(Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

The recent heat wave, coupled with lower than normal precipitation, has produced conditions ripe for what’s known as a “flash drought” in the Chicago area, according to the National Weather Service.

Flash droughts, unlike conventional droughts, come on quickly.

Abnormally high temperatures increase the rate at which water is transferred from the land to the atmosphere, lowering soil moisture, which is then exacerbated by decreased rainfall, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Flash droughts typically occur during warm seasons in the central U.S., NOAA said, with a 2012 flash drought in the Great Plains causing $30 billion in damage to the agricultural sector.

Researchers are still working to better understand flash droughts in order to improve prediction and mitigation.

Contact Patty Wetli:@pattywetli| (773) 509-5623 |[email protected]