Drought conditions worsen in Floyd County area

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Drought conditions in Floyd County have worsened recently, as almost the entire county is rated as under severe drought and the southeast corner is rated extreme drought.

The weekly U.S. Drought Monitor report issued Thursday shows all but a tiny section in the middle of the state and another tiny spot in northern Iowa as under drought conditions, with the extreme drought rating touching Floyd, Chickasaw, Butler, Bremer, Grundy and Black Hawk counties in this area, as well as areas in southern Iowa and small areas in extreme west and northeast Iowa.

Two weeks ago the western half of Floyd County has been ranked as moderate drought and the eastern half had been ranked as severe drought.

“In the Midwest, continued areas of dryness led to degradations in portions of Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin,” said the report, which is produced jointly by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Through August so far the Charles City area has received only slightly more than 1½ inches of rain – less than half of the typical average for the month by this time – and almost all of that fell within a few days from Aug. 11 to 14.

The weekly Crop Progress and Condition Report issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship shows that topsoil moisture in the northcentral district of the state that includes Floyd County is at only 39% adequate, with 61% short or very short. Subsoil moisture was listed as only 25% adequate, with 75% short or very short.

The National Weather Service predicts below normal precipitation for almost the entire state for the next 10 days.

According to the weather station at the Northeast Iowa Regional Airport, the temperature hit 100 degrees on Wednesday, setting a record for Aug. 23, beating the 99 degree mark that had been set in 1948.

The excessive heat warning that had been issued for the entire state by the National Weather Service was set to expire Thursday night.