(Area) Drought conditions have expanded in Iowa, especially across the northwest portion of the state.
D1 to D3 conditions are seen in some areas according to State Climatologist Justin Glisan. “We wouldn’t see extreme drought in a given location once but every 25-30 years, so that does show us that over the last two years as the drought started to form back in May and June of 2020 that precipitation deficits in Northwest Iowa are anywhere from 15-25″ below average.”
The D0 category was introduced in Southwest Iowa last week. This includes all of Montgomery and Adams Counties, most of Cass County, roughly 50% of Adair and Union Counties, along with portions of Pottawattamie, Mills, Fremont, Page, and Taylor Counties. “Which is abnormally dry, so that’s based on shorter term deficits 30-60 days even out to 45 days.” Glisan says in terms of rainfall, “Atlantic had about half of what it should have received.”
Glisan says the rain that has fallen has come in spurts. “We get it in heavier rainfall events more often these days as opposed to those gentle rainfalls that actually soak in. So that’s where we see the shorter term deficits starting to increase.”
Two weeks ago just 37% of the state was included in the drought monitor index. That figure increased to 50% last week.
