Drought Easing Throughout Much of Minnesota

Saint Cloud, MN, USA / KNSI

May 1, 2025 | 12:00 AM

U.S. Drought Monitor

(KNSI) – Minnesota is free of severe drought for the first time this year after recent rains came down in Cass and Itasca Counties. The rest of the state is greening up nicely, too.

Only 22% of the state is in moderate drought, about half of what was seen last week. Outside of the Mississippi headwaters region, drought stretches from Fargo, North Dakota, to Becker County. There is still a patch centered around Lyon County in the southwest, and a spot has appeared in Kittson and Roseau Counties just west of Lake of the Woods.

A little over half the state is abnormally dry, including central and western Stearns County and all of Morrison and Todd Counties. The extreme northern end of Benton County is also a touch dry. The St. Cloud metro area, all of Sherburne and Wright Counties, the Twin Cities region, and La Crosse, Wisconsin, all have normal soil conditions.

Heavy rains today are falling on the areas with the worst drought, so next week’s update could see more improvement. Sunshine and warm temperatures are expected to dominate starting this weekend.

___

Copyright 2025 Leighton Media. All rights reserved. This material may not be broadcast, published, redistributed, or rewritten, in any way without consent.

U.S. troops and civilian killed in Syria ambush

Two U.S. service members and one American civilian have been killed and three other people wounded in an ambush by the Islamic State group in central Syria, the U.S. Central Command said.

The Associated Press 25m ago

Loons fill Maine lakes with ghost-like calls

Maine's loons are on the mend, filling more of the lakes and ponds in the state with their haunting calls. Maine is home to a few thousand of the large waterbirds, and conservationists say efforts to protect them from threats have helped grow the pop...

The Associated Press 35m ago

Some Native Americans draw shocked response over contract to design immigration detention centers

The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation that was uprooted from the Great Lakes region in the 1830s is facing widespread outrage over plans to profit from another forced removal

ABC News: US 1h ago

Johnson unveils health plan as GOP divisions persist

The Senate failed to get anywhere on health care this week. Now it's the House's turn. Speaker Mike Johnson late Friday released a package of proposal to address growing health care costs.

The Associated Press 2h ago

FOLLOW US FOR INSTANT UPDATES!

FOLLOW US FOR INSTANT UPDATES!

No feed items available at this time.

Pause Auto-Update | Back to Top