Your lawn is not the only one in need of a little more rainfall. The dry weather this summer is partly to blame for beach closures throughout the country, including Otumba Park Beach earlier this week and at Frank Murphy County Park near Egg Harbor and Newport State Park in Ellison Bay ahead of the holiday weekend. All three have since been cleared for use because they are below acceptable bacteria levels.  The University of Nebraska’s U.S. Drought Monitor has northern Door County as abnormally dry and southern Door County as moderate drought. Door County Environmental Health Specialist Allie McDonald says the conditions are lending themselves to bacteria growth.

As of Friday at noon, there were no beach closures or advisories in Door or Kewaunee counties. McDonald says some beaches will soon be getting digital advisory boards that can let swimmers know of the conditions before entering the water without having to go online.