Drought Information Statement for NE Minnesota & NW Wisconsin Valid May 30, 2024 Issued By: NWS Duluth, MN Contact Information: No further updates are scheduled until drought conditions worsen again. Please see all currently available products at https://drought.gov/drought-information-statements. Drought conditions have improved over the past few weeks due to above average rainfall and are expected to continue to see improvement over the next month. Drought intensity and Extent D1 (Moderate Drought): far northwest Itasca, southwest Koochiching and northern Iron County in north-central Minnesota. Northern Iron County and the far northeastern sliver of Ashland County in north-central Wisconsin. D0: (Abnormally Dry): much of northern Cass and other parts of northwest Itasca and southwest Koochiching Counties in north-central Minnesota. Eastern Bayfield, northeastern Sawyer, Ashland, and southern Iron counties in north-central Wisconsin. Recent Change in Drought Intensity Drought Worsened: Not Applicable No Change: northwest Itasca and southwest Koochiching Counties and parts of the South Shore. Drought Improved: Much of north-central Minnesota. Precipitation Regional precipitation in the past month has been above to well-above normal. Northeast Minnesota has seen 4-6” of precipitation over the last month. There is a pocket of near-normal precipitation along the South Shore though. Temperature Temperatures have been near-normal for the Iron Range, Borderlands, into the Arrowhead, and the Bayfield Peninsula, but are 2-4 degrees above normal for the southern half of the Northland Hydrologic Impacts Streamflows are generally running above to well-above normal around the region. Agricultural Impacts Northern Itasca County - Standing water in yards and agriculture fields, running water in ditches. Planting delayed due to ground saturation. Fire Hazard Impacts Fire danger is low for northeast and north-central Minnesota. Fire danger is also low for northwest Wisconsin. Other Impacts There are no known impacts at this time. Mitigation Actions None reported. Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts Northeast Minnesota - Streams are running above to well-above normal for all basins. Northwest Wisconsin - All of northwest Wisconsin is running near-normal to above normal. Agricultural Impacts Soil moisture is generally around to slightly above average in the Northland. Fire Hazard Impacts Below average precipitation and warm temperatures in March are creating persistent elevated fire hazards as shown by the Significant Wildland Fire Potential continuing to be above normal for April, but improving to normal for May as the middle part of April turns wetter. Seven Day Precipitation Forecast Another period of rain every 2 to 3 days begins again Thursday evening, May 30, 2024, and lasts at least into the middle part of next week, the first full week of June 2024 0.25 to 0.5 inches of rainfall is most likely Thursday evening and night in north-central Minnesota, with closer to 0.1 to 0.25 inches elsewhere in northeast MN and northwest WI Heavy rainfall around 1” (40% chance) to 2” (10% chance) is possible for northeast Minnesota and slightly lesser chances into northwest Wisconsin Sunday evening and overnight. Rapid Onset Drought Outlook No rapid onset drought expected. Long-Range Outlooks Longer-term forecasts show equal chances for above or below normal precipitation and for temperatures being either warmer or cooler than normal in the month of June. Drought Outlook Many areas that are currently experiencing drought are predicted to see drought end within the next few months.