Drought — Northern Itasca, Minnesota

2023-07-18 to 2023-07-31 · Northern Itasca, Minnesota

Event narrative

July began with D0 Abnormally Dry conditions across all of Itasca County with D1 Moderate Drought quickly entering the picture for most of the county with the update on the 4th. Continued dry conditions over the month saw the introduction of D2 Severe Drought with the update on the 18th across the far western area of the county and then persisting through the remainder of the month. Rainfall deficits for the month of 1 to 2 inches were observed across the county.

Wider weather episode

Drought conditions rapidly worsened across the Northland during the month of July. After record snowfall in many areas over the winter, dry conditions took hold for the spring into the summer with rainfall deficits of 1 to 4 inches for the month across much of northeastern Minnesota. D1 Moderate Drought quickly took hold across the area during the beginning of the month with D2 Severe Drought spreading into far western and southern areas as the month progressed. Area creeks and rivers dropped to low flow levels and crops began to suffer across much of the region.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1122664. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.