REGIONAL— Drought conditions continue to build across Minnesota, despite on-again, off-again rainfall in recent weeks. According to the latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor, three-quarters of St. Louis County is now in moderate drought, with severe drought along parts of the North Shore.
The drought monitor report is issued every Thursday, so the latest report available as of this week’s press deadline was nearly a week old. With no measurable precipitation reported in most stations in our region through the first week of August, it’s likely that the drought status will show intensification when the next report is issued on Thursday, Aug. 10.
As of Aug. 3, northeastern St. Louis County, including the Tower and Ely areas were still listed as abnormally dry, which is the lowest level of drought status. Currently every part of Minnesota is listed as abnormally dry or higher, with a good portion of southeastern through northcentral Minnesota currently experiencing severe drought.
Drought conditions are being felt in stream flows around the area, where some northeastern Minnesota rivers are now near their Q90, which signifies a flow in the bottom tenth percentile or lower. Along with the drought comes increased fire danger. Currently, no open burning is allowed in the northern half of Minnesota, although campfires are still allowed.
The extended forecast does offer some hope for relief from the drought. Both the 6-10 day and the 8-14 day outlooks call for below average temperatures and above normal precipitation.