Dry Mid-Summer through Autumn 2003

Last updated: October 20, 2003. The following text and maps will be updated as the situation warrants.

For a three-month period from mid-July through mid-October, a stubbornly persistent weather pattern resulted in extremely dry weather across the state of Minnesota. Few widespread rain events moved through the state during the interval, and precipitation totals were less than six inches across much of Minnesota (see map at right). Total rainfall for the mid-July through mid-October period fell short of historical averages by four or more inches in many areas (see map at lower left). Rainfall deficits exceeded seven inches in portions of southeastern Minnesota. When compared with other July 15 through October 20 time periods in the historical database, mid-July through mid-October 2003 rainfall totals rank among the lowest on record for many areas of south central and southeastern Minnesota, and a small portion of west central Minnesota (see map at lower right). For those locations depicted on the ranking map as falling below the 1st percentile, mid-July through mid-October 2003 rainfalls totals were near or below all-time minimum values for that date span.