Million dollar rain
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NEXRAD storm total rainfall paints a large area of half inch to one inch plus rain overnight.
Boy did we need this.
A strong low pressure system dumped widespread beneficial rainfall over much of Minnesota overnight. Combined with Saturday's soaking rains, weekend rainfall totals exceeded an inch in much of the state.
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The rain comes at a critical time for farmers and lawns. Drought conditions persist over much of southern Minnesota. The weekend rains will help ease short term agricultural drought, but will not raise lake, river and pond levels enough to put a major dent in hydrological drought in the region. Crops in Minnesota were in mostly good condition last week, but soils were getting very dry. This rain improved soil moisture in the top 4 inches of soil at a critical time to help boost crop growth as we head into mid June.
Saturday's all day soaker added up to .69" at Twin Cities airport. We picked up another .49" overnight for a weekend total of 1.18". Weekend rainfall was fairly consistent around the metro with 1.22" in Eden Prairie and 1.25" in St. Paul. The rain will put us close to normal for rainfall in the first week of June. Our next rain chance will come late Tuesday into early Wednesday.
The sun will return to Minnesota as the week progresses. It will be nice to see the explosion of greenery kick into high gear, and to know that everything in the landscape is taking a good long deep drink.
PH