Some rain on the way as Minnesota drought expands
Thursday will be mild but temperatures drop Friday
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
Mild temperatures Thursday will give way to cooler conditions Friday and Saturday. We have some rain on the way Thursday night but the heaviest will fall in areas to the southeast of the drought, which continues to expand across Minnesota.
Cold front to drop temps after record highs
Records fell across the region Wednesday. The high in the Twin Cities was 76 degrees, the second warmest November temperature on record and just 1 degree from the all-time November record of 77 set in 1999 and 1933. It also broke the daily record of 72 set back in 1978.
St. Cloud, Duluth, and International Falls all topped out above 70 and all broke their daily records.
While no one quite hit 80 degrees, Lac qui Parle, Montevideo and Willmar got close in western and west-central Minnesota, topping out at 79.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
The Twin Cities also saw a record warm low Wednesday night, dipping only to 58 degrees and breaking the previous record of 55 set in 1956.
Much of Minnesota will be mild again on Thursday, well into the 60s for most. Clouds will be increasing through the day.
A cold front slides across the state overnight Thursday into Friday with more realistic November temperatures returning Friday and Saturday. Highs will be mainly in the 40s.
Drought expands across Minnesota
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor report shows drought expanding and for the first time this year, encompassing a majority of Minnesota, now 52 percent of the state.
Extreme drought expanded from 4.2 percent to 6.5 percent of Minnesota from the Twin Cities into south-central Minnesota through New Ulm to Marshall in southwestern Minnesota.
Showers Thursday night; late Friday rain in SE Minnesota
With Thursday night’s cold front, we’ll see some scattered showers and even a rumble of thunder possible into early Friday. We’ll then have a break much of the day before a second, larger area of showers lifts north and northeast.
That second round of more significant rainfall will largely fall just east and southeast of the drought-stricken region of Minnesota.
Rainfall totals Thursday night into Saturday night will be in the 2 inches-plus range across eastern Iowa into far southeastern Minnesota through central Wisconsin.
Most of the Twin Cities area could get one-quarter to three-quarters of an inch while south-central and southwestern Minnesota sees only about one-tenth to one-half inch.
