According to the latest Iowa Drought Monitor map, less than half of Iowa has no drought designation, which is a slight setback from last week.
Much of Buena Vista County has no drought designation. All or parts of Ida, Sac, Calhoun, Palo Alto, and Pocahontas counties also have no drought tag. Some moderate drought is showing up in Cherokee, Clay, and O’Brien counties. Only a little over 6.5 percent of the state has moderate drought, the same as last week.
Drought conditions have improved across the state despite below-normal rainfall in April, according to the latest Water Summary Update. The average precipitation statewide last month was 3.33 inches, 34 hundredths below normal. According to radio station measurements, Storm Lake received 3.18 inches.
The May precipitation outlook from the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center indicates a chance of below-average precipitation across the northeast and eastern half of the state, and an equal chance for above, below, or near-average precipitation for the remainder of the state.
