Snow and rain will help against drought, exactly how much is still undetermined
CHANHASSEN, Minn. — Inside the National Weather Service Twin Cities office in Chanhassen on Saturday, meteorologists are keeping a close eye on conditions that will shape exactly how much snow and rain we see over the next several hours.
"We're seeing some things that are saying it's pretty aggressive and we'll only maybe get four or five inches before the transition happens, and you've got other models that are like 'oh let's have a snow party and let's get it up 10, 12 inches of snow,'" said Mike Griesinger, a meterologist with the National Weather Service.
No matter the snow to rain ratio, the precipitation will be beneficial in the fight against our current drought, Griesinger said.
Right now, the U.S. Drought Monitor map puts the Twin Cities, and most of the state, in the moderate drought category.
"This will help stop the expansion of the drought, get us from going any worse than the moderate that we're in at the moment," said Griesinger.
It's still too soon to say whether all this will improve Minnesota's drought rating.
You may remember the unseasonably early start to wildfire season earlier this month. This projected precipitation should help prevent future fires in the short term, Griesinger said.
"It will help greatly settle down our wildfire potential, at least for a week or two," he said.
Some more potentially good news: Longer term forecasting shows better odds for rain or snow through early April.
"If we can keep that going, we can get some momentum to really start chipping away at the drought," said Griesinger.
