Much of the state of Iowa saw some much needed rainfall late last weekend and early this week, but it wasn’t enough to reverse the drought trends. The latest Drought Monitor report from the USDA shows Iowa’s drought expanded slightly in the last seven days.
According to the report, 66.9% of the state is currently in drought conditions, up from 64.0% last week.
The hardest hit area of the state continues to be the northwest corner. Five counties there are in Extreme Drought, including most of Plymouth County. The area of extreme drought expanded slightly form last week’s report. Most of the areas in drought conditions fall into the Abnormally Dry and Moderate Drought levels.
The current conditions, however, are much better than they were one year ago. At this time in 2021, 79% of the state was in drought, including nearly 11% in Extreme Drought.