Drought in Forest, Wisconsin

At Argonne, below normal rainfall was first observed in late summer and continued through the fall. The October precipitation total was only 1.10 inches or 34% of normal. The peak in the dry spell occurred from November 1-23, with only 0.12 inches recorded, which was only 8% of the monthly total. The Drought Monitor on the 18th indicated the southern half of the county was designated in Severe Drought (D2), with Moderate Drought (D1) or Abnormally Dry (D0) conditions over the northern half of the county. The precipitation at the end of the month brought the monthly total to only 63% of normal.

The first signs of drought were noted in the late summer and early fall, August to September timeframe, when there were sporadic areas reporting below normal rainfall across northern Wisconsin. The dry conditions expanded and precipitation deficits increased across much of the area in September and continued into October. The peak in the dry spell occurred from November 1-23 when only a few tenths of an inch were recorded. A good majority of the precipitation for the month fell from the 24th through the 30th.