Severe Drought Now Covers More Than Half Of Minnesota

(KNSI) – Severe drought has spread across more than half of Minnesota, and the state’s extreme drought footprint grew again this week.

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor, released Thursday puts 52.46% of the state in severe drought or worse, up from 48.08% a week earlier. The report reflects conditions as of Tuesday, September 1st.

Extreme drought, the second-most severe of the monitor’s five categories, expanded to 4.57% of Minnesota, up from 3.50%.

Conditions worsened at every level. Nearly 80% of the state, 79.72%, is in at least moderate drought, and 95.53% is abnormally dry or worse. Just 4.47% of Minnesota is drought-free, down from 4.71%.

Central Minnesota, including Stearns, Benton and Sherburne counties, sits inside the band of severe and moderate drought running across the middle of the state.

The turn has been sharp. On June 2nd, severe drought covered 1.21% of Minnesota, and no part of the state had reached extreme drought. A year ago, no part of Minnesota was in moderate drought at all, and 86.52% of the state was drought-free.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has the Mississippi Headwaters watershed under its Drought Warning Response Phase, citing what state climatologists call a “storage drought,” a critical depletion of lake levels, soil moisture and groundwater. St. Cloud sits inside that watershed and draws its drinking water from the Mississippi River. The city is asking residents to cut back on water use indoors and out.

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