Drought Deepens In Southeast Minnesota; May Get Worse

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Rochester, MN (KROC AM News) - It’s bone dry and getting drier across southeast Minnesota.

In fact, nearly half the state is now facing moderate drought conditions.

That includes nearly the entire southern third of the state. Some areas in southern Minnesota have fallen into the severe drought category.

The National Weather Service says there has been little or no rainfall across southeast Minnesota so far this month.

Conditions have been made worse by the sudden appearance of very warm temperatures. Rochester - which hasn’t received any rain since Memorial Day - had an average temperature of 75.4 degrees between June 1 - 8. This was the second warmest for this time period.

As of Tuesday, Rochester’s June moisture deficit had reached 2.5 inches. The year-to-date shortfall has grown to 5.5 inches.

And there is no immediate relief in sight.

Federal government weather experts say the short-term outlook for June 18-24 calls for a continuation of hot and dry conditions across Minnesota and other parts of the Upper Midwest.

They say drought impacts are beginning to intensify in the region, including wildfire risk, water supply concerns for agriculture, municipalities, and landscaping, and crop stress due to a lack of soil moisture.

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