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(KNSI) – Record-breaking rain is helping St. Cloud recover from this year’s drought, even though it fell in late December.

Meteorologist Tyler Hasenstein says the ground is usually hard from the cold, causing any precipitation to run off. That was not the case this year.

“If we look at our soil temperatures over the last couple of weeks and even leading right up to when we saw the rain begin to fall, pretty much our entirety of our surface and below the surface is above freezing. And what that means is, there’s not really any frost to block the rain from soaking in.”

Almost 2.5″ fell across the span of about three days. Hasenstein says a steady rain was perfect to ensure it was absorbed by dry soil. “The one day where you maybe had a little bit more runoff would have been Christmas Eve, as St Cloud actually did set a record for daily precipitation that day. Otherwise, it was very gradual, and that’s kind of the ideal situation for seeing more of it soaking in.”

The forecast is for a calm end to the year, with temperatures still above average. Highs will be in the mid-to-upper 30s until the weekend, rather than the records seen on the 24th and 25th.

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