The weekly update to the US Drought Monitor is due out later this morning. The heaviest rainfall totals last week generally missed the driest areas of the state and the effects of a very dry January for most are starting to be noticed. The featured chart checks in on the situation at Le Mars (far NW Iowa). The chart presents the combination of trailing 31, 181, and 365 day precipitation departures with the US Drought Monitor analysis for the observation point underlain. The current plotted departures nicely shows the contrast between year long departures being positive with shorter term departures both being negative. The precipitation during late October into November helped stabilize the situation, but departures will start to more rapidly accumulate as climatology increases as we approach spring.

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