The drought severity has expanded to more Indiana counties along the Michigan border according to the Drought Monitor Index which was released on October 31. The index now includes more counties to the south of Fort Wayne. The expanded area includes Marion, Harford City, and Portland which are all south of Fort Wayne. So for the first time, all of northern Indiana and northwest Ohio are categorized as a 'severe drought'. This designation on the Drought Monitor is designated as a 'severe drought' and is a two on a four-point scale. The drought index has been expanded to include Indiana counties along the Michigan border The area did get light rainfall amounts under one-half inch last week but there is still an extreme deficit. The Fort Wayne Airport had only observed .35" of rainfall as of October 29 when this week's Drought Monitor index was calculated. The average monthly rainfall is 2.86". Since September 1 the Fort Wayne Airport has recorded 1.85" which is just over one-quarter of the rainfall average for the past two months.