Sporadic rain through Thursday; drier fishing opener?

Lawns and fields around Minnesota are thirsty. We'll take the rain.

A slow moving low pressure system slides north through tomorrow. Scattered showers and thunderstorms ride the system until a cold front pushes the rain east by Friday.

The nature of warm season precipitation is more spotty than the more consistent coverage of stratiform winter type rain and snow events. It's often a patchwork of rainfall. One town gets a good soaking. The next gets skunked.

That said, here's a look at overall rainfall projections with this system. The heaviest, most consistent rains favor the Dakotas and western Minnesota.

Here's a good visualization of the forecast for the next few days. Two wet periods bracket a couple of dry days Friday & Saturday. Good for fishing opener. Wet for mom?

Drought hangs tough

We need the rain. Much of Minnesota needs a good 2 to 4 inches of rain to get out of the evolving drought.

California water restrictions

Speaking of water, California has enacted unprecedented water restrictions given the state's historic drought. Parts of California need 15 to 20 inches of rain to recover from four years of drought.

Here's more on the water restrictions from the San Jose Mercury News.

California drought: State water board passes first mandatory urban water limits in state history

SACRAMENTO -- Bringing California's historic drought directly to every home and business in the state, the administration of Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday imposed the first mandatory urban water conservation rules in state history.

Turning aside complaints that the targets are too tough, the State Water Resources Control Board approved the rules by a 5-0 vote after a marathon, 10-hour meeting, saying that requests for voluntary conservation haven't worked sufficiently to save enough water to keep California from running perilously low if the drought drags on for years to come.

"We're in an emergency," said Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the board. "It might not rain or snow much this year or next year. It is better to be safe than sorry."

The rules take effect June 1 and will remain in effect until next February. Although the impacts will vary by community, generally speaking they will result in broad new water restrictions for most of the state's 38 million residents, including limits on lawn watering, bans on various types of water use such as washing cars or filling pools in some places and, in some communities, water cops writing tickets for people who waste water or water their lawns on the wrong days.

 Under the rules, every city and water district with more than 3,000 connections was given a mandatory water conservation target ranging from 8 percent to 36 percent, based on their per capita use last year. The idea, board members said, was to reward communities that already have been conserving water, while placing more of a burden on those who consume disproportionately more.