DES MOINES, Iowa -- Rain and snow last week are easing drought conditions in Iowa.
"The precipitation we've had over the last week has been great. It's not a drought buster in the sense that it's not going to make the drought go away, but this is really encouraging and much-needed precipitation," says Iowa Department of Natural Resources Hydrology Coordinator Tim Hall.
This week's US Drought Monitor map shows no drought and near-drought over Northwest Iowa. There's also drought-free areas in far Eastern and Southeast Iowa The map also shows a reduction in severe and extreme drought in Central and Eastern Iowa.
Hall says what was gained can be lost if Iowa goes back to a dry stretch as happened in February.
"It's going to take awhile to catch up to the long-term. So, if we ended up with the month of April being drier than normal we could start to backslide into increased drought conditions," he says.
Hall says Iowa's drought--at nearly four years--is longest the state's seen since the 1950's.