Drought — Allamakee, Iowa

2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Allamakee, Iowa

Event narrative

Ongoing drier than normal conditions, comprised of 7 consecutive weeks severe drought (D2), worsened to extreme drought (D3) for the entire county through August. During the first half of August, half to 1.5 inches of rain fell across Allamakee County, initially preventing any spread of severe drought conditions. Only a tenth to half inch of rain fell during the second half of August, 5 to 25 percent of normal for the time period, resulting in extreme drought (D3). The United States Department of Agriculture declared Allamakee County as a contiguous natural disaster area due to the drought on August 24th.

Wider weather episode

Ongoing abnormally dry conditions from late Spring through Summer resulted in approximately 30 percent of northeast Iowa counties experiencing severe drought (D2) conditions at the start of August. Monthly rainfall totals of 1 to 2 inches were 1 to 4 inches below normal, or 10 to 50 percent below normal. By the end of August, all of northeast Iowa from Mitchell and Floyd counties to Clayton county were in at least severe drought (D2), with approximately 85 percent of this area experiencing extreme drought (D3). Across the state, drought impacts were felt with reports of dry topsoil, increased crop disease, early harvest, and reports of livestock death loss.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1135357. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.