How are normal high and low temperatures, and average precipitation numbers calculated, and how far back does the data go? Find out with Curious Iowa — a series from The Gazette that answers readers’ questions about the state and how it works.
Justin Glisan, the Iowa state climatologist since 2018, said Friday that he is preparing to help National Weather Service employees by taking some of their climate work if the federal government shuts down next week.
July 2025 was the second-wettest July on record for Iowa. It's a welcome change from the past four summers, when the region was dealing with ongoing drought conditions and experts like Iowa State Climatologist Justin Glisan were the bearers of bad news when it came to rainfall forecasts.
Iowa was about 8 degrees colder than normal last week. About 95 percent of corn has been planted, and it needs some warmth to grow.
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 4-plus years since Justin Glisan was hired have included historic droughts, flooding and storms like the 2020 derecho.
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