Dry conditions going into spring continued throughout the summer and combined with record heat for a lasting drought and extended fire danger well into the year. By the end of March, temperatures reached 76 degrees, more than 20 degrees above normal. It was a harbinger of things to come. By early April, the weather station at the Brainerd Lakes Regional Airport recorded 82 degrees before temperatures dropped below normal for the remainder of the month.
After sawing cement in 90 degree temperatures Tuesday, June 8, 2021, at the new splash pad in Memorial Park in Brainerd, Joshua Dombrovski wipes the sweat off his face with his shirt. Workers who are laboring through the hot weather must remain vigilant for the possibility of heat stroke. Steve Kohls / Brainerd Dispatch
Days 85 degrees and warmer:
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4 days in May
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17 days in June — with nine days of 90 degrees or hotter and one day at 100.
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16 days in July — with six days at 90 degrees or above.
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12 days in August — with eight days at 90 degrees or more.
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2 days in September followed by three days in October at 75 degrees.
The National Weather Service in Duluth reported the meteorological summer of 2021 — June 1 through Aug. 31 — is the hottest on record for both Brainerd and Duluth.
MORE STORIES ON THE DROUGHT
Popular kayak landings along the Pine River include far more bare shoreline than in the past. Submitted Photo
Watering bans were put into place in Brainerd and Baxter that extended throughout the summer and into the fall.
The number of 80-plus-degree days in Brainerd this summer was almost identical to those reported in summer 2020, but 2020 still held the edge with 69 days to 68 days in 2021. The number of 90-plus-degree days, however, is where 2021 had the advantage. While still falling short of the historically hot years of 1988 (30 days) and 1936 (24 days), 2021 now rounds out the top three with 23 days of a high temperature exceeding 90 degrees.
MORE STORIES ON THE DROUGHT
In August, the U.S. Drought Monitor reported parts of Minnesota were in the worst drought category for exceptional drought for the first time since the monitor began in 1994. The entire state entered the drought warning phase in mid-July. And by July, the Brainerd area was finding itself in the fourth driest year on record. June and July were the driest in northern Minnesota since the days of the Dust Bowl. The weather service reported only the years of 1906, 2006 and 1936 were drier — the latter of which occurred during the Dust Bowl era.
Brainerd Riverfront Committee member Holly Holm carries a bag of trash Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021, during the river cleanup night. Picking up trash has been easier since the river level has been low because of the drought conditions this summer.
Steve Kohls / Brainerd Dispatch
The drought caused lake and river levels to plummet, with boaters faced difficulties in launching and retrieving boats, the DNR reported, noting people may want to remove watercraft earlier than usual.
EDITORIAL>Our Opinion: The drought has entered a critical phase
If there was a silver lining, it came in the ability to see pieces of the area’s past typically hidden beneath the water, particularly along the Mississippi River. The drought of 2021 created low water levels that helped historians search the bottom of the Mississippi River in Brainerd for historic artifacts, which dated back to the origin of the city.
There were a historic number of wildfires in Minnesota with the lakes area finding itself shrouded in smoke as it traveled south from massive wildfires in Canada.
In the middle of August of 2021, the Mississippi River reached very low levels in Brainerd. In the background, the Brainerd Dam holds the water level up for Rice Lake and the river north and east of the city. During this period of low water, several historical artifacts were visible along the river bottom. The water level was being compared with 1976, when another drought had impacted central Minnesota.
Steve Kohls / Brainerd Dispatch
In October, Gov. Tim Walz stopped at the Department of Natural Resources airtanker base in Brainerd amid several stops around the state. Walz toured the facility talking with DNR and airport officials beneath a light, steady and, for those who fight wildfires, welcome rain.
The 2022 bonding request is seeking $7.8 million for wildfire aviation infrastructure with $4.3 million going toward Hibbing Airtanker Base facilities and $3.5 million to the Brainerd Airtanker Base facilities.
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The view from the historic fire tower shows the extent of the smoky haze over Pequot Lakes on Thursday, July 29, 2021, as a gray miasma obstructs the scene of the town and the bobber water tower from Paul M. Thiede Fire Tower Park. The smoke from wildfires in Canada, brought down to the Brainerd lakes area by northerly winds behind a cold front, triggered an air quality alert. The alert is in effect until 3 p.m. Friday.
Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch
“This is obviously a key issue this summer when we saw the worst wildfires in half a century — closing of the Boundary Waters for the first time in 48 years, the loss of houses, entire communities being evacuated at times because of how bad this was,” Walz said.
Support from other states helped as well as resources from places as far away as Australia arrived.
“And part of it is this infrastructure at this facility in Brainerd at the Brainerd airport supports that mission and these facilities are severely outdated,” Walz said. “… So we are up here today to look at this, to hear from the local folks, to see it on the ground and then what I will do is go back and make sure that when we present that bonding bill in January to the Legislature it is going to be reflective of local requests, it is going to be reflective of local needs and that we will make the case.”
Traveling across North Long Lake in heavy smoke Tuesday, July 20, 2021, boaters head for the shore near Merrifield. The heavy smoke from Canadian wildfires created hazy conditions for anglers and boaters on Brainerd area lakes. Steve Kohls / Brainerd Dispatch
