It’s been the longest drought in Iowa in more than 60 years

For the first time in nearly four years, Iowa is drought-free.

Only parts of Eastern Iowa were categorized as “abnormally dry” Thursday, but they fell out of the four drought categories assigned by the U.S. Drought Monitor.

“This is really exciting,” Iowa State University’s Agricultural Climatologist Madelynn Wuestenberg said. “Leading up to spring, we knew we would need above-average rainfall to bust this drought, and that’s exactly what we saw.”

Iowa is out of drought conditions because the state has experienced record rainfall over the past two months, State Climatologist Justin Glisan said.

This year, he said, has been among the wettest starts of the year in the 152 years rainfall has been tracked in Iowa.

“Across the state, we’re about 16 inches (of rain) for the year, and that is almost 6 inches above average,” Glisan said. “Getting 150 percent above normal (rainfall) in April and May is when you bank soil moisture and start chipping away at the precipitation deficit.”

For the last 203 weeks, at least part of Iowa had a D1 (moderate drought) rating. The last date the state had no drought rating was June 30, 2020.

Glisan said this most recent drought was the longest Iowa has had in over 60 years.

Before Thursday, Iowa was one of three states — Oklahoma and New Mexico being the others — in a record drought, he said.

Last year, which saw only about 27 inches of precipitation — nearly 9 inches less than normal — was Iowa’s 22nd driest in 151 years of records, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources reported in January. It also tied 2016 as the 10th warmest year on record.

The worst of Iowa’s drought was recorded Dec. 19, 2023, when 35 percent of the state was classified as being in “extreme drought.”

Glisan said the removal of drought status goes hand in hand with the severe weather the state has experienced recently. More than 100 tornadoes have been reported in Iowa this year, the most in more than a decade.

As we enter the year’s warmest months, Iowa will need consistent rainfall to keep the soil moisture balanced and maintain its drought-free status, Glisan said.

“We’ll need timely rainfall to ensure it’s not too dry but also not too wet,” he said. “There is always a potential we see drought reemerge, given how long the 2020 to 2024 drought was.”

Outlook

Iowa’s seven-day weather forecast predicts 1 to 2 inches of rain.

If that level of rainfall continues into June, the eastern parts of the state still labeled “abnormally dry” could lose that status.

Wuestenberg, of ISU, said decreasing drought can be a double-edged sword for farmers since fields can become too wet to plant crops.

“If farmers haven’t finished planting by April or May, then these wet conditions can keep you out of the field or create ponding,” she said. “If you have already planted crops, there can be emergence issues because you get rainfall on the soil, which creates a crust and causes a barrier for crops to burst through the surface.”

Comments: (319)-265-6889; cooper.worth@thegazette.com