Drought in Iowa, October 6 to 31, 2020

Name: Drought in Iowa, October 6 to 31, 2020
Start: 2020-10-06T00:00
End: 2020-10-31T23:59
Location: Iowa

October 6 to 31, 2020 · NWS FSD · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Precipitation continued below normal across northwest Iowa, varying from 50 to 75 percent of normal. Temperatures were well-below normal.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: $47,000
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS FSD wrote it up.

Precipitation continued below normal across northwest Iowa, varying from 50 to 75 percent of normal. Temperatures were well-below normal.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Woodbury

When: October 6, 12:00 AM CST to October 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Woodbury forecast zone
Crop damage: $47,000
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 42.390, -96.045 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Moderate (D1) drought evolved to severe (D2) drought conditions early in the month. Rainfall around 50 percent of normal contributed to the worsening short-term agricultural drought, despite temperatures averaging more than five degrees below normal at Sioux City. Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.

What these are

Drought: A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Iowa in 2020 Every state in 2020 This day in weather history Warnings in Iowa, October 2020

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 920373.