The current drought situation in Iowa is complex to analyze. Up until last week, April was extremely cold for all of Iowa and very snowy for parts of Iowa. This snow was loaded with water, which provided some much needed moisture, but the final destination of melting snow over frozen ground can be tricky. The cold weather put a late start to the planting season and also limited the atmospheric demand of water from the soil. The featured chart displays the aridity index for Centerville. The area got some needed rain last October and earlier this spring, but April has been very dry. The aridity index combines temperature and rainfall departures. The 14 day trailing index is currently about at zero even without any rain over the past 14 days. The very cold temperatures two weeks ago are masking the dry weather. With warmer weather, we effects of the dry conditions are much more noticeable. For example, the past few days have seen Red Flag (Fire Weather) Warnings.

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Tags:   aridity