Parts of the Raccoon River Valley are doing better this week in terms of drought, while other areas have gone from bad to worse.
According to the National Climatic Data Center’s latest U.S. Drought Monitor, the northwest portion of Greene County has gone from a severe drought to an extreme drought.
The rest of the county, along with the northeast portion of Dallas County and northwest part of Guthrie County remain in the severe drought classification, while the majority of Dallas and Guthrie Counties have improved to moderate drought conditions.
The difference in drought classification is a direct result in the amount of rain received this month. According to the National Weather Service, Guthrie Center has seen more than three and one-third inches of rain so far. Perry has had 1.8 inches of precipitation and Jefferson has only seen 1.3 inches since September 1st.
Therefore, Guthrie Center has actually exceeded their normal monthly rainfall total for September while Perry is 1.3 inches behind the normal precipitation level and Jefferson tails their average by 1.6 inches with just a few days left in the month.