Rochester Area Now Experiencing Severe Drought Conditions

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Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - Drought conditions in Minnesota continued to worsen this week with the Rochester area now included in those experiencing severe drought conditions.

The updated US Drought Monitor shows extreme drought conditions have yet to develop in Minnesota this summer, but the areas with severe drought conditions doubled in size over the past week to more than 8% of the state. That includes all of Olmsted County, along with northern Fillmore County, southwestern Winona and Wabasha Counties,y, southwestern Wabasha County, and small portions of Goodhue and Dodge Counties.

Severe drought conditions are also found in the eastern half of the Twin Cities and areas of east-central and central Minnesota. The weekly report now shows more than 56% of the state is experiencing a moderate drought and 98% of Minnesota is experiencing at least abnormally dry conditions. The entire southeastern corner of Minnesota has either severe or moderate drought conditions along with central Minnesota and areas of northern Minnesota.

The National Weather Service is reporting the Rochester area received only 1.34 inches of rain during the month of June and the highest rainfall total over a 24-hour period was only a half-inch on June 25th. Only a trace of precipitation has been recorded that the Rochester Airport this month.