Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Division of Ecological and Water Resources

Hydrologic Conditions Report September 2020 Previous reports at: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/current_conditions/hydro_conditions.html

 September 2020 finished well below normal for precipitation statewide. The preliminary average for Minnesota was 1.84 inches or 1.47 inches below normal. The dry September was nearly universal in the state, with only a few locations in southeast Minnesota finishing above normal. One of the wettest locations was at Caledonia in Houston County that wound up with 5.42 inches or 1.62 inches above normal. One of the driest locations was the Duluth International Airport, where only 0.85 inches fell during the month, making it the 7th driest September on record for that station. Since January 1, there has been only 15.04 inches of precipitation at Duluth, the third driest on record. Only 1918 and 1934 were drier. The U. S. Drought Monitor map, released on October 6, depicts areas of drought that have expanded since last month. A very small area in southwest Minnesota is in the Severe Drought category. Twelve percent of the state is in the Moderate Drought category, especially in northeast and southwest Minnesota. Just under half the state is in Abnormally Dry conditions. Last year at this time the entire state was free of any drought designation. The U.S. Drought Monitor index is a blend of science and subjectivity where drought categories (Moderate, Severe, etc.) are based on several indicators.

 Flow conditions continue to be widely varied throughout the state. A majority of gages ranked Normal (25 – 75th percentile) and Above Normal (75 – 90th percentile) for September. A number of gages in western and central Minnesota as well as the Whitewater River gage in the southeast ranked High (>90th percentile). The Basswood River near Winton (watershed 72) and St. Louis River at Scanlon (watersheds 3 & 4) gages in the northeast ranked Below Normal (10-25th percentile).

 Five of the 22 lakes in the Lake Level Status map showed Above Normal percentiles in September, with the majority of those presented in the Normal percentile. Four lakes in NE Minnesota showed Low or Below Normal percentiles for this month. For the network of statewide gaged lakes, 44% were above their average lake level for the entire historic record, while 42% were below their average, and 14% were at their average. Over half of the statewide lakes remained at a Normal percentile when comparing September 2020 lake levels to their entire historic record, with only 19% now at High or Above Normal percentiles. A fourth of the statewide lakes are at Below Normal or Low percentiles. Only two lakes in Washington County reached their highest reported lake level in September.

 Fourteen of the 20 total groundwater observation well measurements available for September were at Normal (25-75th percentile) or higher water levels, with two wells ranked at High water level (>90th percentile). One of the two wells with a High water level is in Hennepin County measuring the Wonewoc Sandstone bedrock aquifer, while the second well with a High water level is in Stearns County in central Minnesota measuring the water table aquifer. A Rock County well measuring a buried artesian aquifer fell from Normal in August to Low (>10th percentile) water level in September, and is the only observation well in the network located in the Severe Drought category mentioned above. Two wells in the western metro area also reported Low water levels, a bedrock well in Hennepin County and a buried artesian well in Wright County.

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 groundwater 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: [email protected] Minnesota Counties and Major Watershed Index

71 70 80

KITTSON 69 79 ROSEAU

78 75 LAKE OF THE WOODS 74 68 65 BELTRAMI

MARSHALL 73 67 PENNINGTON

62 1 KOOCHICHING ITASCA 63 RED LAKE 72 66 CLEARWATER 77 76

COOK POLK 61 7 DNR Major Watershed - Level 4 Hydrologic Unit (HUC8) 59 1. Lake Superior - North 60 2. Lake Superior - South NORMAN 3 2 MAHNOMEN 3. St. Louis River 4 4. Cloquet River 8 LAKE 5. Nemadji River 6. (none) 12 AITKIN 7. Mississippi River - Headwaters 8. Leech Lake River 9. Mississippi River - Grand Rapids 58 HUBBARD 9 CASS 10. Mississippi River - Brainerd BECKER ST. LOUIS WADENA CROW WING 11. Pine River CLAY OTTER TAIL 11 12. Crow Wing River 57 WILKIN 13. Redeye River 14. Long Prairie River 56 15. Mississippi River - Sartell 13 CARLTON 5 16. Sauk River 17. Mississippi River - St. Cloud PINE 10 18. North Fork Crow River 19. South Fork Crow River 35 20. Mississippi River - Twin Cities MILLE 21. Rum River LACS 34 22. Minnesota River - Headwaters 54 DOUGLAS 14 23. Pomme de Terre River 15 36 24. Lac Qui Parle River 25. Minnesota - Yellow Medicine Rivers 34 26. Chippewa River MORRISON GRANT TODD KANABEC 27. Redwood River 55 28. Minnesota River - Mankato STEARNS 29. Cottonwood River TRAVERSE 16 30. Blue Earth River 23 BENTON 21 31. Watonwan River SHERBURNE 32. Le Sueur River BIG STONE STEVENS POPE 33. Lower Minnesota River 17 ISANTI 37 34. Upper St. Croix River SWIFT KANDIYOHI 22 26 35. Kettle River CHISAGO 36. Snake River 37. Lower St. Croix River

WRIGHT N 38. Mississippi River - Lake Pepin ANOKA O CHIPPEWA 18 T 39. G

RAMSEY N MEEKER I 40. Mississippi River - Winona

20 H

S 41. HENNEPIN A 24 W 42. Mississippi River - La Crescent LAC QUI PARLE RENVILLE 43. 19 44. Mississippi River - Reno 45. (none) 25 MCLEOD CARVER 46. Upper River YELLOW MEDICINE DAKOTA 38 47. Upper LYON 48. Cedar River 33 SCOTT LINCOLN 49. 27 28 LE SUEUR SIBLEY 38 50. Winnebago River NICOLLET 51. Des Moines River - Headwaters 52. Lower Des Moines River 81 29 39 53. East Fork Des Moines River REDWOOD BROWN 54. Bois de Sioux River RICE GOODHUE WABASHA 55. Mustinka River STEELE DODGE 41 56. Otter Tail River 82 40 57. Upper Red River of the North 51 58. Buffalo River 31 59. Red River of the North - Marsh River PIPESTONE BLUE 32 MURRAY 60. Wild Rice River COTTONWOOD WATONWAN EARTH WASECA OLMSTED WINONA 42 61. Red River of the North - Sandhill River JACKSON FILLMORE 62. Upper/Lower Red Lake 83 43 63. Red Lake River 30 48 64. (none) 49 65. Thief River 53 ROCK NOBLES 84 44 66. Clearwater River 52 MARTIN FARIBAULT 50 FREEBORN MOWER 46 HOUSTON 47 46 67. Red River of the North - Grand Marais Creek 68. Snake River 69. Red River of the North - Tamarac River Level 2 Hydrologic Unit (HUC4) 70. Two Rivers 71. Roseau River Cedar River Missouri - Big Sioux Rivers 72. Rainy River - Headwaters 73. Vermilion River Des Moines River Missouri - Little Sioux Rivers 74. Rainy River - Rainy Lake 75. Rainy River - Black River 76. Little Fork River Lower Mississippi River Rainy River 77. Big Fork River 78. Rapid River Minnesota River Red River of the North 79. Rainy River - Baudette 80. Lake of the Woods 81. Upper Big Sioux River Mississippi - Upper Iowa Rivers St. Croix River 82. Lower Big Sioux River 83. Rock River Mississippi River - Headwaters Western Lake Superior 84. Climatology Total Precipitation U.S. Drought Monitor Total Precipitation Departure from Normal: October 6, 2020 September 2020 September 2020 (preliminary) (preliminary)

DNR Major Watershed 5.0 Drought Intensity 1 D0 Drought - Abnormally Dry 4.0 D1 Drought - Moderate 3.0 0 D2 Drought - Severe D3 Drought - Extreme 2.0 -1 D4 Drought - Exceptional 1.0 0.5 -2 0 -3 inches inches

September 1, 2020 September 2020 finished well below normal for precipitation statewide. The preliminary average for Minnesota was 1.84 inches or 1.47 inches below normal. The dry September was nearly universal in the state, with only a few locations in southeast Minnesota finishing above normal. One of the wettest locations was at Caledonia in Houston County that wound up with 5.42 inches or 1.62 inches above normal. One of the driest locations was the Duluth International Airport, where only 0.85 inches fell during the month, making it the 7th driest September on record for that station. Since January 1, there has been only 15.04 inches of precipitation at Duluth, the third driest on record. Only 1918 and 1934 were drier. The U. S. Drought Monitor map released on October 6, depicts areas of drought that have expanded since last month. A very small area in southwest Minnesota is in the Severe Drought category. Twelve percent of the state is in the Moderate Drought category, especially in northeast and southwest Minnesota. Just under half the state is in Abnormally Dry conditions. Last year at this time the entire state was free of any drought designation. The U.S. Drought Monitor index is a blend of science and subjectivity where drought categories (Moderate, Severe, etc.) are based on several indicators. Surface Water: Stream Flow

# Stream Flow Conditions 80 September 2020 # 70 7#1

KITTSON ROSEAU 79 69 67 LAKE OF THE WOODS 75 # 78 # 74 65 MARSHALL 68 # # #

PENNINGTON # LAKE # 67 62 63 # # KOOCHICHING RED 76 73 1 # LAKE 66 77 72 # COOK POLK 61 7 ITASCA # BELTRAMI 59 # 60 NORMAN # MAHNOMEN # 3 8 4 2 # 9 # HUBBARD ST. 58 BECKER LOUIS 12 CLAY 11 # 57 # # 56 # CARLTON 5 13 WADENA 10 Previous Flow Conditions CASS CROW OTTER WING 35 # AITKIN August 2020 # TAIL WILKIN 34 14 # # 54 # 36 MORRISON GRANT DOUGLAS TODD 34 21 PIN#E 15 KANABEC TRAVERSE 55 STEVENS 16 MILLE BENTON LACS BIG 23 # POPE STONE STEARNS 17 ISANTI SHERBURNE 37 22 # 26 # # CHISAGO SWIFT ANOKA # 18 # # LAC QUI PARLE # MEEKER WRIGHT # CHIPPEWA 20 KANDIYOHI HENNEPIN 24 19 RAMSEY YELLOW MCLEOD 25 CARVER WASHINGTON MEDICINE # RENVILLE SCOTT # LINCOLN DAKOTA SIBLEY #33 # 27 REDWOOD 28 38 # NICOLLET RICE LE This map is based on provisional stream gage data 81 LYON SUEUR 39 # GOODHUE from the USGS National Water Information System 29 WABASHA BROWN # ## WASECA 41 31 # # 40 82 BLUE MURRAY COTTONWOOD PIPESTONE WATONWAN EARTH 32 STEELE DODGE OLMSTED WINONA 51 42 JACKSON HOUST#ON 83 FREEBORN MOWER 43 30 48 ROCK NOBLES # 49 # 84 53 MARTIN 52 FARIBAULT 46 FILLMORE 44 50 47 46 # Designated major watershed gage High Flows (>90th percentile) Above Normal Flows (75 - 90th percentile) * Percentile ranking based on mean daily flows for the current Normal Flows (25 - 75th percentile) month averaged and ranked with all historical mean daily flows Below Normal Flows (10 - 25th percentile) for that month. Low Flows (<= 10th percentile) A watershed ranked at zero means that the present month flow is the lowest in the period of record; a ranking of 100 indicates Flow affected by ice the highest in the period of record. Flow affected by backwater A ranking at the 50th percentile (median) specifies that the Rating being developed or revised present-month flow is in the middle of the historical distribution. No Data Surface Water: Lake Levels

Lake Level Status

!( Lake of the Woods September 2020

KITTSON ROSEAU

LAKE OF THE WOODS

BELTRAMI

MARSHALL

PENNINGTON !( !( Burntside Poplar KOOCHICHING ITASCA !( RED LAKE Vermilion Sarah CLEARWATER !( COOK POLK !( Turtle River

NORMAN MAHNOMEN

LAKE

AITKIN

Upper Cormorant HUBBARD CASS !( BECKER ST. LOUIS WADENA CROW WING CLAY OTTER TAIL WILKIN !( Edward !( Chub East Battle CARLTON Previous Conditions PINE !( August 2020

MILLE !( LACS DOUGLAS !( Mille Lacs !( !( !( MORRISON GRANT !( !( TODD KANABEC !( STEVENS POPE STEARNS Pokegama TRAVERSE !( BENTON !( SHERBURNE !( BIG STONE Minnewaska North Center !( ISANTI !( SWIFT KANDIYOHI !( !( CHISAGO !( !( !(

Green ANOKA !( CHIPPEWA White Bear !( RAMSEY N

O !( WRIGHT !( T !( HENNEPIN G N I

H !(!( MEEKER S

!( A LAC QUI PARLE !(

RENVILLE W Minnetonka !( !( MCLEOD CARVER YELLOW MEDICINE !( DAKOTA LYON Upper Prior !( !( SCOTT LINCOLN Marion Swan !( SIBLEY LE SUEUR NICOLLET

REDWOOD BROWN West Jefferson !( RICE GOODHUE WABASHA !( Shetek STEELE DODGE

PIPESTONE BLUE MURRAY COTTONWOOD WATONWAN EARTH WASECA OLMSTED WINONA JACKSON FILLMORE

ROCK NOBLES (! MARTIN FARIBAULT FREEBORN MOWER HOUSTON Indian Percentile * !( High Water Levels (>90th percentile) * Percentile ranking based on last reported reading for the current !( Above Normal Water Levels (75 - 90th percentile) month compared to all historical reported levels for that month. !( Normal Water Levels (25 - 75th percentile) A lake ranked at zero means that the present reported level is the lowest in the period of record; a ranking of 100 indicates !( Below Normal Water Levels (10 - 25th percentile) the highest in the period of record. !( Low Water Levels (<= 10th percentile) A ranking at the 50th percentile (median) specifies that the present- (! No reading available month reported lake level is in the middle of the historical distribution. Level 2 Hydrologic Unit DNR Major Watershed Source data from: MN DNR Waters Lake Level Minnesota Monitoring Program Groundwater

Groundwater Level Historical Rankings September 2020

Previous Conditions: August 2020

# " # ! " # # # # # # # " # # " " # # # " ! # !!!! # " ! ! # " ! " !

Percentile * " High Water Levels (>90th percentile) * Percentile ranking based on last reported reading for the current " Above Normal Water Levels (75 - 90th percentile) month compared to all historical reported levels for that month. A " Normal Water Levels (25 - 75th percentile) water level ranked at zero means that the present reported level is " Below Normal Water Levels (10 - 25th percentile) the lowest in the period of record; a ranking of 100 indicates the " Low Water Levels (<= 10th percentile) highest in the period of record. A ranking at the 50th percentile " No reading available (median) specifies that the present month reported water level is in the middle of the historical distribution. Aquifer Type # Water Table ! Bedrock Source data from: MN DNR Groundwater Level Monitoring Program " Buried Artesian