(Des Moines) Iowa’s Record Drought continues and is getting worse in some respects across the state. State Climatologist Dr. Justin Glisan says Iowa is coming off the 16th driest November in 151 years of record keeping and the 30th driest fall.
Dr. Glisan says no change in the latest drought monitor map released this morning. Glisan tells KSOM/KS95 News widespread D1 and D2 drought conditions continue to plague southwest Iowa and a swath of D3 drought conditions in eastern Iowa.
Glisan recently ran some numbers of some weather stations across the state over the past 180 weeks of drought. What he discovered is concerning, especially for municipalities across the state.
Glisan says this drought is not as pervasive as the crop failures caused by drought in 1988 and 2012. He says we are starting to see the effects with very low stream flows, hydrological impacts, and municipalities experiencing water shortage issues.
December is starting where November left off, with temperatures seven degrees above average, high probabilities of warmer temperatures, and slight rain chances this weekend and next weekend. However, he does not think the moisture will come from snow.
