DROUGHT UPDATE: It’s Getting Worse in Iowa

The U.S. Drought Monitor is updated each Thursday, and this week's update shows a large growth in both the "moderate" drought area and "abnormally dry" area.

Over 50% of Iowa is now experiencing "moderate" drought in the latest update, while nearly 90% of Iowa is considered "abnormally dry."

The last time Waterloo had a measurable amount of rain was May 28^th when a meager .03” was reported at the Waterloo Municipal Airport. Cedar Rapids had .02” on June 8.

Waterloo hasn’t had more than an inch of rain in a single day since October 22, 2020. On that day it rained 2.94". The most amount of rain Waterloo has received since that date on a single day was .91" on May 8, 2021.

The most recent time Cedar Rapids received at least an inch of precipitation was 1.15” on December 29^th.

Since June 9, 2020, the areas surrounding Waterloo and Cedar Rapids have a precipitation departure of anywhere from two to five inches.

It’s currently the ninth driest year EVER in Black Hawk (100% Moderate Drought) and Fayette Counties (78% Moderate Drought), according to drought.gov. In Linn County, it’s the 33^rd driest year so far with the county in only 4% Moderate Drought conditions.

On June 8, Sioux Center declared a Water Watch asking all customers with Sioux Center Municipal Utilities to limit lawn irrigation and outdoor watering to two times a week and only do it between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m.

Des Moines Water Works has asked customers to avoid watering on Mondays and follow an odd/even schedule for watering Tuesday-Sunday.

The amount of moisture in Iowa's topsoil is really starting to show. Iowa's topsoil moisture went from 15% to 39%.