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May to June period was the driest in local history

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By Reed Anfinson

Summer storms are fickle in where they drop their rain.  One farm can see an inch or more of rain fall as a storm passes through while a farm a mile away remains dry.

The immediate Benson area was in one of those dry areas seeing its driest May to June period on record.

June is the area’s wettest month averaging 4.34 inches of rain. But June 2023 saw only 1.67 inches of rain. It was the seventh dries on record. June 1973 holds record for the driest with only 65 hundredths of an inch of rain. July 1973 saw relief for the area with 4.2 inches of rain falling.

May averages 3.15 inches of precipitation but this year’s May brought just 55 hundredths of an inch. It was the third driest May on record. Only May 1976 with 13 hundredths of an inch of rain and May 2009 with 41 hundredths were drier.

Between May and June, the area should see 7.5 inches or more of rain. However, many areas have seen half that amount or even less.

With only 2.22 inches of rain, Benson broke the previous record for the driest May to June period of 2.56 inches set in 2006.

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