Drought-busting spring; summery weekend ahead

It’s been a remarkable recovery. Last fall 100 percent of Minnesota was mired in drought or abnormally dry conditions.

But a regular parade of storms this year has erased drought in just about all of Minnesota. The sixth wettest April-May on record this year erased drought across most of our state.

The state is about 98 percent drought-free as of this week’s U.S. Drought Monitor update.

Minnesota’s state average rainfall for May 2024 was a soggy 5.25 inches. That’s good enough for the ninth wettest May on record. Much of Minnesota picked up twice the normal rainfall in May.

Climatologist Mark Seeley, my MPR News colleague, elaborates on our drought-busting spring in this week’s Weather Talk:

May brought above normal rainfall to most areas of the state.  In fact many observers reported twice the normal rainfall for the month, and over 190 climate stations reported over 6 inches of rain for the month.  A dozen climate stations reported over 8 inches of rain for the month.  Thunderstorms brought record-setting daily rainfall amounts over May 21-22 to 54 climate stations during the month.  Some of these included:

3.78 inches at Milan on the 21st

2.85 inches at Wolf Ridge ELC on the 22nd

2.73 inches at Red Wing Dam on the 22nd

2.71 inches at Rosemount on the 22nd

2.33 inches at MSP on the 21st

2.26 inches at Artichoke Lake on the 21st

 Overall, the state average rainfall for May was well over 5 inches (about 5.25 inches), making this the 9th wettest May in history on a statewide basis.  When combined with the wet month of April this year the April-May two month total of nearly 8.5 inches as a statewide average marks the 6th wettest in history back to 1895.  As a result of this two-month wet period there4 is only 2 percent of the Minnesota landscape left in Moderate Drought according to the US Drought Monitor. 

Summery weekend

Welcome to June, Minnesota! Our first weekend of meteorological summer brings summery weather.

After a cloudy start Saturday, most of the weekend brings a mix of sun and a few clouds. The best chance for rain and thunderstorms arrives Sunday evening in western Minnesota and around or after midnight Monday morning in the Twin Cities and the east.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System model shows the likely pattern Saturday into Monday morning:

NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center paints a sight risk for severe storms late Sunday in western Minnesota and a marginal risk further eastward:

Here’s a closer look at central and southern Minnesota:

Highs Saturday will run mostly in the 70s.

Highs Sunday will push into the 70s to around 80 degrees.

Another thunder chance arrives Monday night into Tuesday.

June is our wettest month of the year on average in Minnesota. The Twin Cities average precipitation for June is 4.58 inches.

Happy meteorological summer!