SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A wet and dreary Wednesday was just the perfect way to jump-start some of our depleted rain tallies from the past few weeks. Here’s a look at some of the rain totals.
Officially, Sioux Falls ended with .54″ of rain. That’s slightly more than the .52″ we picked up on Halloween, and the biggest single-day rain total since late August. Worthington ended at .67″, and parts of northwest Iowa had over .75″. The numbers were lower towards Mitchell at nearly .20″, with next to nothing west of the James Valley.
The new drought monitor released this morning does not reflect these numbers, but it clearly shows our need for moisture.
Sixty-four percent of the state remains in severe or extreme drought. While that number is concerning, there’s good reason to believe the math is going to improve in the coming days and weeks.
We’ve seen substantial improvement to the drought monitor to our south in Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. In addition, another big storm will be impacting those states again starting early next week. We will likely pick some moisture from that, with the details remaining unclear at this time.
So while we wait for those details, we’ll be thankful for the rain showers and the improving trends in the short-term forecast.
