Minnesota WeatherTalk

November Climate Summary: Cold and dry are the words for November. It was the coldest November since 2014 with average monthly temperatures around the state ranging from 5 to 7 degrees F below normal. Approximately two-thirds of the days brought cooler than normal temperatures. Extremes for the month ranged from 61°F at Marshall on the 1st to -20°F at Cotton (St Louis County) on the 20th. Within the state climate network over 75 low minimum temperature records were set or tied during the month, while over 90 low daytime maximum temperature records were set or tied. Precipitation was less than normal for the month in most places, ranging mostly from 0.50 to 1.50 inches. Some places received over 2 inches, topped by 2.70 inches at La Crescent and 3.11 inches at Grand Portage. Snowfall was variable, with many areas around the state reporting 3 to 6 inches, and higher amounts in the north. In the northeast many climate stations reported 10 to 19 inches for the month. Grand Port...

Cold November Continues: Through the first three weeks of November observers around the state reported an average monthly temperature that ranges from 7 to 9 degrees F cooler than normal. Over 80 climate stations in Minnesota have reported at least one subzero temperature so far this month, topped by -20°F at Cotton (St Louis County) on November 20th. Though much of the state has been spared from a lot of snowfall, the northeastern area has received from 12 to 18 inches, topped by 18.5 inches at Grand Portage. The Minnesota State Climatology Office posted a Thanksgiving Weather Retrospective o their web site. It provides a look back at all the weather in the Twin Cities history associated with the Thanksgiving Holiday. Weekly Weather Potpourri: Authorities issued a public health alert for Sydney, Australia on Thursday as the 500km-wide (310 miles) dust band began to reach the city. One of the largest dust storms in recent history blanketed many parts of SE Australia and cau...

Widespread subzero temperatures this week: Last week on MPR's Morning Edition we talked about the widespread snow cover around the state and up until that time only about a dozen climate stations had reported a subzero minimum temperature so far this autumn. Since then we have seen severe cold weather dominate the landscape, and subzero temperatures have become far more common. In fact over November 13-14 this week over 40 climate stations reported morning low temperatures that were subzero with readings of -10°F to -15° in portions of St Louis and Lake of the Woods Counties. In fact on November 13th (Tue) many Minnesota climate stations saw the daytime high temperature remain in the teens F. The week of November 7-13 brought temperatures that ranged from 11 to 15 degrees F colder than normal. In fact for the Twin Cities it was the coldest such week in history (1872-present). Here is a ranking of the five coldest weeks of November 7-13 for the Twin Cities climate: 2018 mean...

Snow cover season begins: Even though more than 100 climate stations reported some snow this autumn before November began, all of that snow melted as the ground was too warm for snow cover to persist. There have been 87 more reports of snow from the state climate network so far this month, ranging from a few tenths of an inch to over 4 inches. In the northwestern counties Detroit Lakes and Fertile have reported over 4 inches, while in the northeast Duluth and Two Harbors have reported over 4 inches. And further up along Lake Superior’s north shore Grand Portage has reported 13.5 inches this week. But now the ground temperatures are cold enough in some areas of the state for the snow cover to stick around. Air temperatures this month have been colder than normal, with many nights dropping into the teens F, and even daytime temperatures remaining in the 30s F. The high temperature on Thursday, November 8th in the Twin Cities was only 28 degrees F, while at Pokegama Dam (Itasca Co...

October 2018 Climate Summary: Cool and wet are the two appropriate descriptions of October of 2018. Cooler than normal temperatures prevailed on 65-70 percent of the days in the month, while a number of climate stations reported precipitation on 20 or more days. On a statewide basis October of 2018 was the 12th coldest in history back to 1895, and it was the 10th wettest in history. Mean October temperature in 2018 ranged from 3 to 6 degrees F cooler than normal around the state. The highest reading was 89°F at Marshall (Lyon County) on the 3rd, and the coldest reading was 8°F at Hallock (Kittson County) on the 12th. Within the state climate network the following record daily values were reported: 6 reports of a record daily high maximum temperature 2 reports of a record daily high minimum temperature 10 reports of a record daily low minimum temperature 111 reports of a record daily low maximum temperature Many climate stations reported monthly total precipitation ranging from 3...