Thursday, September 12, 2013

Latest Drought Monitor Released

Parts of the Quad Cities area saw measurable rainfall along & behind a cold front Wednesday, which ended the stretch of abnormally dry weather.  While the QC Airport saw measurable rain, it was only 0.09", which barely does anything for drought conditions.

Here are the latest drought conditions for Iowa & Illinois (information valid through September 10th):
Moderate and severe drought have increased in coverage across the state of Iowa.  Last week, 63.24% of the state were classified as D1 (Moderate); this week 72.30% of the state is classified in "Moderate."  Areas in "Severe" drought increased from 32.07% last week to 41.79% this week.
The situation isn't much better in Illinois.  As you can see, parts of the QC area are classified as "Severe" drought.  The Severe, Moderate and Abnormally Dry categories saw an increase within the last week.

Fortunately, there is some rain in the forecast later this weekend and early next week.  Early indications show some areas could see at least a quarter of an inch, and there may be a little more coverage across the area.  Of course, we'll fine tune that forecast as the date gets closer.

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