(KNSI) – Extreme drought has been washed away from central Minnesota.
The St. Cloud area is still hamstrung by severe drought, though, considered the second stage on a four-step scale. The drought lessens throughout Stearns County as you head east to west. About nine percent of the county near Belgrade has been downgraded to abnormally dry, a pre-drought condition.
About 63% of Benton County is in severe drought, with the eastern portion in moderate drought for the first time since the spring. Sherburne County is in better shape. A fifth is in severe drought in the northwestern corner. About one percent in the southeastern end is only abnormally dry, and the rest is in moderate drought.
Extreme drought is down to a little over one percent of the state overall, seen only in Mower, Fillmore, and Freeborn Counties near the Iowa border. Severe drought dropped too following soaking rains, falling from about 35% of the state to 27%. Moderate drought, the least significant on the U.S. Drought Monitor’s scale, remained pretty consistent at about 32%.
After a brief burst of wet weather rolled through St. Cloud Wednesday morning, no more rain is forecast for this week.
___
Copyright 2023 Leighton Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be broadcast, published, redistributed, or rewritten, in any way without consent.
