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FROM BAD TO WORSE: A dry spring led to an even drier July in 1936. That month remains the driest July on record in Minnesota. Climate Observations: In 1936, the dry July also had multiple days over 100 degrees F. More than 700 deaths were attributed to the heat.
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Jun 15, 2021 to Jun 17, 2021
There are not many Minnesota citizens alive who remember the terribly dry July of 1936, but it left a real psychological imprint on those farmers who had to cope with it and find ways to survive.
Some of the state’s primary agricultural lands in Big Stone, Chippewa, Otter Tail, Lac Qui Parle, Lyon, Pipestone, Martin, Kittson and Yellow Medicine counties measured less than a third of an inch of rainfall that month. Isanti and Morrison counties reported only a trace of rainfall for the entire month.