This Is Why Your Lawn Might Be Looking Dry in Southeast Minnesota

Ever since my wife gave me a home weather station last year, I've been tracking the precip that falls at our house-- but there hasn't been a whole lot to track lately.

I finally installed my new interactive rain gauge at our house earlier this spring-- after the snow finally melted, that is-- and it's pretty slick. It self-empties and then updates an app on my phone that tells me how much rain has fallen in the last hour, day and week.

And, as is usually the case when you get something new and want to try it out, there hasn't been all that much rain to track lately, at least according to my records. And, it turns out that's pretty much the case across much of southeast Minnesota as well.

While we did get an isolated storm last week Wednesday that dumped around a half-inch of rain in about 15 minutes on the yard outside palatial St. John manor, other than that it has been pretty dry around here as of late.

KTTC Chief Meteorologist Matt Benz confirmed things with a post on his Twitter page Monday. While the month of June gave us just under 6-and-a-half inches of rain (about an inch-and-a-half more than normal), our rainfall in July was only slightly over 3 inches, which is just under 2-and-a-half inches below normal. That still puts us below normal when you look at the total rainfall since June-- not quite three-quarters of an inch under our average total.

So, yeah, if your lawn or garden's looking a little dry these days, that's why. And while we could get a few isolated showers Tuesday afternoon, the rest of the week is looking dry and sunny. Which is great for hitting the pool-- after you bust out the hose and water those plants, that is.

Listen to Curt St. John from 6 to 10 a.m. on Quick Country 96.5
and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 103.9 The Doc