A dry month of July and recent stretches of heat have expanded drought locally across south central Iowa. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor report shows moderate conditions now exist in Marion and Warren Counties, as well as several neighboring communities. The summary issued by the organization notes that most of southern and western Iowa have missed out on soaking rains for several weeks dating back to the late spring. This is the third consecutive summer that drought conditions have been documented locally by the U.S. Drought Monitor Report (most of June 2021 and late August/early September of 2020).

Three more days of excessive heat are in the forecast, starting today with highs in the low-to-mid 90s and temperatures approaching 100 by Saturday afternoon, and continuing in the 90s on Sunday. Chances for scattered storms return late Saturday night and more so Sunday into Monday morning, although widespread moderate to heavy rain is unlikely and drought conditions will likely remain in place for several weeks.