No Change in Northeast Iowa Drought Status

For the fourth straight week, there has been little, if any, change in the drought status for northeast Iowa, with the majority of the region remaining in “extreme drought,” according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor for Iowa.

Based on precipitation through 7 am Tuesday, November 28, all of Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Chickasaw, Howard, Fayette, Floyd, and Mitchell counties are still rated in the D3/extreme drought category.

More than three-quarters of Butler, Cerro Gordo and Winneshiek counties, almost two-thirds of Franklin County, about half of Worth and Clayton counties, and a third of Grundy County also remain in extreme drought.

Varying degrees of drought impact about 8o% of the state, and extreme drought — the second-to-worst classification issued by the Drought Monitor — continues to expand in southeast Iowa and south-central Iowa.

The current drought conditions are expected to persist in most of Iowa throughout the winter, according to a recent report by the federal Climate Prediction Center.