Drought conditions have expanded throughout Iowa with spring planting season right around the corner.
Iowa State Climatologist Dr. Justin Glisan tells IARN the 2021/2022 winter season hasn?t helped out much in terms of subsoil moisture profiles.
?We?ve had a pretty dry winter,? said Glisan. ?It?s probably the top 15th driest with 150 years of records. February was a top 15 driest February also and so we have seen drought conditions expand across the state basically over the last several weeks.?
Glisan says current weather models show increased chances of precipitation throughout March.
?The frost level is deep in Central Iowa, but we have seen thawing of soils near the surface. Any kind of rainfall that we do get moving forward will infiltrate and start to thaw those deeper soils that are frozen. I don?t really see any cause for concern right now. We do see in the outlooks for the short-term ? and March ? in general higher probabilities of wetter conditions which would be great.?
Glisan adds Iowa is in much better shape compared to this time last year. The 2021 growing season was impacted by severe and extreme drought conditions, although the state?s crop held up surprisingly well come harvest time.
?We don?t want to get a soaker or weeks of soaking rainfalls that delay us from getting the combines out in the fields in April,? said Glisan. ?We?ve seen wet springs in 2018 and 2019. We would prefer a spring like we saw in both 2020 and 2021. But right now, yes, we are short on subsoil moisture and we could definitely use more, but we are in a better position than we were last year I would say.?
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor report for Iowa can be viewed here.
