New drought report: Status quo

Posted at 3:07 PM on June 11, 2009 by Paul Huttner

U.S. Drought Monitor released today shows Minnesota's drought virtually unchanged from last week.

It could have been worse.

If not for two shots of rain totaling over an inch in most locations, the drought would have deepened again this week in Minnesota. As it is, we're right where we were a week ago. An inch of rain sounds like a lot. But the powerful June sun and high evaporation rates this time of year can eat up an inch of soil moisture in about 3 to 4 days. The cool damp cloudy weather this week has helped to keep some of the precious moisture that fell in the topsoil.

The next 5 days look dry around much of Minnesota. There is a slight chance for a few showers late Friday, but I don't see any meaningful widespread one inch plus rains like we had last weekend. There is a chance for some increased thunderstorm activity toward the middle of next week.

Looking ahead, it still appears that 90 degree heat could build into the Midwest just after Father's Day. Drought conditions and effects could increase dramatically if we do not receive significant rainfall in the next 10 days.

Let's hope we can get some serious rain in here next week, mostly at night, so everybody is happy. Easier said than done!

PH

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