Drought eases in parts of Minnesota thanks to another wet week

Areas of moderate and severe drought shrank some in the last week, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report. Drought conditions continue to persist in north-central and northwestern Minnesota particularly.

Another wet week improves the drought

The biggest areas of improvement in the last seven days came in northeastern Minnesota in Lake and Cook counties and in west-central and southwestern Minnesota.

Most of southern Minnesota is no longer even abnormally dry. The exception is southern Mower and Fillmore counties where drought continues.

The improvement is driven largely by yet another wet week. Central and southwestern Minnesota in particular saw more than 2 inches of rain in the seven-day period between last week and this week’s drought monitor reports, which are released on Thursdays.

Importantly, much of that rainfall was above normal for the seven day period. It’s not enough to just receive rainfall but this time of year, you need more than three-fourths of an inch to eat away any rainfall deficits.