(Des Moines) The U.S. Drought Monitor released on Thursday shows almost all of Iowa is suffering from moderate to abnormally dry conditions, with the northwest corner of the state under severe drought conditions.
Kenny Podrazik, with the National Weather Service in Des Moines, says over 50-percent of the state covering mainly the northern half of Iowa is now under a moderate drought. The southern half of Iowa is shown as abnormally dry.
Podrazik says in the past week, the state jumped from 37-percent moderate drought to 57-percent. “Unfortunately, we’re not getting in the rain here,” said Podrazik.
Podrazik says what is causing the abnormally hot and dry conditions is a huge area of high pressure sitting over the country’s midsection, preventing any weather system from bringing moisture into the state. In addition to that, he says any slight bit of energy won’t amount to much as far as rainfall. “Unfortunately, this high-pressure is cutting our main source of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately, this hot and dry weather pattern looks like it’s going to persist over the next several days, and even into the third week of June.”
According to the National Weather Service, from January 1 to June 9, rainfall amounts are four to five and, in some cases, six inches below normal in and around the areas of Atlantic and Audubon. Since June of 2020, rainfall amounts in the Atlantic area are 13.5 inches below normal. “It’s going to take an extended wet pattern to alleviate this situation, and right now, it doesn’t look like that’s on the horizon,” said Podrazik. “The next two weeks are going to be hot and dry, unfortunately.”
