DES MOINES, Iowa — The latest U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) released today (Thursday) showed no drought conditions anywhere in the state of Iowa, marking the first time the entire state has been without drought conditions since 2020.

The USDM shows drought conditions in several stages. D1-D4 are considered drought conditions. At least part of Iowa has been in D1 or above since July 2020. Parts of the state, particularly in eastern and northeastern Iowa, are still under “abnormally dry” conditions, which do not meet the criteria for drought but could indicate areas that are either entering or recovering from drought.

In western Iowa, a good section of western Pottawattamie County, most of northern Guthrie County, and a section of northern Dallas County are shown as “Abnormally Dry, on the Drought Monitor map.

Parts of Iowa had been in extreme drought — D3 on the scale — from June 2022 through early May of this year before consistent rainfall helped bring the state out of those conditions.