Drought Conditions Little Changed Across Region and State

(KNSI) — Heavy rains this weekend failed to dent the extreme drought plaguing the St. Cloud area.

Likely playing a role in that was the record heat that slid across the state in the days that followed. Sunshine and 91 degrees on Sunday easily cleared the mark for the hottest October 1st. We had near-record heat on Monday and another day in the 80’s on Tuesday before rain cooled us off that evening.

The readings are taken by the U.S. Drought Monitor before 8:00 a.m. Tuesday each week, then tabulated and released on Thursday morning. St. Cloud Regional Airport recorded about three-quarters of an inch late Tuesday, which will appear in the next report. Showers are possible later on Thursday and Friday. The cool, damp weather should be perfect conditions to help lessen the drought.

Only 7.6% of Minnesota, including the St. Cloud metro region, is in extreme drought. About 82% of the state is in some kind of drought, down from 82.65% in the final update of September.

Locally, 41% of Benton County is in extreme drought. The rest is in severe. Sherburne County is roughly a 20/80 split. Stearns County is suffering extreme drought in its eastern third, with a strip running through the middle of the county in severe, or the D-2 category. The western half is only in moderate drought. All three counties saw little change from a week ago.

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