Drought conditions in Iowa have improved to their least severe in about two years thanks to abundant rainfall in recent weeks. That abundant rainfall also has resulted in about 130 reports of wastewater bypasses since April.
Most of the lingering drought is in the eastern half of the state, where a vast expanse of formerly extreme dryness is subsiding.
The city of 2,300 in Benton County has received $500,000 in state grants to rebuild a wetland to better capture and retain rainfall to recharge the aquifer. The city is seeking other money for upgrades to the water treatment system.
Spring rainfall across parts of Iowa has eased drought conditions, relieving all but a sliver of Linn County from the extreme drought that’s persisted for months.
There was significant rainfall in the past week across the northwest half of the state, helped reverse drought conditions that have been pestering Iowa for more than three years. But a swath of northeast Iowa remains in “extreme drought.“
New U.S. Department of Agriculture data reveals that some counties, especially in Northeast and East-Central Iowa, produced millions less bushels last year.
Iowa researchers are advocating for a drought information system, but are coming up dry on funding; Iowa DNR is seeking information about a fire in Geode State Park
The project, which would require around $500,000 upfront, would congregate hordes of drought-related data for residents to easily access.
Iowa saw twice as much January precipitation as normal, and above-normal temperatures have chipped away at snowpacks
Across the state, ranchers have reported tight or insufficient feed levels following 2023’s low hay yields and poor hay quality. Many have had to buy more hay to supplement their own stocks, with above-normal hay prices cutting into their bottom lines. Non-feed costs are also creeping higher.
Several winter storms have barreled through the Midwest since the start of the year, bringing deep snow and bitter cold. It comes on the heels of several years of drought that has left parts of the Mississippi River basin with rainfall deficits of a foot-plus. As the snowpack grows and melts, it could help restore parched stream flows — but also carries the risk of flooding downstream.
In a 48-hour period ending at 8 a.m. Tuesday, most locations in Eastern Iowa received at least a half inch of rain — and some considerably more, according to reports to the National Weather Service.
Those celebrating in Iowa should expect rain, wind and temperatures in the high 50s, thanks to the El Niño effect.
The state’s dryness has continued to worsen, and extreme drought now encompasses more than a third of Iowa, according to a U.S. Drought Monitor report released Thursday.
Iowa’s year-to-date average precipitation is now 25.4 inches — about 8 inches below normal, according to the Iowa DNR.
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