Climate Experts: All Drought Has Gone From Iowa

Iowa has had some form of drought or drought for the past four years

All parts of Iowa — for the first time in more than four years — have enough soil moisture to avoid being considered “abnormally dry” by national climate experts, according to a report from the U.S. Drought Monitor released last week.

The term drought can indicate that an area is on the verge of drought. Drought can have negative consequences for agriculture and water supply.

For example: After years of drought, a lake that supplies water to the city of Osceola had lost so much volume that the city considered recycling the wastewater. Significant rainfall in recent months has brought the lake nearly back to its normal size, according to city data.

Drought struck Iowa in July 2020 and lasted until May 2024 after the state had one of its wettest starts to the year on record. It marked a dramatic rebound from September, when the state was at its driest in a decade.

Iowa had below-average rainfall last week, according to state climatologist Justin Glisan. But heavy rain fell along the eastern edge of the state, where the last remaining pocket of abnormal drought was located.

A month ago, about 31 percent of the state was abnormally dry, according to Drought Monitor reports. The last time there was no drought or drought was in May 2020.

The federal Climate Prediction Center does not predict renewed drought in Iowa in the coming months. Iowa is in the center of a multistate area that experiences no drought and few abnormal droughts.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported last week that more than 90 percent of Iowa’s agricultural fields have enough or excess moisture to grow crops. Last year, only 57 percent of topsoil was rated the same.

This article first appeared in the Iowa Capital Dispatch.