Drought — Northern Aitkin, Minnesota

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

Event narrative

Northern Aitkin County began the month with a mixture of D1 Moderate Drought across the northern half of the northern part of the county with D2 Severe Drought across the southern half. The area of D2 Severe Drought was expanded across the northwestern quarter of the northern half of the county with the update on the morning of the first. Continued dry conditions over the remainder of the month saw D2 Severe Drought expanding across the much of the remainder of the northern half of the county with the update on the 22nd with D3 Extreme Drought being introduced across the southern half of the northern part of the county on the 29th. Rainfall amounts around 50 to 70 percent of normal were observed across the northern 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 1132056. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.