Drought — Houston, Minnesota

2024-10-29 to 2024-10-31 · Houston, Minnesota

Event narrative

Throughout the entirety of September and through October 29th, only 2 to 2.5 inches of precipitation fell in Winona County. This 4 to 5 inch deficit for this period resulted in the development of short-lived severe drought conditions by late October. Severe drought conditions ended in the county by the end of the month when roughly 0.75 to 1.5 inches of rainfall fell across the county on October 30th.

Wider weather episode

A period of minimal precipitation across southeast Minnesota from the beginning of September and throughout much of October resulted in rainfall deficits of 4 to 7 inches below normal. As a result, severe drought conditions developed at the end of October in northeast Iowa. Severe drought conditions persisted through October 30th when a substantial rainfall event brought 0.5 to 1.5 inches of rainfall across northeast Iowa.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1217553. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.