Moderate drought conditions persist for third summer in a row

Parts of Minnesota are dealing with moderate drought conditions for the third summer in a row. A wet spring gave way to a drier-than-normal summer across much of the state.

"In the Twin Cities since June 17, we've received 2.4 inches of rain, and that's about five inches short of normal, a lot of places in central Minnesota are around two to three to four inches short of normal," said Pete Boulay of the state Climatology Office in St. Paul.

Boulay said cooler temperatures this summer have mitigated drought conditions compared to the past two years.

Meanwhile, part of west-central Minnesota is dealing with too much rainfall today. The weather service said more than 4 inches was recorded in Breckenridge in the past 24 hours, and water over the road closed forced the closure of a stretch of Highway 75 in Wilkin County.

Many parts of Minnesota are entering late summer with a rainfall deficit. State officials say precipitation totals are five inches below normal in the Twin Cities area and two to four inches short in many parts of central Minnesota. Boulay said that qualifies as a moderate drought.

"It's not as widespread as the droughts that we had the last couple of years, this is the third summer in a row where we've seen some drought in Minnesota, so, it's not quite as bad as previous years," Boulay said. "The big difference is the heat, we didn't have the heat this summer that we had in previous summers."

Boulay said heavy rains this spring helped stave off serious widespread drought this summer.

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