Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Division of Ecological and Water Resources

Hydrologic Conditions Report October 2014

This is the seventh and final installment of the monthly Hydrologic Conditions Report for 2014. For comparative purposes please reference the previous reports at: http://mndnr.gov/current_conditions/hydro_conditions.html

• October 2014 precipitation totals were generally below-normal across most of Minnesota. Monthly rainfall totals fell short of historical averages by one to two inches in most locations. Areas of relative wetness were reported in some southeast Minnesota counties where October rainfall totals topped historical averages by an inch or more. As of early November, the U. S. Drought Monitor indicated that Abnormally Dry conditions existed over one-half of Minnesota's landscape due to late summer and autumn precipitation deficits. Despite the dry July-through-October period, seasonal precipitation totals since April 1 remained above historical averages for large sections of Minnesota. Below-normal rainfall during the late summer and early autumn slowed the record-setting pace established early in the growing season.

• Following September Above Normal/High Flows for the majority of the state, October flows predominately dropped to Normal conditions. West-Central Minnesota still has some watersheds Above Normal and the Northeast is still seeing Below Normal conditions with the Vermilion River Watershed (Major Watershed 73 & 74) an exception, dropping into the Low Flow category. In the Northwest the impacts of an approaching winter are being felt with seasonal gages no longer being monitored and backwater caused by ice further downstream impacting monitoring along the Red River.

• Most of the lakes in the state stayed steady or decreased very gradually by the end of the month. When comparing October lake levels to their entire historic record, a fifth of the statewide gauged lakes reporting in were still at their Above Normal or High percentile range. Eight out of these 24 selected lakes remained at Above Normal or High September percentiles, reflecting the staying power of the 2014 season-to-date precipitation amounts. Five lakes were at the Below Normal percentile. At the end of this month, White Bear had similar water levels as its lake levels in late October 2008.

• Groundwater levels remain at or above normal levels when compared to monthly historical averages for

the majority of the state. There was little movement from September to October’s water levels but several of them did decline. The only water level to increase was the Mt. Simon well located in Hennepin County. The majority of the central part of the state is still above normal while the majority of the northern aquifers are at normal water levels for the month. Jackson County saw the only low indication in its buried artesian well.

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 ground water 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 Greg Spoden: 651-296-4214, gregory.spoden@state.mn.us

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55

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3083

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2981 39

27 28

3833

1925

2018

3717

34

16

26

1534

23

3614

21

5

3510

13

1157

5812

56

8

24

6059

9

7

3

61

661

63

73

62

72

67

77 76

68 6574

78 75

79

7170

69

80

LAKE OF THE WOODS

KITTSON ROSEAU

KOOCHICHING

MARSHALL

ST. LOUIS

BELTRAMI

POLK

PENNINGTON

COOK

LAKE

CLEARWATER

RED LAKE ITASCA

NORMAN MAHNOMEN

CASSHUBBARD

CLAYBECKER

AITKIN

WADENA CROW WING

CARLTON

OTTER TAILWILKIN

PINE

TODD MORRISON

MILLELACS

KANABECGRANT

DOUGLAS

TRAVERSEBENTON

STEVENS

STEARNS

POPE ISANTI

CHISAGO

BIG STONE SHERBURNE

SWIFT KANDIYOHI

WRIGHT ANOKAMEEKER

LAC QUI PARLE

WASH

INGT

ON

HENNEPIN

CHIPPEWARAMSEY

MCLEOD CARVERYELLOW MEDICINE DAKOTA

RENVILLE

SCOTTSIBLEY

REDWOOD GOODHUE

LINCOLNLYON

LE SUEUR

RICEBROWN

NICOLLET

WABASHA

BLUEEARTH

PIPESTONE MURRAY COTTONWOOD WINONAWASECA

STEELE DODGE

OLMSTEDWATONWAN

ROCK NOBLES

JACKSON

MARTIN HOUSTONFARIBAULT

FILLMORE

FREEBORN MOWER

Minnesota Counties and Major Watershed Index

1. Lake Superior - North2. Lake Superior - South3. St. Louis River4. Cloquet River5. Nemadji River6. (none)7. Mississippi River - Headwaters8. Leech Lake River9. Mississippi River - Grand Rapids

10. Mississippi River - Brainerd11. Pine River12. Crow Wing River13. Redeye River14. Long Prairie River15. Mississippi River - Sartell16. Sauk River17. Mississippi River - St. Cloud18. North Fork Crow River19. South Fork Crow River20. Mississippi River - Twin Cities21. Rum River22. Minnesota River - Headwaters23. Pomme de Terre River24. Lac Qui Parle River25. Minnesota - Yellow Medicine Rivers26. Chippewa River27. Redwood River28. Minnesota River - Mankato29. Cottonwood River30. Blue Earth River31. Watonwan River32. Le Sueur River33. Lower Minnesota River34. Upper St. Croix River35. Kettle River36. Snake River37. Lower St. Croix River38. Mississippi River - Lake Pepin39. Cannon River40. Mississippi River - Winona41. Zumbro River42. Mississippi River - La Crescent43. Root River44. Mississippi River - Reno45. (none)46. Upper Iowa River47. Upper Wapsipinicon River48. Cedar River49. Shell Rock River50. Winnebago River51. Des Moines River - Headwaters52. Lower Des Moines River53. East Fork Des Moines River54. Bois de Sioux River55. Mustinka River56. Otter Tail River57. Upper Red River of the North58. Buffalo River59. Red River of the North - Marsh River60. Wild Rice River61. Red River of the North - Sandhill River62. Upper/Lower Red Lake63. Red Lake River64. (none)65. Thief River66. Clearwater River67. Red River of the North - Grand Marais Creek68. Snake River69. Red River of the North - Tamarac River70. Two Rivers71. Roseau River72. Rainy River - Headwaters73. Vermilion River74. Rainy River - Rainy Lake75. Rainy River - Black River76. Little Fork River77. Big Fork River78. Rapid River79. Rainy River - Baudette80. Lake of the Woods81. Upper Big Sioux River82. Lower Big Sioux River83. Rock River84. Little Sioux River

Level 2 Hydrologic Unit (HUC4)Cedar RiverDes Moines RiverLower Mississippi RiverMinnesota RiverMississippi - Upper Iowa RiversMississippi River - Headwaters

Missouri - Big Sioux RiversMissouri - Little Sioux RiversRainy RiverRed River of the NorthSt. Croix RiverWestern Lake Superior

DNR Major Watershed -Level 4 Hydrologic Unit (HUC8)

Climatology

DNR Major WatershedDrought Intensity

D0 Drought - Abn orm ally DryD1 Drought - Mod erateD2 Drought - SevereD3 Drought - Extrem eD4 Drought - Exception al

Total Precipitation - October 2014

U.S. Drought Mon itorNovem ber 4, 2014

(prelim in ary) (prelim in ary)

MNDNR State Clim atology Office

Notes :•October 2014 precipitation totals w ere gen erally below -n orm al acros s m os t of Min n es ota. Mon thly rain fall totals fell s hort ofhis torical averages by on e to tw o in ches in m os t location s . Areas of relative w etn es s w ere reported in s om e s outheas t Min n es otacoun ties w here October rain fall totals topped his torical averages by an in ch or m ore.•As of early Novem ber, the U. S. Drought Mon itor in d icated that Abn orm ally Dry con d ition s exis ted over on e-half of Min n es ota'slan d s cape d ue to late s um m er an d autum n precipitation d eficits .•Des pite the d ry July-through-October period , s eas on al precipitation totals s in ce April 1 rem ain ed above his torical averages forlarge s ection s of Min n es ota. Below -n orm al rain fall d urin g the late s um m er an d early autum n s low ed the record -s ettin g pace

in ches

Total Precipitation - Departure from Norm al: October 2014

in ches

3

2

1

0

4 1

0

-1

-3

-2

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38

24

22

55

54

47 464652 5084 53 444948

43

42

3083

31 325182 4041

2981 39

27 28

3833

1925

2018

3717

34

16

26

1534

23

3614

21

5

3510

13

1157

5812

56

8

24

6059

9

7

3

61

661

63

73

62

72

67

77 76

68 6574

78 75

79

7170

69

80

LAKE OF THE WOODS

KITTSONROSEAU

KOOCHICHING

MARSHALL

ST. LOUIS

BELTRAMI

POLK

PENNINGTON

COOK

LAKE

CLEARWATER

RED LAKE ITASCA

NORMAN MAHNOMEN

CASSHUBBARD

CLAYBECKER

AITKIN

WADENA CROW WING

CARLTON

OTTER TAILWILKIN

PINE

TODDMORRISON

MILLELACS

KANABECGRANT

DOUGLAS

TRAVERSEBENTON

STEVENS

STEARNS

POPE ISANTI

CHISAGO

BIG STONESHERBURNE

SWIFT KANDIYOHI

WRIGHT

ANOKA

MEEKERLAC QUI PARLE

WASH

INGT

ON

HENNEPIN

CHIPPEWARAMSEY

MCLEOD CARVERYELLOW MEDICINE DAKOTA

RENVILLE

SCOTTSIBLEY

REDWOOD GOODHUE

LINCOLNLYON

LE SUEUR

RICEBROWN

NICOLLET

WABASHA

BLUEEARTH

PIPESTONE MURRAY COTTONWOOD WINONAWASECA

STEELE DODGE

OLMSTEDWATONWAN

ROCK NOBLES

JACKSON

MARTIN HOUSTONFARIBAULT

FILLMORE

FREEBORN MOWER

Surface Water: Stream Flow

Previous Flow ConditionsSeptember 2014

This map is based on provisional stream gage datafrom the USGS National Water Information System

October 2014Stream Flow Conditions

* Percentile ranking based on mean daily flows for the current month averaged and ranked with all historical mean daily flows for that month. A watershed ranked at zero means that the present month flow is the lowest in the period of record; a ranking of 100 indicates the highest in the period of record. A ranking at the 50th percentile (median) specifies that the present-month flow is in the middle of the historical distribution.

# Designated major watershed gage October Percentile *High Flows (>90th percentile)Above Normal Flows (75 - 90th percentile)Normal Flows (25 - 75th percentile)Below Normal Flows (10 - 25th percentile)Low Flows (<= 10th percentile)

Flow affected bybackwaterStation monitoredseasonally

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LAKE OF THE WOODS

KITTSONROSEAU

KOOCHICHING

MARSHALL

ST. LOUIS

BELTRAMI

POLK

PENNINGTON

COOK

LAKE

CLEARWATER

RED LAKE ITASCA

NORMAN MAHNOMEN

CASSHUBBARD

CLAYBECKER

AITKIN

WADENA CROW WING

CARLTON

OTTER TAILWILKIN

PINE

TODD MORRISON

MILLELACS

KANABECGRANT

DOUGLAS

TRAVERSEBENTON

STEVENS STEARNSPOPE

ISANTI

CHISAGO

BIG STONE SHERBURNE

SWIFT KANDIYOHI

WRIGHT

ANOKA

MEEKERLAC QUI PARLE WA

SHIN

GTON

HENNEPIN

CHIPPEWARAMSEY

MCLEOD CARVERYELLOW MEDICINE DAKOTA

RENVILLE

SCOTTSIBLEY

REDWOOD GOODHUE

LINCOLNLYON

LE SUEUR

RICEBROWN

NICOLLET

WABASHA

BLUEEARTH

PIPESTONE MURRAY COTTONWOOD WINONAWASECA

STEELE DODGE

OLMSTEDWATONWAN

ROCK NOBLES

JACKSON

MARTIN HOUSTONFARIBAULT

FILLMORE

FREEBORN MOWER

Upper Cormorant

Turtle River

Chub

North Center

Poplar

Edward

Marion

Minnetonka

Green

Lake of the Woods

West Jefferson

Mille Lacs

Upper PriorSwan

White Bear

Shetek

Indian

East Battle

Tamarack

Pokegama

Sarah

BurntsideVermilion

Minnewaska !(

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Source data from: MN DNR Waters Lake Level Minnesota Monitoring Program

October 2014Lake Level Status

Surface Water: Lake Levels

* Percentile ranking based on last reported reading for the current month compared to all historical reported levels for that month. A lake ranked at zero means that the present reported level is the lowest in the period of record; a ranking of 100 indicates the highest in the period of record. A ranking at the 50th percentile (median) specifies that the present- month reported lake level is in the middle of the historical distribution.

Previous Conditions September 2014

October Percentile *!( High Water Levels (>90th percentile)!( Above Normal Water Levels (75 - 90th percentile)!( Normal Water Levels (25 - 75th percentile)!( Below Normal Water Levels (10 - 25th percentile)!( Low Water Levels (<= 10th percentile)

Level 2 Hydrologic UnitDNR Major Watershed

!( No reading available

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AquiferWater TableBuried ArtesianBedrock

Ground Water Level Historical RankingsOctober 2014

Ground Water

* Percentile ranking based on last reported reading for the current month compared to all historical reported levels for that month. A water level ranked at zero means that the present reported level is the lowest in the period of record; a ranking of 100 indicates the highest in the period of record. A ranking at the 50th percentile (median) specifies that the present- month reported water level level is in the middle of the historical distribution.

Source data from: MN DNR Ground Water Level Monitoring Program

Water Level

Low Water Levels (< 10% percentile)

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Below Normal Water Levels (10% - 25% percentile)

Above Normal Water Levels (75% - 90% percentile)Normal Water Levels (25% - 75% percentile)

High Water Levels (> 90% percentile)!(

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September 2014 Indicator Wells

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