The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reports that 2018 came in as the second wettest year in recent history. With an average of 10 inches above normal, Iowa received 45 inches of rainfall last year, just 3.22 inches shy of 1993, the year of “the great flood.” While southern portions of the sate faced near drought conditions, 27 of the top tier counties had their wettest year on record. “The concerns about dryness and drought in southeastern Iowa were ended with the wet summer and fall, and the entire state is in pretty good shape for groundwater going into the normally dry months of winter,” says Tim hall, the DNR’s coordinator of hydrology resources. He also says that temperatures in 2018 were typical for Iowa—all over the map. April was the coldest on record, May was the third warmest and June was the 10th warmest. November was 6.4 degrees below average and December 5.1 degrees above.
