Minnesota WeatherTalk

Warm Start to September: The month of September has clearly started warm, with daily average temperatures at most locations in Minnesota running from 5°F to 9°F above normal. In fact, 11 counties have already reported at least one daily maximum temperature of 90°F or higher. This should not be unexpected as 11 of the last 15 Septembers (73 percent) have started out warmer than normal during the first week of the month. The NOAA outlook models continue to favor warmer than normal temperatures through at least mid-month. Though rainfall over the first few days of the month has been highly variable across the state, a number of observers in southern counties have reported receiving over 1 inch of rain. Some severe thunderstorms moved across northern parts of the Red River Valley, while other thunderstorms moved across the Minnesota State Fairgrounds on Thursday afternoon dropping the temperature by about 10°F and causing attendees to hurry for cover. In Marshall Polk, and Clay Count...

Preliminary August Climate Summary: For many climate stations in Minnesota, especially in the northern half of the state, the mean August temperature will end up being very close to normal, perhaps a degree either side of normal. For many southern Minnesota climate stations, the mean August temperature will range from 1°F to 3°F above normal. Only observers in Clay, Sherburne, Norman, Polk. Lyon, and Red Lake Counties reported a daily high temperature of 90°F or higher. Most days brought temperatures in the 70s F and 80s F. Extremes for the month ranged from 98°F at Red Lake Falls on the 2nd to 33°F at Tower on the 19th. Not many temperature records were reported from within the state climate station network. Most climate observers reported below normal rainfall for the month, except for some locations in south-central and southeastern Minnesota where a few heavy thunderstorms occurred. A few places reported some record daily rainfall, including: 3.25” at Grand Meadow on the 1st ...

August 19 and 20 brought coolest temperatures for the month: Wednesday and Thursday (August 19-20) brought the coolest temperatures of the month so far for many areas of the state. Many observers reported low temperatures in the 40s and 50s F. Extremely low dew points in northern counties helped overnight low temperatures drop even more. Eleven climate stations in Koochiching, Lake, and St Louis Counties reported low temperatures in the 30s F, with Tower reporting just 33°F on August 19th. This week, scattered thunderstorms brought significant rainfall to parts of Minnesota, especially the north, where several observers reported rainfall totals ranging from 1 to 2 inches. Many other areas in the southern half of the state saw less than a half inch of rain during the week. Drought status in the state remained a big concern with about 30 percent of the landscape still in Moderate Drought, 44 percent in Severe Drought, and 1 percent (parts of Polk, Normand, and Clay Counties in the R...

Mid-month climate check-up: Through the first two weeks of August temperatures have generally been warmer than normal in much of southern Minnesota and cooler than normal in many northern locations where several observers have reported morning low temperatures in the 30s F. On Thursday (August 13) of this week the morning low temperature was just 35°F at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center in Lake County. Rainfall through the first two weeks of August has remained mostly sparse and spotty. Only areas of south-central and southeastern Minnesota have seen above normal rainfall so far. Much of the state has recorded less than an inch of rainfall so far. According to this week’s U.S. Drought Monitor update, 30 percent of the Minnesota landscape is in Moderate Drought and 45 percent is in Severe Drought. According to the weekly DNR-Stream Flow Reports, many streams in north-central and northeastern Minnesota are funning very low, below the 10th percentile in volume flow for this t...