REGIONAL—Bare fields and ditches bereft of snow raise questions about planting conditions this spring.
Iowa state climatologist Justin Glisan said while it has been drier than normal, there is little reason to fear a lack of moisture.
“While much of northwest Iowa has been drier than average so far this meteorological winter, conditions are not exceedingly dry,” Glisan said. “The northwest corner of the state has received about 70 percent of its normal winter precipitation. Snowfall in late November and December was above average across much of Iowa, and melting toward the end of the year — combined with shallow frost in the ground — allowed moisture to soak into the soil. As a result, the small area of moderate drought in the northwest corner of the state was removed in the third week of December.”…