Brainerd lakes area still out of drought conditions (2024)

After a wet and blustery spring, much of Cass County and Crow Wing County were approximately one inch below the average for rainfall for a relatively dry July.

"For most places across the northland, including the Brainerd lakes area, precipitation was a little bit below normal," said Joe Moore, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Duluth. "We were a little over an inch less than normal for July. Typically we see in the range of four inches and we had three inches for most of the Brainerd lakes area."

That is not enough to put the area back into drought conditions. To the northeast, some of the state is suffering some signs of drought, including tree discoloration, but not in Cass County or Crow Wing County.

The first weekend in August featured the return of cooler, wetter weather after a fairly hot July. Rainfalls Aug. 3 and 5 were not too significant, however. On Aug. 3 there was approximately .35 of an inch and on Aug. 5 there was .58 of an inch.

"It's certainly nice to have that kind of rain every other day," Moore said. "That's kind of the rate we like."

The thunderstorms that passed through Saturday, Aug. 3, did bring isolated cases of strong winds and 2-inch hail stones in the Backus area, but weather was generally mild on average.

With summer winding down, Minnesota residents can expect more cool weather throughout the week.

"Cooler weather patterns persist throughout the rest of the week," Moore said. "We have a low pressure system that's going to dip down across northern Minnesota Wednesday into Thursday."

The pressure system could bring scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms. Moore said they will primarily bring off and on rain Wednesday through Friday with no severe weather expected.

Rainfall is expected to be light, but it could bring early cool weather possibly as low as 50 degrees in Brainerd on Friday night and lower to the north.

"I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere near the international border, like in Cook County, we might get maybe a 39-degree temperature or something like that," Moore said.

Moore said that it will likely be a very pleasant weekend overall.

• Wednesday, Aug. 7: A chance of showers between 1 and 4 p.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 70. Light south wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
• Wednesday night: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 1 a.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 1 and 4 a.m., then a chance of showers after 4 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55. South wind around 5 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
• Thursday, Aug. 8: Mostly sunny, with a high near 69. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
• Thursday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 50. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
• Friday, Aug. 9: Mostly sunny, with a high near 68. North wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
• Friday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 50. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Winds could gust as high as 15 mph.
• Saturday, Aug. 10: Sunny, with a high near 71. North wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.
• Saturday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 53. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
• Sunday, Aug. 11: Sunny, with a high near 75. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph in the morning.