County area to visit this monumental revelation before it's too late.