Drought conditions stayed much the same in the Raccoon River Valley area last week.

According to the US Drought Monitor, about half of Greene County is still experiencing a moderate drought, while the other half is abnormally dry. Guthrie County is mostly abnormally dry, with the exception of the northwest corner which isn’t in a drought. Dallas County is mostly abnormally dry, while the very northeastern corner and the southeastern corner are in a moderate drought. Southern Iowa counties are in worse shape ranging from severe to extreme drought conditions.

There’s been very little measureable rainfall through the area all month long. According to the National Weather Service, Perry has only seen 0.01-inch of rain in September and in August, the total amount of rainfall was about two-inches less than what they normally get. Guthrie Center has yet to see any rainfall this month. The last time there was any measureable rainfall was on August 28th, when a quarter-of-an-inch fell. There was no data available for Jefferson.

There is some good news coming from the National Weather Service with a 30- to 50-percent chance of showers and thunderstorms for the weekend in the listening area.