Drought Information Statement for Central/Southern MN and Western WI
Valid June 18, 2026
Issued By: National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen, MN
Contact Information: nws.twincities@noaa.gov
This product will be updated July 16, 2026 or sooner if drought conditions change significantly.  
Please see all currently available products at https:/drought.gov/drought-information-statements.
Please visit https://www.weather.gov/MPX/DroughtInformationStatement for previous statements. 
Please visit https://www.drought.gov/drought-status-updates for regional drought status updates.
Drought continues to slowly expand across Minnesota and Wisconsin

U.S. Drought Monitor

Drought intensity and Extent
D4 (Exceptional Drought): No areas locally.
D3 (Extreme Drought): No areas locally.
D2 (Severe Drought): No areas locally.
D1 (Moderate Drought): Small portions of Yellow Medicine, Lac Qui Parle, Todd, and Morrison counties in MN along with small portions of Pepin and Eau Claire counties in WI.
D0: (Abnormally Dry): Much of central and southern MN and western WI.
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Recent Change in Drought Intensity
Link to the latest 4-week change map for Central/Southern MN and Western WI
Four Week Drought Monitor Class Change. 
Drought Worsened: eastern MN and western WI along with south central, western, and central MN
 
No Change: The rest of the region not mentioned above.

Drought Improved: No areas saw improvement in the last month
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Precipitation
Last 30 days: precipitation has generally been near normal. The driest area (50-75% of normal) has been from Albert Lea to Red Wing, then up through the eastern Twin Cities Metro toward Mora.

Last 90 days: much of the region has seen 75% to 100% of normal precipitation.


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Temperature
Late May through early June warmth has temperatures running 4-6 degrees above normal over the last 30 days.

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Summary of Impacts
Links: See/submit Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR) and view the Drought Impacts Reporter
Hydrologic Impacts 
Other than the Mississippi River headwaters, streamflows are largely within the 25-75% of normal band across the region. (USGS Streamflows, MN Streamflow)

Agricultural Impacts
The Spring plantings are now complete, with crop conditions and soil moisture both in generally good condition across MN and WI. (State USDA Crop Reports)

Fire Hazard Impacts
We are now fully within the growing season, with enough recent rains to keep the fire danger low in both MN and WI (MN Fire Danger, WI Fire Danger)

Other Impacts
No known additional impacts at this time.

Mitigation Actions
None currently in place.


Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts
The lowest river flows have been observed along the Mississippi River and its tributaries.

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Agricultural Impacts
Crop moisture continues to hold up well across MN and WI.
Satellite derived soil moisture continues to highlight dry conditions across southwest MN.
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Fire Hazard Impacts
With green-up now complete and the occasional rains we’ve seen, we are now in the typical summer fire danger lull


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Seven Day Precipitation Forecast
For the next couple of weeks, we look to continue to get enough rain to keep drought from rapidly expanding, but not enough to significantly improve drought conditions.


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Long-Range Outlooks
The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage
We’re expected to favor having northwest flow in July, which leads to increased uncertainty for the July outlook, with equal chances for above or below normal temperatures
Given the northwest flow, there is a slight favoring toward below normal precipitation

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Drought Outlook
The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage
With no strong signal for above normal precipitation, drought is expected to persist or expand through the rest of the summer.

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