It may seem like we’ve had more than average snow this winter – as anyone who has had to scrape their windshield recently can attest. But the numbers tell a different story: It’s not nearly enough. In fact, parts of Minnesota are suffering from drought.
There’s not enough snow in Minnesota
The Twin Cities are not one of those parts, thankfully, but we’re still 5.4 inches behind where we’re supposed to be. Even the 12 inches we got during that big blizzard recently weren’t quite enough to bring us back to par.
Currently, its parts of West Central Minnesota and in North Central Minnesota that are suffering from “Moderate Drought” conditions, as they have only seen about 6 inches of snow this winter. And surrounding western regions don’t look much better, classified as “Abnormally Dry” by the U.S. Drought Monitor.
And we’re not alone: Almost 2/3 of the country is suffering from drought, according to the National Weather Service. Unusually dry winter has lead to fewer large storm systems, less snow, etc. So those crazy East Coast blizzards? Pretty much one-and-done. And we’re still playing catch up.
Learn more, and see all the numbers, maps, and other fun climate data for the Twin Cities and Minnesota, here: www.weather.gov/twincities
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