OTTUMWA — September’s early rains knocked the drought back on its heels, according to a new map released Thursday by the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The drought isn’t entirely over.
But extreme drought is gone from Iowa and northeastern Wapello County is now drought free.
It took months for the drought to build, but two weeks have completely changed conditions.
Here’s a look at the map for Aug. 28, before the rains began falling in southeast Iowa: Now take a look at the current map, dated Sept. 11: Almost a third of Iowa was in some form of drought two weeks ago.
That figure is now less than 7 percent.
The shift is due to unusually persistent rains at the end of August and early September.
It began with more than four inches in a single day in late August.
Rain now means the ground begins to recover moisture.
That will help with next year, if the area continues to see reasonable amounts of precipitation over the next few months.