Drought Area Grows in Part of Minnesota
UNDATED -- An area just to the south of St. Cloud could really use some rain.
The latest update Thursday from the U.S. Drought Monitor says about three percent of the state is now in a moderate drought, up from less than one percent a week ago. The drought is in an area that stretches from the southern part of the Twin Cities metro down to the Mankato area.
Meanwhile, the area of the state that is considered to be abnormally dry has gotten smaller, now at 11 percent down from 17 percent a week ago. The dry area is from southern Stearns County down to Redwood Falls up to the northern part of the Twin Cities metro.
Here in St. Cloud, we've had just over an inch of rain so far in July, which is about a half-inch below normal. For the entire year so far, we've had about 20 inches of precipitation which is nearly six inches above normal.
Some parts of the state could get some much-needed rain overnight. The National Weather Service says locally heavy rainfall is possible during some strong storms and some areas could have 2 to 3 inches.