While most of the region has been out of drought conditions in the national report since late May, some locations that have been rated as abnormally dry saw improvement in the latest update.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor Report, all of Warren County has returned to normal conditions for the first time since March of 2023. Meanwhile, just a slight portion of northeast Marion County remains in abnormally dry conditions, with 12% of the estimated population facing the lowest category on the national scale. The vast majority of south central Iowa is also back in normal conditions, with the neighboring counties of Clarke, Lucas, Madison, and Monroe all showing no signs of drought in the latest report. The drought relief comes after most of south central Iowa saw severe drought conditions on March 21st.

According to the National Weather Service, periodic chances for rain return to the forecast this weekend, but widespread heavy rainfall is not expected.