Drought in Crawford, Wisconsin

While heavy rainfall towards the end of March resulted in improvement from severe (D2) to moderate (D1) drought for most of Crawford County, near to slightly below normal total monthly liquid precipitation of 1 to 2 resulted in severe (D2) drought persisting in southwestern Crawford County through March.

Ongoing abnormally dry conditions slightly eased from southwest into central Wisconsin through March. From initial drought issuance on June 1st, 2023 to March onset, 15 to 20 of total liquid precipitation was up to 12 below normal, resulting in ongoing severe (D2) affecting much of southwest into central Wisconsin. Volunteer observers reported 5 to 10 days of measurable precipitation in drought affected areas of Wisconsin through March, providing liquid precipitation totals from 1 to 2.5 which was slightly below the monthly normal. In severe (D2) drought affected areas, the highest monthly total liquid precipitation reports from volunteer observers were 1.57 in Viroqua (Vernon County) and 1.48 in Prairie Du Chien (Crawford County). The severe drought (D2) area shrunk in size by the end of March across southwest and central Wisconsin.