DES MOINES, Iowa -- A mostly dry week across much of Iowa sees an expansion of drought conditions.
This week's National Drought Monitor Map shows an increase of moderate and severe drought in Northwest Iowa, with an expansion of abnormally dry conditions in Eastern and Southeast Iowa.
The new map shows about 63 percent of Iowa is drought free--that's down from last week's 72 percent.
The current numbers are a far cry from a year ago, when 93 percent of Iowa was in some level of abnormally dry or drought condition.
Image from the National Drought Mitigation Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln