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<br />Ramsey County | Multi-Jurisdiction Hazard Mitigation Plan 47 <br />Figure 5. Historical Droughts in Ramsey County <br /> <br />Source: United States Drought Monitor <br />Members of the LPT noted that most jurisdictions in Ramsey County have instituted water restrictions, <br />mostly focusing on lawn watering on even/odd days. The LPT also noted that only the Governor of <br />Minnesota can completely restrict water usage. <br />3.7.5 PROBABILITY <br />The probability of a drought in Ramsey County depends on various climatic factors, which vary from year <br />to year. The United States Drought Monitor tracks drought impacts weekly at a variety of jurisdiction <br />levels, including at the county level. Drought conditions were reviewed for a total of 1,257 weeks <br />between the first week of January 2000 and the week of August 20, 2024. Ramsey County experienced <br />some level of drought condition in 44% of the recorded weeks, with the vast majority of those drought <br />conditions spent in the lower echelon of drought severity. <br />FEMA’s National Risk Index tool notes that Ramsey County is at a very low risk of drought, although this <br />is based on agricultural impacts only. <br />3.7.6 CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS <br />Climate change is expected to alter precipitation patterns, temperatures, and extreme weather events, <br />which could all contribute to the frequency, severity, and duration of droughts. <br />Changes in precipitation patterns. It is anticipated that there will be increased variability in precipitation <br />including irregular rainfall and seasonal shifts which could impact the availability of water throughout <br />the year. For Ramsey County, warmer winter temperatures could lead to a shift from snow to more <br />rainfall, resulting in reduced snowpack and less water stored for spring thaw. This could impact the <br />availability of water for critical growing seasons. Since 1866, the MN Department of Natural Resources <br />(DNR) has identified 19 historical “mega-rain” events, in which six inches of rain fall over more than <br />1,000 square miles. More than half of these events occurred in the past 10 years. These mega-rain <br />events have become four times more frequent since the year 2000 as compared to the previous 30 <br />years. According to the University of Minnesota Climate Change Partnership, future Minnesotans will <br />likely see longer dry periods and more flash droughts with heavier rain events in between.