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Several area fire departments held their annual open house events last weekend and used the opportunity to educate the public about their operations and fire safety mission.  Fire Safety Week is also a good time to take a look at local drought factors and the wildfire threat being posed this fall.

Agencies in Minnesota are reporting August and September were slightly above normal temperature-wise, and in fact, 10 of the last 12 Septembers were above normal for temperature.   What started last spring as a “wet year” continued well into August, but “it was not universal” the state agency summary announced. Portions of Minnesota, the arrowhead for instance, can trace their  very dry conditions to last year.  

The good amount of precipitation that fell here early this past summer, though, did help with cropland moisture content.  Even with zero precipitation the Ag Statistics Bureau data is still showing adequate amounts of soil moisture, for this time of year.  With harvesting activity on farmers’ minds the upside is the warm temps this fall and a lack of local precipitation the last several weeks afforded farmers time in the fields.  

Dry conditions above ground, show up in the collection of data on the state climatology website.   Moisture loss is apparent in our lake levels and level of the St Croix River too.   The National Park Service cautions visitors the riverway level upstream, at Danbury, Wisconsin is “scrapable.”  The St Croix Falls gauge on the main riverway is reading “low.”  

These conditions are especially noteworthy when you consider the City of Stillwater was cancelling fireworks in July due to danger to the public from excessive riverway flooding.

Keepers of statewide lake level statistics put water levels on White Bear Lake and Lake Minnetonka at generally a foot above their historic medians— but Mille Lacs, Lake of the Woods and Rainy Lake are in their mid-range levels and on a downward trend, according to the DNR Division of Ecological and Water Resources.  

The Chisago Chain of Lakes and Comfort Lake (watershed district data) are showing a downward trend in water depth as well.  

The automatic monitoring device on Big Comfort Lake registered losses in depth each day over one recent week, (see lake statistics page on the clflwd.org website.) 

The Chisago Chain lake levels are reported weekly by the Lake Improvement District in their regular space on our Outdoors page.

If you put stock in forecasts, the Climate Prediction Center is saying there is a “slight tilt” towards above normal precipitation across the eastern half of Minnesota for this winter.

Last note of caution, the state has restricted Chisago County to no open burning, however, small well monitored campfires are allowed.

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