The final tallies are in and state climatologist Justin Glisan says 2023 is going down as one of Iowa’s driest years in more than 150 years of record keeping.Â
As 2023 concluded, Glisan says it ended 182 consecutive weeks of at least D-1/moderate drought in some part of the state, with much of northeast Iowa much drier than that for several months.Â
According to data through December 27th from the National Weather Service in La Crosse, Charles City and Nashua, in the heart of the drought area much of the year, each recorded just under 21 inches of precipitation in 2023, down around 17 inches below normal. And, both were even drier than the state average.Â
 New Hampton fared slightly better with almost 28 inches of precipitation for 2023, but still almost 13 inches below normal. Things improved a little farther to the north, with Osage totaling about 31 inches last year, down from their average of around 37 inches.
After three consecutive La Nina winters, we’re now in an El Nino pattern, which Glisan says tends to bring the Midwest warmer temperatures in addition to wetter conditions.
*Pic represents Drought Monitor map for January 4, 2024
