Driest growing season stretch of days on record for the Twin Cities
Twin Cities rainfall from late August to early October. (FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Overall, the Twin Cities and much of Minnesota have had a very wet year, but it has included a couple of long stretches of dry conditions.
Wet spring
One of those was early in the year before our significant moisture began in March. We had a near-record wet spring and summer before the rain shut off halfway through the Minnesota State Fair and hasn't returned. Sure, this doesn't include the entire metro, as parts of the north side have seen close to an inch of moisture since Sept. 1. But for the official climate site at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, just 0.06 inches has fallen since Aug. 30. That is one of the driest stretches on record in the Twin Cities during the critical growing season months.
The number of consecutive days with less than, or exactly, 0.03 inches of rain for the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. (Supplied)
Dry stretch
"Growing season" is used as a qualifier here because we get some very dry stretches of weather here in Minnesota because of how little moisture can be around during the cold winter season. In fact, the longest stretch of days with that same 0.03 inches metric was 79 consecutive days at the end of 1943 and the start of 1944. But during the winter, it's not nearly as impactful as during the warmer months because nothing is growing.
Rain totals from August to October dating back to 1957.
Our current very dry stretch is unlikely to end in the next few days. Most of our data shows that our pattern is unlikely to change through mid-month. So, there is a good chance that this 0.06 inches will likely hold (or at least not significantly rise) for the next couple of weeks. Looking at this total amount during a hypothetical stretch through Oct. 15 shows that this would easily be the driest stretch of weather on record during this time of year.