Minnesota WeatherTalk

Preliminary Climate Summary for June:
After having one of the warmest starts to June in Minnesota history, cooler than normal conditions prevailed during the second half of the month. As a result most climate observers are reporting a mean monthly temperature that is near normal or just 1 to 2 degrees warmer than normal. A few locations in the far north ended up the month with a mean temperature that was cooler than normal (Kabetogama and Tower for example). Among Minnesota's observer network 46 new daily high maximum temperature records were tied or broken during the first half of the month, while 35 daily warm minimum temperature records were tied or broken. Only 7 record low minimum temperatures were tied or set.

Extremes values for the month ranged from 97 degrees F at Waseca and Rosemount on the 10th to 29 degrees F at Brimson (St Louis County) on the 1st. On a statewide basis this was the 4th consecutive year with a warmer than normal month of June.

Total rainfall for …

Spotty Rains Continue in MN:
This week brought some significant thunderstorms to portions of Minnesota, notably the northwest and the southern tier of counties near the Iowa border. Some northwestern observers reported a half inch or over an inch of rain, much needed given the heat and rapid growth of crops earlier in the month. Across southern counties rainfall of 1 inch to 1.50 inches was prevalent. Most other observers are reporting total monthly rainfall that falls short of normal. Only about 20 percent of the climate stations are reporting normal or greater than normal rainfall this month. Portions of Kittson, Marshall, Roseau, Lake of the Woods, Beltrami, and Koochiching Counties remain in moderate drought.

Hot, record-setting summer solstice week SW USA:
The highest temperature in Minnesota so far in the month of June is 97 degrees F at Rosemount and Waseca on the 10th. That sounds quite hot for most of us, but what if that temperature was your overnight low? That was e…

Near record warm first half of June:
In contrast to May, the first half of June has been unusually warm, near record-setting in many places across Minnesota. For the Twin Cities Metro Area the mean temperature for the first half of June has been about 74.9 degrees F. Only 1976 was warmer, with a mean temperature of 75.1 degrees F. On a statewide basis the mean temperature for the first half of June was 69 degrees F. Only 1933 (71.4°F) and 1988 (70.4°F) were warmer.

Within the Minnesota climate observation network 45 stations have reported daily maximum temperature records tied or broken so far this month, and 46 stations have also reported daily warm minimum temperature records tied or broken so far. Many places have reported multiple days with 90°F temperatures, as high as 97 degrees F at Rosemount and Waseca. MSP set a new record warm minimum temperature on June 10th with a reading of 77°F, breaking the old record of 73 degrees F back in 1973. Milan also reported a record wa…

Hot Start to June:
After a cooler than normal May, June has begun much warmer than normal, with most southern and western communities reporting multiple daytime highs in the 90s F so far. Places like Browns Valley and Milan have already reported highs of 96 degrees F, and temperatures will go higher than that this weekend in many places.

Observers across the state are reporting average temperatures for the month so far that are from 5 to 8 degrees F warmer than normal.

Also unlike last month, bright sunny skies are dominant, and the landscape has dried out quite a bit. Many areas are in need of a good rain. In fact portions of northwestern and north-central Minnesota have seen deficits in precipitation since March 1st. Some are as much as 5-7 inches below normal in precipitation since that date. As a result the Drought Monitor shows these parts of the state to be in moderate drought.

After a very hot weekend coming up, the climate outlooks favor more frequent chances for rainfall…

May Climate Summary: The May climate summary shows a cooler and wetter than normal pattern prevailed. The wetter than normal pattern follows the recent trend for May, as 6 of the last 7 Mays have been wetter than normal on a statewide basis. The cooler than normal temperatures in May also follows recent trend, as 4 of the last 5 Mays were cooler than normal, but more significantly the cooler temperatures in May for many areas of Minnesota broke a streak of 20 consecutive months with above normal temperatures, a streak that was unprecedented in state history. The cooler temperature pattern was strongly affected by the absence of sunny days. For many parts of the state nearly 75 percent of all days were mostly cloudy or cloudy, and some observers reported only 5 sunny days.

Most observers reported a mean monthly temperature that ranged from 1 to 4 degrees F cooler than normal. Extremes for the month ranged from 90°F at Waseca on the 14th to 21°F at Brimson (St Louis County) on the…