Severe drought plagues southeastern MN

Here is the latest update from the U.S. Drought Monitor. It shows that central Minnesota is in pretty good shape in terms of soil moisture (getting drier the farther east you go toward Elk River, Monticello and the Twin Cities). 16% of Minnesota is too dry (yellow-shaded part of the state). 10% of Minnesota is suffering through a moderate drought, including much of the Twin Cities. Severe drought conditions are impacting far southeastern counties, from Stillwater to Hastings, Lake City and Winona. Last year at this time 25% of Minnesota was abnormally dry, but there was no drought anywhere in the state. It's still early; this does NOT necessarily mean that we'll have to worry about a severe drought during the growing season - hopefully we'll get some rain in here soon (as early as Saturday night and Sunday). Until we get at least .50" of rain and spring green-up a nagging brushfire threat will linger.

To explore the Drought Monitor (click on specific regions and states) click here.