Good News For Farmers As Drought Conditions Ease In Some Areas

UNATED (WJON News) -- Last week's rain helped erase the dry soil conditions for much of central Minnesota, at least in the short term.

The weekly update on Thursday from the U.S. Drought Monitor says most of Central Minnesota, including Stearns, Benton, and Sherburne counties, has been removed from the Abnormally Dry category.

However, dry conditions persist for other parts of the state, including southwestern Minnesota and northern Minnesota.

Seventy-three percent of the state is still Abnormally Dry, an improvement from 81 percent last week.  Fifteen percent of the state is in a Moderate Drought, an improvement from 18 percent the week before.

St. Cloud has had 3.75 inches of rain so far in May, which is about a half inch above normal.  We've had 9.25 inches of precipitation since the first of the year, which is pretty close to normal.

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After a hot and dry weekend ahead, there is a chance we could see another round of showers or thunderstorms next week.

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