Rain cuts fire danger across southern Minnesota

Two days of drenching rain have transformed southern Minnesota from a tinder dry landscape that was in danger of going up in flames into a welcome type of soggy.

Tuesday and Wednesday set new rainfall records for their dates in the Twin Cities, and the rainfall topped 1.8 inches.

"This big slug of moisture is exactly what we needed across the state," said Peter Boulay, assistant state climatologist.

A dry spell that began in mid-October had left wildfire conditions at dangerous levels statewide, especially in the southern half of Minnesota.

But the rain slashed the fire danger in the south from extreme to low. Rain and snow in northeastern Minnesota reduced the danger there from high to moderate. The fire danger remains high for a large part of northwestern and north-central Minnesota.

Tuesday's precipitation of 0.86 of an inch in the Twin Cities broke the previous record for April 15 of 0.63 inch in 1973. Wednesday's rain exceeded an inch.