Recent rains and snowfall have helped improve drought conditions across a good portion of northeast Iowa, but Floyd and Chickasaw counties remain in the extreme drought category.
Based on precipitation through 7 am Tuesday, March 26th, the latest U.S. Drought Monitor for Iowa shows all of Floyd, the vast majority of Chickasaw, over three-quarters of Bremer County, the southwest half of Fayette County, the southern half of Mitchell County and southwest third of Howard County are still rated in the D3/extreme drought category. The eastern two-thirds of Black Hawk, eastern third of Cerro Gordo and northern quarter of Butler counties are also in extreme drought.
Areas improving to the D2/severe drought category include all of Winneshiek County, almost all of Franklin and Worth counties, southern three-quarters of Butler County, northeast half of Fayette County, north half of Mitchell County, northeast two-thirds of Howard County and western two-thirds of Cerro Gordo County.
According to the National Weather Service in La Crosse, from April 1, 2023, through March 26, 2024, the driest areas of northeast Iowa show precipitation deficits range from 12.67″ near Ionia to 20.17″ in Charles City. That’s despite receiving about two inches of precipitation earlier this week.Â
