Dry Fall Reverses Summer Drought Gains in Iowa, New Water Summary Update Says

DES MOINES — Drought conditions across Iowa improved during the summer months, but a dry fall brought setbacks late in the year, according to the latest Water Summary Update released by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Iowa finished 2025 with a statewide average of 33.60 inches of precipitation, which is 1.95 inches below normal. Preliminary data for December shows the state received 1.00 inch of precipitation, 0.37 inches below normal, with the wettest conditions in southeast Iowa, offering some relief there.

The report notes that while Iowa ended a historically lengthy drought in 2024, lingering rainfall deficits carried into 2025. Those deficits, combined with below-normal precipitation, contributed to a dry start to the year.

Conditions improved as wetter weather arrived in the summer. The update says Iowa experienced drought-free conditions statewide through much of the summer and early fall, easing earlier concerns about drought expansion.

But the trend reversed again in autumn. Dry weather returned, and two drought regions were placed under a drought watch as conditions worsened.

Statewide temperatures for 2025 were just under 1.5 degrees warmer than normal, the update said. By the end of the year, the U.S. Drought Monitor showed parts of Iowa slipping back into abnormally dry or drought conditions, mainly in northwest and eastern Iowa.

“The dry start to 2025 subsided after the state experienced above-average rainfall during the summer,” said Jessica Reese McIntyre, a DNR environmental specialist. “Initial concerns about drought expansion eased, leading to the removal of the Iowa Drought Plan Drought Watch designation statewide for a total of five months of the year. However, dry conditions returned in the fall.”

McIntyre added that while Iowa saw below-average rainfall for 2025, National Weather Service outlooks are stable, and normal to above-normal precipitation in January and February will be important to maintain average conditions during typically drier winter months.

The Water Summary Update is compiled by technical staff from the Iowa DNR, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, IIHR—Hydroscience and Engineering, and the U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Readers can find the full report on the Iowa DNR website under “Water Summary Update.”