Rain, Thunderstorms Coming Friday for Drought-Stricken Minnesota

(KNSI) – Minnesota’s drought situation has not improved, but some rain is on the way for much of the state Friday afternoon and evening.

According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report, 49.77 percent of the state is experiencing extreme or exceptional drought conditions, up about 7 percent from the week before.

Despite currently dry conditions, meteorologist Nick Carletta with the National Weather Service says there are a few chances for rain in the coming days. The first rain event happens Friday.

“We may start to see some activity in western Minnesota earlier in the day, probably more in the afternoon,” Carletta said. “As we get more into the evening, that’s when we start to see it get into central Minnesota and the St. Cloud area, and that would continue to move on through as we head into Friday night.”

With potentially severe thunderstorms in the mix, Carletta says some areas could see up to one or two inches of rain. Other areas could see closer to a quarter inch.

“We got another shot coming up on Sunday, and we also have another chance of rain coming up probably early next week, late Monday into Tuesday,” Carletta said.

Though the forecast is more promising than what the state has seen in prior weeks, Carletta says rain from this system won’t wipe out the widespread drought.

“According to our partners at the Minnesota DNR and the state climatologist office, based on the area of the state, how extreme their drought is, we’re talking probably somewhere between five to nine inches of rain over the next month to actually alleviate drought conditions,” he said. “So the kind of rain we’re talking about, what we have in the forecast alone at this point, will probably more so prevent it from getting worse and might lead to a little bit of improvement.”

Friday’s storms could produce hail, high winds and maybe even tornadoes.

“The biggest risk would probably be more across western Minnesota; central Minnesota has a chance as well,” Carletta said. “But, I’d say further west … earlier in the day is where there’d be the best chance for them [tornadoes].”

Carletta advises Minnesotans to be weather aware during the weekend and watching out for any severe thunderstorm, tornado watch or flash flood alerts.

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