DES MOINES, Iowa -- What a difference a week--and statewide rainfall--makes in easing Iowa drought conditions.
"We had just over three-and-a-quarter inches of rain, on average, across the state. That's over three times the amount of rain we got in the entire month of August" says Iowa Department of Natural Resources Hydrology Resources Coordinator Tim Hall.
He says this week's National Drought Monitor Map shows more than 20 percent of Iowa with no drought at all.
"In Eastern Iowa there were places that got much more rainfall than in Central Iowa. They were in a D-0 (Abnormally Dry) or D-1 (Moderate Drought)--we saw them drop back to no drought at all" Hall says.
He says the map also shows 20 counties in Western, Southwest, and West Central Iowa no longer in extreme drought--they've improved to severe drought.
Hall says last week's rain was good for that area, but there's still a long way to go.
"That part of West Central Iowa--Carroll, Audubon Shelby counties--despite last week's rain, there are some places that are still more than ten inches shy of rain for the last six months" he says.
Hall says Iowa needs to see days of gentile rain--as happened last week--to further ease drought conditions.
Right now, the long-range forecast calls for dry conditions across much of Iowa
Image from The National Drought Mitigation Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln