Northwest Iowa — Although precipitation was near normal in June, 35 percent of the state of Iowa, including portions of the KIWA listening area, are classified as “abnormally dry” according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
The U.S. Drought Monitor shows abnormally dry conditions in most of the western portion of Iowa, including portions of O’Brien, Sioux, Clay, Buena Vista, Cherokee and Plymouth counties, with portions of eight west-central counties classified as being in moderate drought, including western Plymouth and western Woodbury counties.
Statewide precipitation averaged 4.85 inches in June, or 0.17 inches less than the 30-year climatological average. However, here in western Iowa, we observed drier than normal conditions with precipitation deficits of up to four inches. On the other hand, much of eastern Iowa reported general rainfall totals from two to six inches above average, due in part to the remnants of Tropical Storm Cristobal, which moved through Iowa as a tropical depression on June 9. Cristobal is only the second tropical system on record to transverse Iowa, with the only other occurrence happening on September 11, 1900.
Iowa experienced warmer than normal conditions statewide during June with an average temperature of 72.9 degrees, 3.2 degrees below normal. This ties June 2020 with 1954 and 2005 as the 18th warmest June on record.
For a thorough review of Iowa’s water resource trends, go to www.iowadnr.gov/watersummaryupdate.
