ORONO, Minn. — Despite a bit of rain in the forecast, experts say it's not enough to fix the drought covering large portions of Minnesota.
In fact, the Twin Cities is short nearly 1 foot of rain.
"It's just kind of a cascading effect — more and more impacts as the drought goes deeper," said state climatologist Pete Boulay.
It's really evident on Lake Minnetonka where water levels are at the lowest in about 22 years.
"The toughest thing about the nice boating weather is that there hasn't been enough rain," said Your Boat Club manager Matt Sutton. "We’re basically backing trucks into the water to get the boats out."
There's been so little rain that the newest drought monitor shows the area of extreme drought is increasing. Boulay is reporting just 1/2 inch of rain has fallen at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport in the last two months.
"If we don't get any precipitation and not much snow and a dry spring, it could keep getting worse," said Boulay. "Best case scenario, really, right now, is to just hope for normal precipitation."
Boulay says about 1 1/2 inches of rain usually falls in November, but he still thinks a drought will persist into next year.
"It would take a really big change in the weather pattern to really kick out of it," said Boulay.
The drought, plus warm temperatures and gusty wind, is also increasing fire danger. The Minnesota Interagency Fire Center says the near-critical fire conditions sparked 25 wildfires on Wednesday, including several in Anoka County.
“Until we receive significant precipitation, in the form of rain or snow, fire danger is expected to remain high," says Leanne Langeberg, public information officer with the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center.
The Minnesota Interagency Fire Center is urging everyone to be extremely cautious with all outdoor activities that can produce heat or a spark and to check any recent debris burning to make sure the fire is out cold.
If a wildfire is spotted, call 911 immediately.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities in our YouTube playlist: