State Climatologist Justin Glisan.
State climatologist Justin Glisan says Iowa was a divided state in June when it came to rainfall.
“If we use I-35 as a dividing line — eastern Iowa was above average for rainfall. Anywhere from four to six inches in northeastern Iowa,” according to Glissan. “And then we go to the western part of the state — drier than normal across much of west-central and north-central Iowa. Anywhere from two to three inches below average.”
Glissan says one major weather event drove some of the disparity in precipitation and was the only real notable issue.
“The remnants of Tropical Storm Cristobol that went through eastern Iowa and leftover four to six inches of rainfall over a 24-hour period,” Glissan says. “But if we look at June in general, yes it was kind of a ho-hum month.”
Glissan says the temperatures for June were not too far away from average. He says the average temperature was about 73 degrees — which is about three degrees above average. Glissan says the long-term forecast is for warmer weather — and precipitation is called EC or an equal chance for above or below average. He says that EC designation is a little concerning as the state needs some rain in the dry areas to catch them back up with the rest of the state.
Glissan says there’s hope the rainfall will come later in the month.
(By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City/ Dept of Ag photo))