Photo: US Drought Monitor
(Undated) -- Recent rains have helped improve drought conditions in both Illinois and Iowa. This week's U-S Drought Monitor map still shows nearly all of Illinois and all of Iowa as either abnormally dry or in some level of drought. Conditions have improved somewhat along and north of I-80, after recent bouts of moderate to heavy rainfall. A large swath of northern Illinois along and near I-80 has moved from moderate and severe drought to abnormally dry, thanks to recent rainfall. The Quad Cities area is either abnormally dry or in moderate drought.
Only a few counties just north of East St. Louis, Illinois are free of drought.
The National Weather Service in the Quad Cities is predicting mainly dry and hot conditions to move into the region next week, which could worsen the drought conditions again.