Overnight soaking aids in drought relief, but more rain is needed across Minnesota
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Many yards and lawns across Minnesota are rejoicing after a nice soaking rain overnight.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources climatologist Pete Boulay said the past 24 hours was exactly what we needed when it comes to helping with the drought, but more rain will be needed to make a substantial difference.
Right now the entire state is experiencing some level of dryness, with the Twin Cities in a severe drought and other pockets around Minnesota in an extreme drought.
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Boulay said right now Minnesota is trending better than average when it comes to the month to August.
He added any time it rains, grass, plants and trees will always benefit first, but we'll need more to make an impact on our low water levels for our lakes and streams.
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"Once we saturate the ground then it can go into lakes and streams," he said. "We're seeing a tiny little bump up, like Lake Minnetonka went up about a tenth of a foot, White Bear Lake went up about a tenth of a foot, area streams went up a little bit, but we haven't seen a huge recovery there yet because the moisture goes into the ground first. So, we need more rain like this."
Boulay also said while Minnesota should see some improvement in the next drought update that comes out Thursday, a potential heatwave is on tap, which can easily set us back and worsen the drought.