HUTCHINSON, Kan. — As wet as it was in the area in May and June, the same can not be said for the month of July.

After record flooding in the spring and early summer, most of central Kansas could actually use some rain. According to the official statistics from the National Weather Service, Hutchinson received just 1.38 inches of precipitation in July with more than an inch of that occurring in the first eight days of the month.

That puts the area more than 1.8 inches behind our normal numbers. The lack of rain is also starting to show in the latest soil moisture numbers. According to the Kansas Ag Statistics Service, several areas are starting to see soil and subsoil moisture levels dropping after being in surplus most of the summer.

Temperatures for the month ran about normal with an average high of 81 degrees.