Drought — Mitchell, Iowa

2023-08-15 to 2023-08-31 · Mitchell, Iowa

Event narrative

Drier than normal conditions resulted in extreme drought (D3) impacting all of Mitchell County through August. During the first half of August, approximately 1.5 inches of rain fell preventing any initial spread of ongoing very sparse severe drought impacts. Under a 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) for 445 square miles or 94% of Mitchell County.

Wider weather episode

At the start of August, over 75% of northeast Iowa remained below severe drought (D2) conditions due to scattered storms in July. Similar scattered storms during the first half of August provided 1 to 2 inches of rain across northeast Iowa, preserving the ongoing moderate to severe drought areas. A lack of rainfall during the second half of August, less than an inch for most of northeast Iowa, was 1 to 3 inches below normal for the time period and expanded severe drought conditions across 90% of northeast Iowa by the middle of the month. By the end of August, all of northeast Iowa experienced at least severe drought (D2) conditions with 80% experiencing extreme drought (D3) conditions.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1135986. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.