August was hotter and drier than normal

There’s a famous quote that “Things are more like they are now than they ever were before.” August was hot and dry in Iowa, and state climatologist Harry Hillaker says it was just a little more hot and dry than we usually see this time of year.He says by just 6-tenths of a degree, it was a little warmer than we usually see in Iowa during this month, and a bit drier — an inch and-a-quarter less than the typical August rainfall of a bit over four inches statewide. Of course, Hillaker says there was a lot of variation from one part of Iowa to another. Much of western Iowa’s very dry, with as little as an inch of rain during August. Then there’s Ames, which got 8 inches of rain, and some northeastern parts of the state that were “relatively wet.” That doesn’t mean the drought in the east is over yet, though. A little bit of that area got good rain, especially northern parts including CLinton, Anamosa and Maquoketa. Their rainfall was about the normal average, which Hillaker says was “the first time they’ve hit normal in, probably this year.” But overall he says that region remains dry.