Iowans have been able to enjoy a warmer than average February.

National Weather Service meteorologist Allan Curtis says that the temperatures that the state has seen this month are usually normal towards the end of March and into the middle of April. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio that while they don’t know exactly how this warm weather has affected the rest of the year, they can tell what groundwork has been laid for future weather.

“In terms of how it can set the tables, obviously, if we remain warm and on the dry side, we’re in the midst of a multi-year drought. A lot of portions of Iowa, especially Eastern Iowa, still remain in things like extreme drought. And again, this unfortunately sets the table for worsening drought conditions if this continues through the spring and summer. And not to dive into the, you know, the nitty gritty too much, but if people are familiar, we are expected to transition out of an El Nino and into La Nina. And when you go into the neutral phases, the in between, it becomes really murky to see if we’re going to trend, stay warm, wet, things of that nature.”

Curtis mentions that this makes the true long term outlook for this year’s weather a “wait and see” situation. He adds that while the warmer weather may have been enjoyable for many, it was not something that will make conditions kind for agriculture in the coming months.