Drought Information Statement for Central/Southern MN and Western WI Valid July 16, 2026 Issued By: National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen, MN Contact Information: nws.twincities@noaa.gov This product will be updated August 20, 2016 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. Little change in drought conditions in the last month However, hot and dry weather since July 10th has us heading toward expanding drought if it remains drier than normal the rest of July 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): Yellow Medicine, Lac Qui Parle and surrounding counties in western MN. Far northern portions of Todd and Morrison counties in central MN. Eastern Goodhue county in MN. Portions of Rusk and Chippewa counties in western WI. D0: (Abnormally Dry): Southwest through south central MN and most of west central WI. {{DROUGHT_MONITOR}} Recent Change in Drought Intensity for Central/Southern MN and Western WI Four Week Drought Monitor Class Change. Drought Worsened: in eastern Goodhue county in MN, across Chippewa and Rusk counties in WI, and along the Iowa border in Faribault and Freeborn counties. No Change: Much of the region Drought Improved: East central Mn and a couple of pockets in southwest and south central MN {{DROUGHT_CHANGE_MAP}} Precipitation For the last 30 days, active weather in the first week of July has kept precipitation near normal, which has contributed to the most stable drought conditions Over the last 90 days, there are no significant departures above or below normal {{PRECIPITATION}} Temperature Temperatures have been above normal with a heat wave in the second half of the July 6-13 period. Over the last 30 days, temperatures have been near normal. {{TEMPERATURE}} Summary of Impacts 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 Minimal impacts to due dryness have been reported to crops and soil moisture across central and southern MN and western WI. (State USDA Crop Reports) Fire Hazard Impacts Across central and southern MN and western WI, fire danger has remained in a typical summer lull. The high fire danger has been confined to near the Canadian border. (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 Only the Chippewa River in WI has seen flows dip into the below normal category. Most streams are running within normal ranges. {{HYDROLOGIC}} Agricultural Impacts Crop and soil moisture measurements continue to be adequate in the region Satellite soil moisture estimates indicate soils starting to dry out across MN and northern WI {{AGRICULTURE}} Fire Hazard Impacts We’re in our typical fire summer danger lull across southern MN and western WI High fire danger in MN is up in the Arrowhead {{FIRE_WEATHER}} Seven Day Precipitation Forecast Best rain chances through July 24th are along the MN/WI border, where 0.25 to 0.5 inch of rain is possible. Near normal rainfall is predicted for the last week of July Given lack of precipitation since July 10th and no wet signal for the rest of July, much of the region is in risk of slipping into drought. {{QPF_7_DAY}} Long-Range Outlooks The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage The outlook for August has a slight favoring of above normal precipitation in southwest MN The August temperature outlook has a slight favoring of below normal temperatures into west central MN {{OUTLOOK_MONTHLY}} Drought Outlook The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage With near to below precipitation favored into the fall, expansion of drought is predicted across central and eastern MN and across central and northern WI {{OUTLOOK_DROUGHT_SEASONAL}}