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(Undated) -- State Climatologist Justin Glisan says parts of northwest Iowa have now been in a drought for two years. The area has consistently missed out on rain showers, while other areas of the state have had timely rains which have kept drought conditions at bay. Not so though in Woodbury County. Part of the county near Sioux City is in exceptional drought according the this week's US Drought Monitor map.
Glisan says typical yearly rainfall for northwest Iowa is just over 30-inches, but the area currently has about a 9-10 inch rainfall deficit. He says conditions are the driest since weather records in the area date started in 1896.
Rain is in the forecast, but it's expected to miss northwest Iowa again. Another round of showers is possible next week.
O'Brien County Iowa farmer Kelly Nieuwenhuis, Chair of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board put it this way:
"We're sitting here with the tank empty, next year we're going to need timely rains and we'll need our subsoil replenished at some point."