x
Breaking News
More () »

NWS: Summer-like weather continuing across most of the area into early August

The latest drought monitor shows 18% of Minnesota is in an extreme drought, up from about 4% last week.

CHANHASSEN, Minn. — Another dry and hot day means another day deeper in the drought. The National Weather Service predicted this pattern early in the year when we didn't get much snow. 

"We had a relatively dry winter so there wasn’t a whole lot of recharge from that moisture," said NWS Meteorologist Todd Krause.

The drought monitor shows the color red seeping across the state. It represents the extreme category that has experts at the NWS worried. 

"There may be times when we get an inch of rain here, an inch of rain there, but it's not going to be anything that alleviates the drought over the entire upper Midwest," said Krause.

Krause says the rain really dried up in some parts back in May. A month later, high temperatures in the Twin Cities made June the second warmest ever. 

"Very, very rare to have that kind of early hot weather in early June," said Krause. "Especially where we are already because we've got a lot of summer yet to go."

The agency also says the metro has hit at least 15 days in the 90s this summer, along with only seven measurable days of rain. That's fewer even than 1988, which is considered one of the worst drought years on record. 

And there are little signs of improvement. 

"It's still more likely than not that August will be warmer than normal and drier than normal," said Krause.

The news even has the state's Drought Task Force reconvening for the first time Wednesday in nine years. It's made up of dozens of people from local and federal groups coordinating what actions to take. Right now, that includes possibly restricting or banning non-essential outdoor water use.

"There will be a time when we get out of this drought, the question will be how long does this go, how many people are affected by it and what are the impacts, really," said Krause. 

Before You Leave, Check This Out