OTTUMWA —
The rains Iowa has needed for months are finally starting to make a difference in the soil conditions.
The weekly crop condition report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said 60 percent of topsoil in Iowa is "very short" of moisture. That actually represents an improvement.
How dry has it been? Seventy percent of subsoil in the state is still considered "very short" of moisture.
It's all too late for the state's corn crop, though. Fifty-one percent of the crop rates as poor or very poor, a slight decline since last week's report. Soybeans benefitted, though, with the first statewide improvement in seven weeks.
But even the rain has been short of what would be considered normal, according to State Climatologist Harry Hillaker.
"The statewide average precipitation was 0.44 inches or a little less than one-half of the weekly normal of 0.96 inches. This was the eighth consecutive drier than normal week for Iowa," he wrote.
The rain has returned to Iowa in sufficient amounts to reverse one trend. When July arrived, none of the state's counties were under burn bans. Well over half were under bans by the end of the month.
Now, some of those bans are being rescinded. Marion County residents saw their ban dropped on Monday, following a damp weekend.
CNHI/Southeast Iowa
Rains boost soybeans statewide
- CNHI/Southeast Iowa
-
-
Twitter introduces website security tool after AP account hacked
Twitter is adding a new security tool to its website, making it harder for outsiders to gain access to accounts, a month after a false posting triggered a stock-market decline.
-
Siblings withstand storm in fridge
Brother and sister co-owners of a Chinese takeout restaurant huddled inside a refrigerator to survive Monday’s deadly tornado that claimed 24 lives.
-
Pursuit that began in Marion County ends in Wayne County
CORYDON — A pursuit that began in Marion County Tuesday evening ended in Wayne County Tuesday night. The two-hour, high speed chase that went through several counties, with an alleged short stint in Missouri as well, involved several agencies with a
-
Mom delivered baby as tornado struck
Shayla Taylor was so far along in labor that her nurses at Moore Medical Center decided not to move her when Monday's tornado hit. They waited out the storm in an operating room, where the wall disappeared as the tornado hit the building.
-
Life and Times
-
Stabbing trial pushed back
OTTUMWA -- The trial of an Ottumwa man accused of stabbing another man to death has been pushed back. Twenty-year-old Brandon Seim was charged in November 2011, when he was 18, with the stabbing death of Andy Madren, 34. When officers arrived at the
-
TIMELAPSE: Take a tour through the damage in Moore
Take a driving tour of the damage in Moore caused by Monday's tornado.
-
Mayor wants tornado shelters in new homes
Moore Mayor Glenn Lewis wants tornado shelters in all new homes in his city, where an EF-5 tornado damaged or destroyed more than 12,500 homes Monday afternoon. A proposed ordinance would require a shelter inside or outside each new residence.
-
Officials release storm survey results
DES MOINES -- Officials with the National Weather Service have released a report on this week's severe weather, confirming that three tornadoes hit Iowa. That broke a nearly year-long streak without tornadoes in the state.
-
AUDIO: Residents share their tornado experiences
Moore, Okla., residents talk about living through Monday's EF-5 tornado.
- More CNHI/Southeast Iowa Headlines
-
