USDA meteorologist says short term dryness is ‘exploding across Midwest’

DES MOINES — USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says abnormally dry conditions are likely to persist in Iowa through the summer. 

“As we move each day with this dry weather and suddenly warm weather, we’re seeing short term dryness just exploding across the Midwest,” Rippey says.

The most recent USDA Drought Monitor indicates 57% of Iowa is either abnormally dry or is experiencing some level of drought.  “Dryness that developed last year mid to late summer has lasted through the winter and now we’ve got short term dryness redeveloping over that, so you have not only subsoil moisture depletion, but topsoil moisture depletion as well,” Rippey says. “In those most driest areas, it is starting to have an impact on crops and pastures.”

Areas of severe or extreme drought stretches through four northwest Iowa counties and three counties in southeast Iowa.  “We’ve seen these deficits that have built up in terms of rainfall and precipitation starting last year and then lasting through the winter where we had relatively little snowfall to replenish topsoil moisture,” Rippey says, “and now that it’s warmed up we’ve really seen these issues start to compound.”

The definition of “exceptional” drought that’s happening in northwest and southeast Iowa is something that is experienced once every 20 to 50 years according to Rippey. He is not expecting Iowa to have the kind of decades-long drought that California has experienced, though.