Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Division of Ecological and Water Resources Hydrologic Conditions Report Previous reports at: http://mndnr.gov/current_conditions/hydro_conditions.html Precipitation totals in July were well above normal across central, parts of northwest and south central Minnesota. The rest of the state was close to normal. Central Minnesota was the wettest with Mora in Kanabec County seeing 10.02 inches of rain and Brainerd in Crow Wing County seeing 11.65 inches of rain for the month. A few places in Kanabec and Pine County saw three times the normal precip. Normal July precipitation for these areas is about four inches. There were multiple heavy rain events. By far the largest was the central Minnesota July 11-12 event that was the largest heavy rain episode in Minnesota since June 19-20, 2012 that stuck northeast Minnesota. One of the highest two-day totals was 9. inches at a volunteer rain gauge site near Cloverton in eastern Pine County, near the Wisconsin border. The event was approximately 24 hours in duration, but spanned over the observer's observation time. Flooding rains affected parts of Aitkin, Benton, Carlson, Cass, Crow Wing, Mille Lacs, Morrison, and Kanabec Counties. Numerous roads were affected by water in the hardest hit counties. Southbound I-35 was closed for a time and Highway 61 was closed during the afternoon hours of the 12th. The area covered by six inches or more of rainfall exceeded 2,000 square miles, with at least 1,000 square miles in Pine County alone. The US Drought Monitor released on August 2, had just 1.5% in abnormally dry conditions in far southwest and west central Minnesota, the lowest coverage since July 2015. All indicator gages are in the normal flow category or higher. A majority of the southern two-thirds of the state are in the above normal or high flow category. The far Northwest is also in the High flow category. During July, lakes in a wide area in east central Minnesota rose 1 to 7 feet over a period of one to seven days in response to rain events and runoff. Lakes in Aitkin, Cass, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Kanabec, Pine, St. Louis, and Wright Counties reported their highest ever reported lake level. Some gages in Carlton, Aitkin, and Kanabec Counties were under water for weeks. Findings of their highest reported lake levels are still pending. When comparing received lake levels to their entire historic record, 48% of the statewide gaged lakes were in the Normal percentile, 44% above normal or high, and 8% below normal or low. So far, 65% of the reporting lakes were above their average lake level of the entire historic record, with 15% at their average and 20% of the lakes below their average lake level. Over 60% of these above average lakes reported elevations more than ½ foot higher than their average. It is likely that percentages for above normal or high percentiles will be higher for July after all results are received. Looking at only July lake level comparisons in this report, nine of the 24 selected lakes showed High or Above Normal percentiles, while 2 lakes remained in the Below Normal percentile. Groundwater levels measured from indicator wells statewide for show general decreases from June 2016 groundwater level trends for central regions of the state. Notably, bedrock observation wells within the Hennepin county expanse have revealed substantial decrease, with 2 wells within the lowest 10% percentile. Northern and Southern regions of the state show general sustainment of normal (25-75% range) water levels, as seen in measurements in June 2016. The information in this report is provided by DNR 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 DNR Climatology Office: climate@umn.edu
Minnesota Counties and Major Watershed Index 70 71 80 69 KITTSON ROSEAU 79 68 65 LAKE OF THE WOODS 78 75 BELTRAMI 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 MAHNOMEN BECKER OTTER TAIL 56 YELLOW MEDICINE LYON POPE 25 26 13 DOUGLAS SWIFT CHIPPEWA RENVILLE 14 12 HUBBARD WADENA TODD 27 28 81 29 39 REDWOOD STEARNS 16 KANDIYOHI BROWN 7 18 MEEKER 19 8 11 15 MORRISON CASS CROW WING 10 SHERBURNE 17 33 BENTON WRIGHT 82 STEELE DODGE 41 51 40 31 32 PIPESTONE BLUE MURRAY COTTONWOOD WATONWAN EARTH WASECA OLMSTED WINONA 42 JACKSON FILLMORE 83 43 30 48 ROCK NOBLES 84 52 53 49 50 46 MARTIN FARIBAULT FREEBORN MOWER 47 46 HOUSTON Cedar River MCLEOD SIBLEY NICOLLET AITKIN MILLE LACS CARVER LE SUEUR 20 9 21 36 KANABEC ISANTI HENNEPIN SCOTT RICE ANOKA RAMSEY Level 2 Hydrologic Unit (HUC4) Des Moines River Lower Mississippi River Minnesota River Mississippi - Upper Iowa Rivers Mississippi River - Headwaters CARLTON PINE 35 37 CHISAGO WASHINGTON DAKOTA GOODHUE 3 ST. LOUIS 5 WABASHA Missouri - Big Sioux Rivers Missouri - Little Sioux Rivers Rainy River Red River of the North St. Croix River Western Lake Superior 4 LAKE 2 COOK DNR Major Watershed - 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
U.S. Drought Monitor July 26, 2016 Climatology Total Precipitation (preliminary) Total Precipitation July 11-12, 2016 (preliminary) DNR Major Watershed Drought Intensity D0 Drought - Abnormally Dry D1 Drought - Moderate D2 Drought - Severe D3 Drought - Extreme D4 Drought - Exceptional 14.0 13.0 12.0 11.0 10.0 9.0 8.0 7.0 6.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 inches 9.0 8.0 7.0 6.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 inches June 28, 2016 Notes: -Precipitation totals in July were well above normal across central, parts of northwest and south central Minnesota. The rest of the state was close to normal. Central Minnesota was the wettest with Mora in Kanabec County seeing 10.02 inches of rain and Brainerd in Crow Wing County seeing 11.65 inches of rain for the month. A few places in Kanabec and Pine County saw three times the normal precip. Normal July precipitation for these areas is about four inches. -There were multiple heavy rain events. By far the largest was the central Minnesota July 11-12 event that was the largest heavy rain episode in Minnesota since June 19-20, 2012 that struck northeast Minnesota. One of the highest two-day totals was 9. inches at a volunteer rain gauge site near Cloverton in eastern Pine County, near the Wisconsin border. The event was approximately 24 hours in duration, but spanned over the observer's observation time. Flooding rains affected parts of Aitkin, Benton, Carlson, Cass, Crow Wing, Mille Lacs, Morrison, and Kanabec Counties. Numerous roads were affected by water in the hardest hit counties. Southbound I-35 was closed for a time and Highway 61 was closed during the afternoon hours of the 12th. The area covered by six inches or more of rainfall exceeded 2,000 square miles, with at least 1,000 square miles in Pine County alone. MNDNR State Climatology Office -The US Drought Monitor released on August 2, had just 1.5% in abnormally dry conditions in far southwest and west central Minnesota, the lowest coverage since July 2015.
Surface Water: Stream Flow KITTSON 69 71 70 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 LAC QUI PARLE LINCOLN 83 23 25 26 14 27 28 81 29 39 16 18 19 82 STEELE DODGE 41 51 40 31 32 PIPESTONE ROCK STEVENS RED LAKE 60 BECKER OTTER TAIL 56 YELLOW MEDICINE LYON NOBLES 65 MARSHALL 66 MAHNOMEN POPE CLEARWATER 13 DOUGLAS SWIFT CHIPPEWA RENVILLE REDWOOD LAKE OF THE WOODS 12 HUBBARD WADENA TODD STEARNS KANDIYOHI BROWN BELTRAMI 62 7 MEEKER 78 75 8 11 KOOCHICHING 15 MORRISON CASS CROW WING WRIGHT MCLEOD 10 33 SIBLEY NICOLLET BENTON 17 ITASCA 77 76 AITKIN MILLE LACS SHERBURNE CARVER LE SUEUR 20 21 43 84 30 48 52 49 MARTIN FARIBAULT 50 46 FREEBORN MOWER 47 46 44 9 36 KANABEC ISANTI HENNEPIN SCOTT RICE ANOKA RAMSEY 74 CARLTON PINE 35 37 CHISAGO WASHINGTON DAKOTA GOODHUE 73 3 ST. LOUIS 5 WABASHA MURRAY BLUE COTTONWOOD WATONWAN EARTH WASECA OLMSTED WINONA JACKSON Designated major watershed gage * 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. Percentile * FILLMORE 4 High Flows (>90th percentile) LAKE 72 2 42 HOUSTON Above Normal Flows (75-90th percentile) Normal Flows (25-75th percentile) Below Normal Flows (10-25th percentile) Low Flows (<= 10th percentile) COOK 1 Previous Flow Conditions June 2016 This map is based on provisional stream gage data from the USGS National Water Information System
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 DOUGLAS AITKIN HUBBARD CASS WADENA ST. LOUIS CROW WING MORRISON GRANT TODD KANABEC STEVENS POPE TRAVERSE BIG STONE East Battle Minnewaska SWIFT CHIPPEWA LAC QUI PARLE RENVILLE YELLOW MEDICINE LYON LINCOLN REDWOOD Shetek MILLE LACS STEARNS BENTON SHERBURNE ISANTI KANDIYOHI Swan BROWN Edward Green MEEKER WRIGHT Minnetonka MCLEOD CARVER West Jefferson Upper Prior SCOTT SIBLEY LE SUEUR NICOLLET Mille Lacs HENNEPIN ANOKA CARLTON PINE RAMSEY CHISAGO DAKOTA WASHINGTON Marion Pokegama Chub North Center White Bear RICE GOODHUE WABASHA STEELE DODGE Tamarack Previous Conditions June 2016 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. FREEBORN Source data from: MN DNR Waters Lake Level Minnesota Monitoring Program MOWER HOUSTON Percentile * High Water Levels (>90th percentile) Above Normal Water Levels (75-90th percentile) Normal Water Levels (25-75th percentile) Below Normal Water Levels (10-25th percentile) Low Water Levels (<= 10th percentile) No reading available Level 2 Hydrologic Unit DNR Major Watershed
Ground Water Groundwater Level Historical Rankings June 2016 Indicator Wells Aquifer 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 is in the middle of the historical distribution. Source data from: MN DNR Ground Water Level Monitoring Program Water Level 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)