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May likely to be one of driest on record

Swift County Monitor - Staff Photo - Create Article

By Reed Anfinson
Publisher

Despite no rain between May 17 and May 25 for western Minnesota, the U.S. Drought Monitor maps released last Thursday showed no worsening of drought conditions in Swift County.

Last Thursday’s U.S. Drought Monitor showed the western 80% of Swift County abnormally dry, the first stage of a drought. All of Stevens and Grant counties, the western half of Pope, and much of both Lac qui Parle and Big Stone counties were also abnormally dry.

Between April 21 and May 29, the City of Benson recorded just 83 hundredths of an inch of rain. Tuesday’s morning one-tenth of an inch of rain was the first moisture the Benson area has seen since 3 tenths of an inch fell May 9.

May has seen just 4 tenths of an inch of rain as of Tuesday morning. By stark contrast, last May saw 8.52 inches of rain fall in the Benson area.

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