Drought easing but still lingers in much of Minnesota
Much of southwest Minnesota is now drought-free. Next update arrives Thursday morning.
Drought conditions continue to ease across much of Minnesota. The trend started in late summer when more regular rains began to sweep the Upper Midwest.
Note how the percentage of drought (D1-D4) in the image above has dropped from 98 percent three months ago to 62 percent as of last week’s drought report. The next U.S. Drought Monitor report for Minnesota will be released Thursday morning.
Wet October in western Minnesota
October has been wet in western Minnesota. Many locations have picked up 2 to 4 inches of rain, while some areas have seen more than 5 inches in far western Minnesota.
Our midweek rain system is delivering another minor soaking to Minnesota and the Upper Midwest through Thursday. Rains are still working through Minnesota, but so far the system has dropped some meaningful rainfall in eastern South Dakota as it edges into western Minnesota.
Here are some rainfall totals reported from the Sioux Falls National Weather Service office as of Wednesday afternoon.
Most areas will likely end up between 0.5 and 1 inches of rainfall with this system by late Thursday.
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