Even though we’ve had a fair amount of rain this month and are about a half-inch above average for June so far, moderate drought conditions persist in southeast Minnesota. Northern reaches of Goodhue county are in a severe drought–just one step higher on the scale. Click on the image for more info on our local drought conditions.
Posted under climate
This post was written by Randy on June 11, 2009
It’s rained 7 of May’s 14 days so improvements are bound to happen, thankfully. Another round of thunderstorms Friday should provide another little boost.
Even though everything is faring well so far with May’s ample amounts of rainfall, our rainfall deficits since June 15, 2008 are exceeding 12″ in parts of southeast Minnesota. Take a peek at the NWS La Crosse summary of our local drought conditions for more details.
Posted under climate
This post was written by Randy on May 14, 2009
Click on the image for the latest drought conditions in the midwest, and from there you can take a look at individual states. Much of southeast Minnesota is still in a moderate drought, and a sliver of Goodhue county is in severe drought.
Conditions have improved since the last drought monitor update of last Thursday.
This post was written by Randy on April 30, 2009
Not a bad rainfall here today…a touch more than a half-inch for some, so expectations were just barely exceeded. Totals posted below, or click here for more.
The U.S. Drought Monitor was also updated today, and also as expected, moderate drought conditions have spread a bit more across the region, and a portion of north-central Minnesota has been downgraded (or should that be upgraded?) from moderate to severe drought.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
848 PM CDT THU SEP 11 2008
…RAINFALL AMOUNTS SO FAR TODAY…
LOCATION COUNTY RAINFALL
NORTHEAST IOWA
ELKADER CLAYTON 0.63″
LANSING ALLAMAKEE 0.45″
JACKSON JUNCTION WINNESHIEK 0.43″
CHARLES CITY FLOYD 0.40″
LITTLEPORT CLAYTON 0.38″
IONIA 2W CHICKASAW 0.38″
OELWEIN FAYETTE 0.35″
MCGREGOR CLAYTON 0.29″
OSSIAN WINNESHIEK 0.28″
GARBER CLAYTON 0.25″
MARQUETTE CLAYTON 0.24″
NEW HAMPTON CHICKASAW 0.23″
WEST UNION FAYETTE 0.21″
ION ALLAMAKEE 0.19″
MONONA CLAYTON 0.15″
CRESCO HOWARD 0.09″
BLUFFTON WINNESHIEK 0.06″
SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA
AUSTIN – DOBBINS CREEK MOWER 0.56″
LAKE CITY WABASHA 0.55″
ROCHESTER – CASCADE CREEK OLMSTED 0.48″
ROCHESTER – BELTLINE OLMSTED 0.44″
AUSTIN MOWER 0.44″
PILOT MOUND FILLMORE 0.34″
ROCHESTER – SILVER CREEK OLMSTED 0.28″
LANESBORO FILLMORE 0.27″
LANSING MOWER 0.26″
KASSON DODGE 0.25″
DOVER 2NE OLMSTED 0.21″
BEAVER WINONA 0.20″
WINONA – WINONA STATE UNIV WINONA 0.20″
WINONA AWOS WINONA 0.20″
WHITEWATER STATE PARK WINONA 0.19″
AUSTIN – TURTLE CREEK MOWER 0.19″
STEWARTVILLE OLMSTED 0.19″
ROCHESTER – BEAR CREEK OLMSTED 0.17″
PRESTON AWOS FILLMORE 0.18″
ROCHESTER ASOS OLMSTED 0.18″
AUSTIN 3S MOWER 0.17″
PLAINVIEW WABASHA 0.12″
BROWNSVILLE HOUSTON 0.12″
HOUSTON HOUSTON 0.05″
DAKOTA WINONA 0.02″
Posted under KTTC, Natural Disaster, weather
This post was written by Randy on September 11, 2008
Tonight’s latest model run is reinforcing Thursday’s rainfall forecast. The U.S. Drought Monitor will update Thursday morning, and moderate drought conditions are likely to expand across the region, so anything helps–but a good soaker would be preferred. Models are indicating amounts under a half inch for southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa over the course of Thursday. Another shot of much-needed rainfall looks possible Saturday.
Ike’s path has varied from Louisiana to the southern Gulf coast, and the latest track from the NHC would put Ike awfully close to Houston with a northerly turn occuring just before landfall early Saturday morning.
Posted under KTTC, Natural Disaster, weather
This post was written by Randy on September 10, 2008
Despite last week’s rainfall, drought conditions continue throughout much of the upper MIdwest. Click the image for more details, or check out this local summary for further details.
Posted under climate, KTTC, weather
This post was written by Randy on September 4, 2008
Quiet weather is a lock for our holiday weekend with sunshine, warm days, and mild nights. There just isn’t much more to brag up, weatherwise aside from that. Our midweek rain was a huge help to the moderate drought that has developed, easing concerns while we enjoy sunny warmth this weekend.
There will be change in the weather by next Tuesday with an increased chance for showers and thunderstorms. Whether or not Gustav is going to have any impact on our regional weather is still uncertain, but not out of the question.
Have a great Labor Day weekend!
This post was written by Randy on August 29, 2008
Yeah, it’s looking like it…at least there’s an opportunity for thunderstorms between 11am and 7pm Thursday. Grand totals won’t be much higher than a tenth to a quarter of an inch, but anything helps this time of year when highs are approaching 90° and everything is quick to dry out. Check out our Futurecast and graphics pages for some of the latest information.
Steph has just posted a synopsis on the dry conditions that have been developing in southern Minnesota since about the 12th of June. We’ve had rain since then, but it’s been awfully sporadic, and despite the almost daily chance of thunderstorms, the storms that have been out there have missed a good chunk of southeast Minnesota.
Regarding the U.S. Drought Monitor that Steph mentioned, it is updated every Thursday at 7am Central, and I believe that this Thursday’s update will show a fairly substantial increase in the areal coverage of D0 (abnormally dry) conditions here in the Upper Midwest.
It may seem hard to believe, but based on the 30-year average, July is the wettest month of the year in Rochester, MN with an average July rainfall of 4.61″. August is the second wettest month with an average of 4.33″, and June is the third wettest with an average of 4.00″. The last year we had average or above average rainfall in July was in 2005 when 5.13″ of rain fell–July of 2006 and 2007 were unusually dry.
I’ve been receiving quite a few questions lately wondering why we don’t use percentages in our forecasts. I’ll address this sooner than later–there’s an 80% chance that I’m ready to go home. 
This post was written by Randy on July 30, 2008
