Drought conditions aren't getting any better in Minnesota.
"Much of the state has only gotten about anywhere from 60 to 80% normal precipitation," State climatologist Luigi Romolo said Thursday as the new U.S. Drought Monitor showed the amount of severe drought nearly doubled from last week.
Romolo says getting out of these dry conditions won't happen overnight.
"That takes time, so what we're going to need is a persistent wet pattern over much of the state, where we're consistently getting 1 to 2 inches above normal each week for several weeks," he says.
That's not happening anytime soon, even with part of the state getting a good amount of precipitation Thursday and Friday this week. That is limited to the southern third of the state, mostly to the southwest. The Twin Cities metro area is just on the edge of the heaviest rain showers.
96% of the state is at least abnormally dry, with just over three-quarters of the state in formal drought status now.
Romolo says central Minnesota is experiencing what's called a "storage drought" due to several years of dry conditions.
"But going back to 2021, which was the worst drought that we've had since 1988, we're seeing some severe drought now in the Arrowhead that have received a significant lack of rainfall over the last couple of weeks," says Romolo.
Last week, about 17% of the state was in severe drought. This week, that number doubled to nearly 35%.
Also getting concerned about the lack of moisture is Minnesota's Commissioner of Agriculture, Thom Petersen. He says worries are growing in farm country as we approach August, and what is traditionally a dry month anyway.
"Tough to see drought monitor today," Petersen posted to social media. "75% of state in D1 moderate drought, nearly 35% in D2 severe drought. @MNagriculture watching closely as more counties will be added to USDA disaster declarations, which open emergency loans and grazing."
If there is some good news to be found Thursday, there have been some pop-up thunderstorms in far northeastern Minnesota, including northern Cook and Lake counties. Wildfires have been burning in that area, and the BWCA, for weeks and the rain will help with containment.
