Drought conditions persist in the northeast

Parts of Northeastern Minnesota have been without much rain for weeks now, with an officially severe drought spreading in parts of St. Louis, Lake and Cook counties.

According to the Duluth News Tribune, the U.S. Drought Monitor shows a spreading area of abnormally dry conditions across northern Minnesota.

Streams are shallow and lake levels are dropping. The danger of forest fires spreading is now high across the northern tier of counties.

In some places, rainfall totals during the six-week period were among the lowest on record, according to Greg Spoden, assistant state climatologist, in a report released Wednesday.

The National Weather Service in Duluth noted that rainfall in many areas has been 3 to 4 inches below normal since late July, while temperatures have been 1 to 2 degrees warmer than normal, which helps speed up the drying process.

In northern St. Louis County and northern Lake County, stream flow values rank below the 10th percentile for this time of year, meaning they are this low at this time of year only one year out of 10.

The National Weather Service noted that much of region has seen little rain in September, with little chance of any rain until Monday, and that chance is slim.