Drought — Northern Itasca, Minnesota

2021-12-01 to 2021-12-31 · Northern Itasca, Minnesota

Event narrative

The month began with D2 Severe Drought across all of northern Itasca County. Throughout the month the majority of northern Itasca County received precipitation of 1.5 to 2.25 inches above normal, although the far northern portions of the county only received precipitation of 0.75-1.5 inches above normal. Most of the northern Itasca was upgraded to D1 Moderate Drought with the updated on the 21st and 28th, but the far northern portion still remains at D2 Severe Drought.

Wider weather episode

December brought an onslaught of wintry systems bringing much needed moisture throughout the region. Several records were broken for precipitation during the middle and end of the month. The whole region saw above normal precipitation with the exception of northwestern Koochiching County. The abundance of precipitation lead to a large improvement in the drought status for the region. By the end of the month, no part of the region remained in D3 Extreme Drought. The Arrowhead still remains in D2 Severe Drought as well as most of Koochiching and northern Itasca counties.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 998542. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.