(Des Moines) Iowa’s State Climatologist Justin Glisan says the state is drier than it should be as we head into spring. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor released on Thursday shows abnormally dry conditions creeping south once again.
Glisan says that 30-to-90 day precipitation deficits are around two to four inches, including southwest Iowa. He says the abnormally dry “D0 category” on Thursday’s drought monitor is shifting further south, indicating shorter-term dryness. “We have a satellite product called NASA Sport, which gives us an idea of the column of available moisture,” said Glisan. “Soils across the state range from near to below-average precipitation at the 30th to 40th percentile. He says using a sponge as an example, there is room for 60-to-70-percent more moisture in that column.
“However, as far as moisture in the tank, we are in much better shape than we were one year ago at this time,” said Glisan. “The tank has more water in it heading into the growing season.”
Glisan says the last precipitation occurred on January 14 and 15 when nearly every location across Iowa received snow. Central Iowa carried the brunt of the storm yielding anywhere from eight-to-twelve inches of the white stuff. Keep in mind, it takes around ten inches of snow to equal one inch of rain.
