REGIONAL— Last weekend’s much-needed rain helped reduce fire danger in the region, but it did nothing to reverse the drop in water levels on area lakes and streams stemming from two months of much-below average precipitation. According to the Department of Natural Resources weekly stream level report, produced in real time on Monday, stream levels in northeastern Minnesota continued to drop sharply over the past week, with virtually all watersheds in the Arrowhead now at critically low levels.
The Rainy River saw the sharpest drop as the reported flow at Manitou Rapids fell from 7,689 cubic feet per second, or cfs, to 4,030 cfs as of Monday— a 47 percent drop in just one week.
The Vermilion River at Crane Lake showed continued sharp decline as well, falling from 93 cfs last week to just 63 cfs as of Monday. That’s a decline of 32 percent.
The Little Fork and Basswood rivers saw relatively minor declines, but remained well under their Q90, which is considered critically low.
The continued fall in water levels came despite widespread rainfall last Saturday that exceeded an inch in many locations. The rainfall, which was mostly light but sustained over several hours, was mostly absorbed into soil desperate for moisture after weeks with little or no precipitation.
As of last Thursday, the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map showed all of northeastern Minnesota in severe drought. Indeed, drought has expanded across most of Minnesota in recent weeks and is part of a trend that is now impacting the vast majority of the Midwest and Great Plains.