In the weekly drought outlook from the National Drought Mitigation Center, some much needed rain in the last week has improved conditions in southeast Iowa.

While extreme drought persists in the southern portion of Keokuk County, severe drought areas have decreased from 84.78 percent last week to 57.5 percent this week. Jefferson County’s extreme drought was reduced by nearly half to just 18.51 percent in the northwest corner of the county.

Washington and Louisa Counties, which were almost entirely classified as severe drought areas last week, have seen those numbers shrink to 63.68 and 85.64 percent respectively. Henry County, at 87.57 percent severe, went unchanged in the last week.

The largest improvements came out of Iowa and Johnson Counties. While a majority of both counties were classified as severe last week, 100 percent of both have been downgraded to either moderate drought or abnormally dry.

With highs in the mid-to-upper 90s and little precipitation in the forecast for next week, however, southeast Iowa may see these drought conditions worsen. To view the drought outlook in your county, as well as the rest of the State, click here.