Drought Information Statement for NE Minnesota & NW Wisconsin Valid December 6, 2024 Issued By: NWS Duluth, MN Contact Information: Next Update: Friday, December 6, 2024 Severe Drought conditions have improved in the Arrowhead and along the South Shore. The rest of the Northland remains unchanged for Drought status. Drought intensity and Extent D2 (Severe Drought): Western Iron Range and Leech Lake area. D1 (Moderate Drought): Nearly all of the rest of the Northland. D0: (Abnormally Dry): Near International Falls and in the St. Croix River Valley. Recent Change in Drought Intensity One Week Drought Monitor Class Change. Drought Worsened: Not Applicable. No Change: The remainder of the Northland that didn’t see drought improve. Drought Improved: Parts of the Arrowhead and South Shore. Precipitation Regional precipitation in the past month ranges from slightly-below normal to above normal. The North Shore observed a general 3-5 inches of liquid equivalent precipitation. The Interior Arrowhead has seen the lowest precipitation compared to normal over the last month. The remainder of the Northland is within +- 1 inch of normal rainfall over the past month. Temperature Temperatures have been an average of 2°F to 6°F above normal across the entire Northland over the past month. Hydrologic Impacts Streamflows are running much-below to a few locations near normal for all of northeast Minnesota. Northwest Wisconsin streamflows are normal to below-normal. Agricultural Impacts Pockets of well-below normal soil moisture in northeast Minnesota, but the vast majority of the region is only below normal to normal soil moisture. Fire Hazard Impacts Fire danger is Low for north-central and northeast Minnesota. Fire danger is also Low for northwest Wisconsin. Other Impacts Unknown at this time. Mitigation Actions Burn Restrictions - Burning permits are required in north-central Minnesota. Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts Northeast Minnesota - Streams are running much-below to below normal in much of northeast Minnesota, but a few flowing at normal rates. Northwest Wisconsin - Streams are running around normal to below normal in northwest Wisconsin Agricultural Impacts Pockets of well-below normal soil moisture in northeast Minnesota, but the vast majority of the region is only below to normal soil moisture Fire Hazard Impacts Significant Wildland Fire Potential conditions are normal for December. Seven Day Precipitation Forecast A weak clipper moves through northeast Minnesota this evening into Saturday morning to bring a glaze of ice and light snowfall up to a few inches along and north of the Iron Range. A larger weather system is forecast for Sunday to bring a tenth of an inch of liquid equivalent precipitation to most of the region, with parts of the Borderlands and Arrowhead seeing up to half-inch of liquid equivalent precipitation. South Shore snowbelt locations then see additional light snow chances Tuesday December 10th to Thursday December 12th. Rapid Onset Drought Outlook No rapid onset drought expected. Long-Range Outlooks The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage Longer-term forecasts show no significant signals for either above normal or below normal temperatures for the month of December. Longer-term forecasts show no significant signals for either above normal or below normal precipitation for the month of December. Drought Outlook The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage Drought is expected to persist in north-central MN, improve in the central Iron Range and end in the Arrowhead to Twin Ports and across all of northwest Wisconsin.