Severe Thunderstorms and Excessive Rainfall in the Central U.S.; Heat Building in the Western U.S.

A cold front pressing east across the central U.S. will be the focus for areas of strong to severe thunderstorms and excessive rainfall through this weekend. Strong to severe thunderstorms my bring damaging winds, hail, and a few tornadoes while excessive rainfall may lead to areas of flooding. Heat will build across the western U.S. with heat-related watches, warnings, and advisories issued. Read More >

November 2021 was a bit warmer than average, and many places recorded around or even above normal precipitation, which is a notable change from previous months. This is due in large part to the storm that brought heavy snow and rain November 11 and 12 across northern Minnesota, with several reports of rain in excess of 3” along the North Shore. This has led to some improvement in drought conditions, but given that we are now in the cold season and overall precipitation amounts are less compared to summer, we still remain in severe drought for most of northeastern Minnesota, and even a patch of extreme drought for a portion of the Boundary Waters.

Looking ahead, the CPC predicts slightly above normal temperatures and precipitation for the region for December. Now that we are already one week into December, that prediction is holding up well with the first major snowstorm giving nearly everyone a good dumping of snow. Drought conditions are expected to persist across northeastern Minnesota, but improvement is possible in northwest Wisconsin per the CPC.