OTTUMWA —
How bad has this year's drought been? Iowa has received widespread rain for a couple weeks in a row, and the conditions continue to deteriorate.
What had been three distinct areas of extreme drought in Iowa have now linked up, creating a wide swath that covers the majority of the state. As recently as last week, the U.S. Drought Monitor showed extreme drought in pockets of southeast Iowa, east-central Iowa and far northwestern Iowa.
Now, the map shows a band that includes nearly 70 percent of the state. Large sections on the eastern and western sides of the state are connected by a smaller band in central Iowa. A strip in northern Iowa and a smaller patch in south-central Iowa remain in severe drought conditions.
Conditions could hardly be more different from those a year ago, when most of the state had sufficient moisture.
The picture regionally isn't much better. The U.S. Drought Monitor groups Iowa with eight other states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri. Only one of those states, Minnesota, has enough moisture in most of its territory.
By contrast, areas of Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Indiana have all graduated to exceptional drought conditions, the highest level of drought.
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