(Des Moines)—The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is out with its latest drought assessment, which shows conditions across most of the state improved over the past month, with a small part of southeast Iowa actually free of drought conditions.
The report says groundwater levels across north-central, southeast and northeast Iowa have improved substantially over the last month. It’s a different story though here in northwest Iowa, where very little improvement has occurred. The report says Sioux, O’Brien and Osceola counties are especially being affected by drought and low groundwater levels. It says shallow groundwater levels throughout most of northwest Iowa, including Dickinson and Clay counties, are at or near historic lows.
As far as drought conditions go, the report shows extreme drought conditions continue in portions of Kossuth, Emmet and Clay counties. Extreme drought conditions continues to affect all of Palo Alto, Pocahontas, Buena Vista, Lyon, Sioux, and Plymouth counties. The northwestern part of Clay county and pretty much all of Dickinson, Osceola and O’Brien counties are classified as being in severe drought.
The report says several creeks in the Rock Valley area of Sioux county have completely dried up.
For a detailed map of drought conditions in Iowa, click here.
