DES MOINES, Iowa -- Drought conditions are expanding in Iowa.
"For a lot of places in the state it has been two solid weeks with virtually no rain. Those cumulative effects will degrade drought conditions," says Iowa Department of Natural Resources Hydrology Resources Coordinator Tim Hall.
He says this week's National Drought Monitor Map shows expanding severe drought conditions in Northwest and Central Iowa, with more near-drought conditions in Western and Southwest Iowa.
"Precipitation deficits are fairly high across most of the state, so if you're on the edge of one of those drought areas you could be in or out depending on just a little bit of rainfall," Hall says.
He says the longer the state goes without rain, the harder it will be to turn it around.
"Unless we see three-quarters of an inch to an inch of rain every week, we're falling further behind," Hall says.
He says there is still optimism that the state could continue a pattern of the last few years of with increased rainfall in September and October.
Just under a third of the state--mostly in Southern and Eastern Iowa--are still without drought.
Image from National Drought Mitigation Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln