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Climate Observations: In 1936, the dry July also had multiple days over 100 degrees F. More than 700 deaths were attributed to the heat.

Mark Seeley

May 28, 2021

2 Min Read
wheat grass growing through crack in dirt
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. zhuda/Getty Images

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.

Rainfall for the preceding months of April through June 1936 was the fifth-lowest amount in state history, ranging from 4 to 5 inches below average. Thus, crop fields were already showing signs of moisture stress entering the month of July 1936.

The dry July was accompanied by the worst heat wave in state history, with multiple days over 100 degrees F. More than 700 deaths were attributed to the heat.

At Beardsley in Big Stone County, no rainfall occurred until July 19, when just 0.18 inches of rain fell. The average high temperature over the period from July 6 to July 19 was 106 degrees. Similarly, at Milan in Chippewa County, the only rainfall that occurred, just 0.08 inch, for the month also came on July 19; the high temperature for the two weeks leading up to the rainfall was 103 degrees.

Statewide drought

Northern Minnesota was not exempt from the dry and hot month of July. Big Falls in Koochiching County reported only two significant rainfalls, totaling about 0.70 inch, while daytime high temperatures averaged 97 degrees over a two-week period. Severe wildfires broke out and burned about 10,000 acres across much of the landscape, including the current site of Voyageurs National Park. A wildfire threatened to burn the Kettle Falls Hotel, but the Civilian Conservation Corps, created by President Franklin Roosevelt during the 1930s, managed to cut a formidable firebreak and not allow the burn to get near the hotel.

In the agricultural counties, some crops literally dried up and died in the fields, while others survived with limited green canopy going into August. At least 35 Minnesota counties were in extreme drought as August started, while another 40 counties were in severe drought. August rainfall, though still less than normal, brought some relief — especially in southern counties.

Some farmers harvested corn yields of 25 to 35 bushels per acre. The kernels were exceptionally dry and ready for storage after harvest.

Drought conditions hung onto Minnesota through the balance of 1936, and little alleviation occurred until above-normal precipitation came along in the late winter and spring of 1937.

Overall, July 1936 still remains the driest and hottest in state history, with some of the worst drought indexes ever measured.

Seeley is an Extension professor emeritus of meteorology and climatology at the University of Minnesota.

About the Author(s)

Mark Seeley

Mark Seeley is an Extension professor emeritus of meteorology and climatology at the University of Minnesota.

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