The weekly USDA NASS update was released on Monday afternoon and showed an improvement to the amount of Iowa analyzed to have short or very short top soil moisture condition (worst two classifications). This was thanks to numerous rounds of thunderstorms over the past week. Unfortunately, not all areas of the state got significant rainfall, so the drought concerns remain pressing for the growing season. The featured chart presents this NASS metric for six states for each year since 1995 with the last big drought year of 2012 highlighted as well. July and August are traditionally drier than June and thus more susceptible to worsening drought condition. The present near term forecast continues to keep the heaviest rainfall to our south, which is of great concern for northern Iowa and our neighbors to the north.

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