The drought conditions were continuous all spring and summer and an expert has noticed a pattern. 

State Climatologist Justin Glisan says there has been a trend across Iowa of spotty rainfalls while widespread rainfalls have become rare. Glisan points to the two days in September across Southeastern and South Central Iowa where they received a month’s worth of rainfall. 

“We’ve seen very sporadic precipitation events, but we’ve also seen those build into the trend over the last several decades. We’re seeing higher intensity events more often, but we’re not seeing widespread events as often as we have several decades before.”

Glisan says that they still see widespread rainfall but it doesn’t occur at the frequency they’ve seen in the past. He states they are seeing extreme drought and wet conditions separated by just a couple of counties within the state.