Despite receiving much needed precipitation last week, little drought relief was seen in Marion and Warren Counties in the latest weekly update. 

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor Report, all of Marion county continues to see severe drought conditions, while just shy of 97% of Warren County faces the third highest rating on the national scale. Neighboring communities to the south and to the east also saw no relief in the latest update, with severe drought still in place for the majority of Clarke, Jasper, Lucas, Mahaska, and Monroe counties. Madison and Polk counties were the lone communities locally to see a significant change in the report. Following recent precipitation, just over half of Madison county and just over 3/4ths of Polk county dropped down into moderate drought conditions.

According to the National Weather Service, chances for rain in the forecast through Monday night, before dry conditions return in the middle of next week.