Articles Tagged: Drought

Across major corn-growing states, climate change is fueling conditions that make watching the corn grow a nail-biter for farmers. Factors like consistently high summer overnight temperatures, droughts and heavier-than-usual rains at the wrong time can all disrupt the plants’ pollination.

Government data, collected by the Iowa Environmental Council, shows some parts of Iowa are at higher risk of seeing wildfires — and they could see that risk increase in times of drought. What is the risk? And how can Iowans mitigate it?

Significant rainfall this month has continued to deplete drought conditions across Iowa. On Thursday, the U.S. Drought Monitor reported nearly 96 percent of the state is without any drought or abnormally dry conditions.

This year, Iowa is seeing an increase in fireflies, but the species’ future remains uncertain. There are more than 200 firefly — or lightning bug — species across North America and over 2,000 worldwide, but scientists say the firefly population has been declining for decades due to factors such as habitat loss, pesticides and droughts.

As cities, farmers and businesses plan for an uncertain future, researchers are attempting to determine how much weather history should be included when we’re assessing what constitutes drought.

Iowa’s silver maples and silver maple hybrids produced a surplus of seeds this year, likely as a response to several years of drought, said Mark Vitosh, Iowa Department of Natural Resources district forester covering seven Eastern Iowa counties.

Heavy rain in April led to long planting delays, but conditions were ripe this week for significant progress. Farmers have less than two weeks to plant or face yield declines.

A line of storms is expected to move through Eastern Iowa Friday. Despite that, experts say dry soil and lower water levels in the state’s rivers and streams should mitigate any flood risks and runoff.

More snow on the way to Eastern Iowa on Friday and Saturday.

Between Oct. 29 and Nov. 7, severe drought conditions dropped by 37.9 percent, according to Thursday’s Drought Monitor,

Programs that provide drought relief to farmers use the U.S. Drought Monitor to determine eligibility, but some experts say the monitor doesn’t always capture local conditions accurately.

The state previously had been ‘drought-free’ since May after four years of at least some drought conditions.

On Wednesday, mayors from the Midwestern Corn Belt joined mayors from Louisiana to sign the Mississippi River Ports Cooperative Endeavor Agreement. The agreement is the first to ensure cooperation between the inland ports in the heart of the corn belt and the coastal ports of Louisiana that export 60 percent of the nation’s agricultural products.

All parts of Iowa — for the first time in more than four years — have sufficient soil moisture to not be considered “abnormally dry” by national climate experts, according to a U.S. Drought Monitor report released last week.

Despite drier than typical conditions last week in Iowa, the abundant rainfall of preceding weeks has continued to percolate into deeper soil that can be important for crop growth, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.