The weekly update to the US Drought Monitor is due out later this morning and will likely show improvements over the state after all of the recent rains. Even with all of the recent rain, there are still areas of the state that have not fared as well as others. There's a lot going on with the featured map. It presents three trailing precipitation departures over 30, 60, and 90 days with the color coding representing standardized precipitation departures expressed in drought categories. Note that there is no one to one relationship between analyzed drought and a precipitation departure, but it can be an indicator. The shaded regions are the drought classifications from last week's update. Of note are the driest areas over eastern Iowa that have not had significant positive departures over the past 90 days. They have been "treading water" so to speak with average accumulations, so by attrition, the drought situation has improved in these areas.

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