New drought maps shows Minnesota’s severely dry conditions are over

MINNEAPOLIS – As the month of May progresses, there is more good news for those following Minnesota ongoing drought conditions.

Everyone in northern Minnesota, where it's been the driest, saw a category improvement over the past week. This means the severe drought is over, but there is still moderate drought around Brainerd and Bemidji. We also saw a small improvement in southwest Minnesota. In fact, only 11% of the state remains in drought, but 39% remains abnormally dry.

Since late April, Minnesota has managed to pick up at least 2 more inches of rain where it's really needed: in the southern, central and northwestern parts of the state. Even around the Twin Cities, precipitation totals are above average by nearly 0.4 inches, with rain falling about every other day.

Outside of a patchy shower or storm, mainly in western Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota, the next five days look a bit drier.

The Climate Prediction Center's outlook for May calls for wetter-than-average conditions, which should help alleviate some of the remaining dryness.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources reports that they will “continue to carefully monitor the situation and take the steps outlined in the Minnesota State Drought Plan.” The agency also reported that Minnesota has experienced significant drought conditions every year since 2021.