Drought — Southern Aitkin, Minnesota

2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Southern Aitkin, Minnesota

Event narrative

Southern Aitkin County began the month in D2 Severe Drought but the west-central portion of the county was upgraded to D3 Extreme Drought with the update on the morning of the first. This area of D3 Extreme Drought was removed with the update on the 15th. Continued dry conditions over the remainder of the month saw D3 Extreme Drought returning to the northern two-thirds of the southern part of the county by the 29th. Rainfall amounts around 50 to 70 percent of normal were observed across the southern part of the county for the month.

Wider weather episode

Drought conditions persisted across northeastern Minnesota during the month of August. Rainfall continued to be in short supply across much of the region with areas receiving only about 50 percent or less of normal rainfall for the month. Localized heavy rainfall during the beginning of the month in the Brainerd Lakes area led to some improvement, but with dry conditions over the remainder of the month, D3 Extreme Drought spread across the southern reaches of northeastern Minnesota by the end of the month.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1132055. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.