Drought Information Statement for Northeast IA, Southeast MN, & Western, WI Valid April 3, 2025 Issued By: WFO La Crosse, WI Contact Information: w-arx.webmaster@noaa.gov This product will be updated Thursday, April 10, 2024. Please see all currently available products at https://drought.gov/drought-information-statements. Please visit https://www.weather.gov/ARX/DroughtInformationStatement for previous statements. Please visit https://www.drought.gov/drought-status-updates/ for regional drought status updates. Some Improvements in the Dryness in Central Wisconsin Drought intensity and extent... Moderate drought (D1) conditions continue in northeast Iowa. Abnormally Dry (D0) and moderate drought (D1) conditions continue in southeast Minnesota, and along the Mississippi River in western Wisconsin. Abnormally dry (D0) conditions continue in northern and western Taylor County in north-central Wisconsin. Recent Change in Drought Intensity... During the past 2 weeks, there has been a 1-category improvement in the abnormally dry (D0) and moderate drought (D1) areas of central and north-central Wisconsin. Precipitation... The dryness from meteorological autumn continued into meteorological winter. This resulted in 2 to 7" deficits along and west of the Mississippi River. Meteorological spring (began on March 1) has been on the wetter side with precipitation surpluses up to 3 inches. This has resulted in some improvements in the dryness across central Wisconsin. Elsewhere, there are abnormally (D0) dry and moderate (D1) drought conditions. Temperature... During the last week of March, temperatures range from 4°F colder than normal to 8°F warmer than normal. During the past 30 days, temperature departures ranged from 3°F to 10°F warmer than normal. Summary of Impacts... Hydrologic Impacts There are no known impacts at this time. Agricultural Impacts There are no known impacts at this time. Fire Hazard Impacts As of the morning of April 5, fire danger was high (fires start easily and spread at a fast rate) to very high (fires start easily and spread at a very fast rate) across northeast Iowa, moderate (fires start easily and spread at a moderate rate) across much of western Wisconsin, and low (fires are not easily started) fire danger elsewhere in southeast Minnesota and Taylor County in north-central Wisconsin. Other Impacts There are no known impacts at this time. Mitigation Actions No known actions are taking place in northeast Iowa, southeast Minnesota, and western Wisconsin. Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts... The dryness from meteorological autumn continued into meteorological winter. This resulted in 2 to 7" deficits along and west of the Mississippi River. Meteorological spring (began on March 1) has been on the wetter side with precipitation surpluses up to 3 inches. This has resulted in some improvements in the dryness across central Wisconsin. This has resulted in some improvements in the dryness across central Wisconsin. Elsewhere, there are abnormally (D0) dry and moderate (D1) drought conditions. Fire Hazard Impacts... As of the morning of April 4, fire danger was high (fires start easily and spread at a fast rate) to very high (fires start easily and spread at a very fast rate) across northeast Iowa, moderate (fires start easily and spread at a moderate rate) across much of western Wisconsin, and low (fires are not easily started) fire danger elsewhere in southeast Minnesota and Taylor County in north-central Wisconsin. Seven Day Precipitation Forecast... From April 5 through April 12, the Weather Prediction Center (WPC) is forecasting up to a half-inch of precipitation. The highest totals are expected in northeast Iowa. Normal precipitation is between 9/10” and 1” for this time period. Rapid Onset Drought Outlook... From April 12 through April 18, rapid onset drought (at least a 2-category degradation) is not expected in northeast Iowa, southeast Minnesota, and from southwest into central Wisconsin. Long-Range Outlooks... During April, the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) has equal chances of above-, near-, and below-normal temperatures and precipitation for the Upper Mississippi River Valley. Drought Outlook... The drought is expected to improve across parts of southeast Minnesota and much of northeast Iowa.