Frigid temperatures this weekend prompt cold weather advisories

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The steamy summer of ‘21 is off and running. And growing drought and fire danger are byproducts of our hot dry weather pattern. Looking at the forecast maps, drought and fire danger are very likely to get worse before they get better.

 from last week. You can see that now 73 percent of Minnesota is either abnormally dry or already in drought. 

Precipitation over the past month has run from 10 percent of average to 75 percent of average across most of Minnesota. The driest areas have been across north central Minnesota where very little rain has fallen in the past month. 

June is our wettest month of the year on average in Minnesota, with around 4 inches of rainfall on average. Many locations in Minnesota have recorded little or no rainfall so far in June. That’s a rainfall deficit of 1.3 inches already this month for many locations.  

Thursday brings the release of the latest U.S. Drought Monitor. I expect dryness and drought categories to show an increase. 

I continue to be very concerned about the potential for large wildfires in Minnesota this year. 

Forecast: Little rain in the next 10 days?

The forecast models do not look favorable for widespread heavy rainfall in the next 10 days. Spotty showers and thunderstorms may drop local downpours in some areas, but overall rainfall coverage looks spotty. 

Wednesday’s Canadian model run suggests less than an inch of rainfall across most of Minnesota in the next 10 days.

The European model is even less optimistic, with very little rainfall across most of Minnesota in the next 10 days. 

If these model forecasts verify, expect Minnesota to plunge headlong into drought by the time we get to late June. And expect fire danger to reach critical levels.

I hope these model forecasts suggesting extreme dryness at the height of the summer evaporation season are wrong. 

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Paul Huttner

Author

Hot dry weather is expanding dryness in soils and waterways across Minnesota and the Midwest.

U.S. Drought Monitor/USDA/NOAA/University of Nebraska-Lincoln

30-day precipitation departure from average 

Midwest Regional Climate Center

Minnesota DNR 

Environment Canada via pivotal weather

European model (ECMWF) precipitation output

Drought and fire danger rapidly increasing across Minnesota

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