In spite of rain earlier this week drought conditions are unchanged for the Raccoon Valley Radio listening area as of Thursday.

The weekly U.S. Drought Monitor Report shows most of Greene and Guthrie counties experiencing extreme drought, with the northeast corner of Greene and southeast portion of Guthrie experiencing severe drought. The northwest corner of Dallas County is under extreme drought, while a diagonal stretch from the southwest to northeast edges are under severe drought, and the southeast corner is under moderate conditions.

Across Iowa the only other intensity change this week is shown across Harrison, Shelby, Crawford, and Pottawattamie counties as their intensity increased from moderate to severe drought. Impacts reported for extreme drought areas include dry pastures, crops tested for toxins and showing pest infestation, worsened seasonal allergies, and farmers stressed about high feed prices. The estimated population of Iowans in drought areas is 1,055,985.