The most recent rains do not figure into the U.S. Drought Monitor report this week, which shows nearly 47% of Iowa was drought-free.

The Iowa DNR’s Jessica Reese-McIntyre says things have been heading in the right direction. “When you compare it to a year ago in like mid-May of last year, we are sitting a little bit better statewide,” she says. Reese-McIntyre says this week’s rains will help build up groundwater as we enter a time when the crops are growing and water use overall increases with warmer temperatures.

She says it’s not certain if the wetter trend will continue. “According to the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center, the month of June outlook for precipitation looks to be equal chances of precipitation, so there’s no real clear signal, but it will be one way or the other. So we could likely see just normal precipitation, which is good, because May and June are the wettest months,” she says.

Reese-McIntyre says one issue looming is the amount of rain the driest areas of the state in western Iowa will get. “It looks like the western third of the state will see the chances of precipitation are leaning below normal more significantly than the rest of the state,” Reese-McIntyre says. She says that is just a forecast for now, and she is hopeful those areas will get rain to help with their deficits.