Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Division of Hydrologic Conditions Report This is the first installment of the monthly Hydrologic Conditions Report for 2010. This report is a product from the Department of Natural Resources that began in July 2009 to provide general information on the various water resources across the state. For comparative purposes please reference the previous reports at: http://mndnr.gov/current_conditions/hydro_conditions.html North central and northeastern Minnesota counties are still considered under Moderate drought conditions with Cook and Lake counties under Severe drought. Portions of east central Minnesota are also under Moderate drought, the result of long-term dryness that began in June of 2008. Precipitation totals for mid-march through early-may were very low historically for much of Minnesota. In many northeastern Minnesota communities, these totals were near, or below, all-time record low values for the period. Stream flows dropped quickly from high flows and flooding over much of the state in March to normal flows in April. Portions of the Minnesota and Crow River remain above normal while watersheds in the northeast are showing flows below normal for April. Lake levels are below normal in the metro, east central, north central, and northeast of the state, but above normal in the west central region, and average to variable in the south. Ground water conditions are variable across the state. Ground water indicator wells show average to above average conditions from the southwest extending into the northeast and near or below normal levels in the metro area and the northwest. The information in this report is provided by through long term programs committed to recording and tracking the long term status of our water resources. The current conditions of precipitation, stream flows, lake levels and ground water levels in this report provide valuable information for natural and economic resource management on a state, county and watershed level. If you have questions on the content of this report please contact Greg Spoden: 651-296-4214, gregory.spoden@state.mn.us
Minnesota Counties and Major hed Index 70 71 80 KITTSON 69 ROSEAU 79 68 65 LAKE OF THE WOODS BELTRAMI 78 75 74 MARSHALL 67 73 PENNINGTON 63 RED LAKE 66 CLEARWATER 62 KOOCHICHING ITASCA 77 76 72 1 NORMAN 57 POLK 59 WILKIN 54 55 TRAVERSE BIG STONE 22 58 CLAY 61 GRANT 24 23 STEVENS LAC QUI PARLE LINCOLN 60 BECKER OTTER TAIL 56 YELLOW MEDICINE LYON MAHNOMEN POPE 25 26 13 DOUGLAS 14 12 HUBBARD WADENA TODD STEARNS 27 28 81 29 39 16 7 18 19 8 11 15 MORRISON CASS CROW WING 10 33 BENTON SHERBURNE 17 82 STEELE DODGE 41 51 40 31 32 PIPESTONE WATONWAN BLUE EARTH WASECA OLMSTED WINONA 42 MURRAY COTTONWOOD JACKSON FILLMORE 83 30 48 43 ROCK NOBLES 84 52 53 49 50 46 MARTIN FARIBAULT FREEBORN MOWER 47 46 HOUSTON Cedar River SWIFT CHIPPEWA RENVILLE REDWOOD KANDIYOHI BROWN MEEKER MCLEOD WRIGHT SIBLEY NICOLLET Level 2 Hydrologic Unit (HUC4) Des Moines River Lower Mississippi River Minnesota River Mississippi - Upper Iowa Rivers Mississippi River - Headwaters AITKIN MILLE LACS CARVER LE SUEUR 20 21 9 36 KANABEC ISANTI HENNEPIN SCOTT RICE ANOKA RAMSEY Missouri - Big Sioux Rivers CARLTON PINE Missouri - Little Sioux Rivers Rainy River Red River of the North St. Croix River Western Lake Superior 35 37 CHISAGO WASHINGTON DAKOTA GOODHUE 3 ST. LOUIS 5 WABASHA 4 LAKE 2 COOK Major hed - Level 4 Hydrologic Unit (HUC8) 1. Lake Superior - North 2. Lake Superior - South 3. St. Louis River 4. Cloquet River 5. Nemadji River 6. (none) 7. Mississippi River - Headwaters 8. Leech Lake River 9. Mississippi River - Grand Rapids 10. Mississippi River - Brainerd 11. Pine River 12. Crow Wing River 13. Redeye River 14. Long Prairie River 15. Mississippi River - Sartell 16. Sauk River 17. Mississippi River - St. Cloud 18. North Fork Crow River 19. South Fork Crow River 20. Mississippi River - Twin Cities 21. Rum River 22. Minnesota River - Headwaters 23. Pomme de Terre River 24. Lac Qui Parle River 25. Minnesota - Yellow Medicine Rivers 26. Chippewa River 27. Redwood River 28. Minnesota River - Mankato 29. Cottonwood River 30. Blue Earth River 31. Watonwan River 32. Le Sueur River 33. Lower Minnesota River. Upper St. Croix River 35. Kettle River 36. Snake River 37. Lower St. Croix River. Mississippi River - Lake Pepin 39. Cannon River 40. Mississippi River - Winona 41. Zumbro River 42. Mississippi River - La Crescent 43. Root River 44. Mississippi River - Reno 45. (none) 46. Upper Iowa River 47. Upper Wapsipinicon River 48. Cedar River 49. Shell Rock River 50. Winnebago River 51. Des Moines River - Headwaters 52. Lower Des Moines River 53. East Fork Des Moines River 54. Bois de Sioux River 55. Mustinka River 56. Otter Tail River 57. Upper Red River of the North 58. Buffalo River 59. Red River of the North - Marsh River 60. Wild Rice River 61. Red River of the North - Sandhill River 62. Upper/Lower Red Lake 63. Red Lake River 64. (none) 65. Thief River 66. Clearwater River 67. Red River of the North - Grand Marais Creek 68. Snake River 69. Red River of the North - Tamarac River 70. Two Rivers 71. Roseau River 72. Rainy River - Headwaters 73. Vermilion River 74. Rainy River - Rainy Lake 75. Rainy River - Black River 76. Little Fork River 77. Big Fork River 78. Rapid River 79. Rainy River - Baudette 80. Lake of the Woods 81. Upper Big Sioux River 82. Lower Big Sioux River 83. Rock River 84. Little Sioux River
Climatology U.S. Drought Monitor May 4, 2010 Seasonal Precipitation March 16 - May 3, 2010 (preliminary) Seasonal Precipitation Historical Rank * March 16 - May 3, 2010 (preliminary) Major hed Drought Intensity D0 Drought - Abnormally Dry D1 Drought - Moderate D2 Drought - Severe D3 Drought - Extreme D4 Drought - Exceptional inches 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 percentile * 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 5 1 0 State Climatology Office - March 30, 2010 Notes: As of May 4, Cook and Lake counties were designated as undergoing Severe drought. Other north central and northeastern Minnesota counties were considered to be under the influence of Moderate drought. Portions of east central Minnesota were also depicted as experiencing Moderate drought, the result of long-term dryness that began in June of 2008. Precipitation totals for the mid-march through early-may period were less than one and one half inch for nearly all of northeastern Minnesota. In many of these communities, mid-march through early-may precipitation totals were near, or below, all-time record low values for the period. * Percentile maps compare current-year seasonal rainfall totals with the long-term climate record. This percentile (ranking) statistic allows the season's rainfall totals to be described using historical context. A location ranked at zero means that the present-year seasonal rainfall total is the lowest found in the historical record; a ranking of 100 indicates the highest on record. A ranking at the 50th percentile (median) specifies that the present-year seasonal rainfall total is in the middle of the historical distribution.
Surface Water: Stream Flow 71 70 69 KITTSON ROSEAU 80 79 Stream Flow Conditions 67 NORMAN 57 68 63 POLK 59 WILKIN 54 55 TRAVERSE BIG STONE 22 24 PENNINGTON 58 CLAY 61 GRANT 23 STEVENS LAC QUI PARLE LINCOLN RED LAKE 60 MAHNOMEN BECKER OTTER TAIL 56 YELLOW MEDICINE LYON 25 65 MARSHALL POPE 66 26 CLEARWATER 13 DOUGLAS SWIFT CHIPPEWA RENVILLE 14 12 27 28 81 29 39 REDWOOD LAKE OF THE WOODS HUBBARD WADENA TODD STEARNS 16 KANDIYOHI BROWN 62 7 78 75 BELTRAMI MEEKER 18 19 8 11 15 MORRISON 33 10 82 STEELE DODGE 41 51 40 31 32 PIPESTONE WATONWAN BLUE EARTH WASECA OLMSTED WINONA 42 MURRAY COTTONWOOD JACKSON FILLMORE 43 83 30 48 52 49 ROCK NOBLES 50 46 MARTIN FARIBAULT FREEBORN MOWER 47 46 HOUSTON Designated major watershed gage KOOCHICHING CASS CROW WING WRIGHT MCLEOD SIBLEY NICOLLET * Percentile ranking based on mean daily flows for the current month averaged and ranked with all historical mean daily flows for that month. A watershed ranked at zero means that the present month flow is the lowest in the period of record; a ranking of 100 indicates the highest in the period of record. A ranking at the 50th percentile (median) specifies that the present-month flow is in the middle of the historical distribution. Data are current through 4/30/2010. BENTON SHERBURNE 17 ITASCA 77 76 AITKIN MILLE LACS CARVER LE SUEUR 20 21 9 36 KANABEC ISANTI HENNEPIN SCOTT RICE ANOKA 74 RAMSEY CARLTON PINE 35 37 CHISAGO WASHINGTON DAKOTA GOODHUE 73 3 ST. LOUIS 5 WABASHA 4 LAKE Level 4 Hydrologic Unit (HUC08) April Percentile * High Flows (>90th percentile) Above Normal Flows (75-90th percentile) Normal Flows (25-75th percentile) Below Normal Flows (10-25th percentile) Low Flows (<= 10th percentile) 72 2 COOK 1 Previous Flow Conditions March 2010 This map is based on provisional stream gage data from the USGS National Water Information System Ice affected flows Rating being developed or revised
Surface Water: Lake Levels Lake of the Woods Lake Level Status KITTSON ROSEAU LAKE OF THE WOODS BELTRAMI MARSHALL POLK PENNINGTON RED LAKE Sarah CLEARWATER Turtle River KOOCHICHING ITASCA Vermilion Burntside COOK Poplar NORMAN MAHNOMEN LAKE Upper Cormorant BECKER CLAY OTTER TAIL WILKIN East Battle Chippewa DOUGLAS GRANT TODD STEARNS TRAVERSE BIG STONE STEVENS LAC QUI PARLE LYON LINCOLN YELLOW MEDICINE AITKIN HUBBARD CASS WADENA ST. LOUIS CROW WING Chub CARLTON Edward PINE MILLE LACS Tamarack Mille Lacs KANABEC Pokegama MORRISON BENTON SHERBURNE POPE ISANTI North Center SWIFT KANDIYOHI CHISAGO Green CHIPPEWA ANOKA RAMSEY WRIGHT White Bear HENNEPIN MEEKER RENVILLE Minnetonka MCLEOD CARVER DAKOTA Upper Prior SCOTT SIBLEY LE SUEUR Swan Marion NICOLLET West Jefferson REDWOOD BROWN RICE GOODHUE WABASHA STEELE DODGE Shetek WASHINGTON Previous Conditions October 2009 PIPESTONE MURRAY BLUE COTTONWOOD WATONWAN EARTH WASECA OLMSTED WINONA JACKSON FILLMORE ROCK NOBLES Indian MARTIN FARIBAULT * Percentile ranking based on last reported reading for the current month compared to all historical reported levels for that month. A lake ranked at zero means that the present reported level is the lowest in the period of record; a ranking of 100 indicates the highest in the period of record. A ranking at the 50th percentile (median) specifies that the presentmonth reported lake level is in the middle of the historical distribution. Data are current through 4/30/2010. Source data from: MN Lake Level Minnesota Monitoring Program FREEBORN MOWER HOUSTON April Percentile * Low Water Levels (<= 10th percentile) Below Normal Water Levels (10-25th percentile) Normal Water Levels (25-75th percentile) Above Normal Water Levels (75-90th percentile) High Water Levels (>90th percentile) No data reported yet for 2010 Level 2 Hydrologic Unit Major hed
Ground Water Ground Water Level Historical Rankings October 2009 Indicator Wells Aquifer Water Level Water Table Buried Artesian Bedrock * Percentile ranking based on last reported reading for the current month compared to all historical reported levels for that month. A water level ranked at zero means that the present reported level is the lowest in the period of record; a ranking of 100 indicates the highest in the period of record. A ranking at the 50th percentile (median) specifies that the presentmonth reported water level level is in the middle of the historical distribution. Source data from: MN Ground Water Level Monitoring Program High Water Levels (> 90% percentile) Above Normal Water Levels (75% - 90% percentile) Normal Water Levels (25% - 75% percentile) Below Normal Water Levels (10% - 25% percentile) Low Water Levels (< 10% percentile)