Snowstorm may provide relief to drought conditions

MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) -A single day has changed the look of the local area dramatically, as a winter wonderland replaced the grays and browns of the weeks prior.

For some, the closures and road conditions take a backseat to a larger change; moisture.

Thursday saw the release of Minnesota’s Drought Monitor, which measured conditions right before the precipitation hit, and It showed the entire local area was in severe drought conditions.

But this week should change all that, with the rain and snow expected to give the area a much-needed boost in moisture.

“As you went further to the east it started to become an inch on total precipitation with that rain and snow, up to some spots even an inch and a half. That was huge because we needed that snow, the rain, the moisture. Really now as we go into next week I expect that moderate stage probably to fall into that dry stage,” said First Alert Meteorologist Daniel Sawicki.

That’s good news for farmers, who are only a few weeks away from kicking off spring planting.

Farmers have been battling drought for the past several years, apart from last summer when flooding was the primary concern.

It’s the time of year when farmers are locking in their plans for the year, and some are hopeful that this late bit of precipitation will normalize conditions just in time for them to start planting.

“I think because we’ve had some warmer weather it’ll certainly help stabilize and maybe get some moisture into those top few inches of soil. I know recently we’ve had some problems with some blowing soil and some heavy winds, it should help with that situation,” said Kent Thiesse, author of the ‘Focus on Ag’ column.

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