Minnesota WeatherTalk

More Summary Remarks for the Climate of 2019: A cooler and wetter than normal year: Overall wettest in state history and the first time that the statewide mean annual precipitation has exceeded 35 inches. -Wettest place in the state: Owatonna 0.8E (Steele County) with 56.50 inches of precipitation (this could change with the expected weekend storm) -Driest place in the state: Hallock (Kittson County) with 22.69”, still nearly 1.5 inches greater than normal. -Wettest month of the year: September with an average of over 6 inches of rainfall statewide. -Snowiest February in state history: Average snowfall across the state was 28”. -Largest 1-day rainfall event of 2019 was 7.42 inches at Edgerton (Pipestone County) on September 9th. -Longest period without measurable precipitation: 22 days (March 16 to April 6) at Hallock (Kittson County). -Hottest day of the year: July 19 when over 100 climate stations reported high temperatures from 90°F and 98 F. With dew points between 75-80 degre

Statewide Recap for the Climate of 2019: As we wrap up 2019, it is still likely that 2019 will go into the record books as the wettest year in Minnesota history on a statewide basis, with average precipitation totals across the state of over 35 inches for the year. Seven of the 12 months delivered above normal precipitation to the state in 2019. February of 2019 was the 2nd wettest in state history while September was the 3rd wettest in state history. In addition, October ranked as the 9th wettest in state history. Portions of Rice, Steele, Olmsted, Dodge, and Houston Counties reported over 50 inches of precipitation for the year. On balance most places reported from 5 to 15 inches above normal precipitation for the year. At least 730 daily precipitation records were set or tied within the Minnesota climate network this year. Also, February of 2019 was the snowiest in state history with most places reporting between 30 and 40 inches, and Rosemount reporting over 56 inches! An

Roller Coaster Temperature Pattern Continues: Over a dozen climate stations reported a low temperature of -20 degrees F or colder on December 11th, with -30 degrees F reported at Isabella (Lake County). Furthermore on the 10th a number of places never saw the thermometer rise above zero, including Otter Tail which observed a high temperature that day of -4 degrees F. All but a handful of climate stations have recorded subzero low temperatures this week, in sharp contrast to the relatively mild temperatures that prevailed earlier in the month. A return to a milder temperature pattern is seen for much of the rest of December, so much so that the month may end up being warmer than normal overall, rather than the 9th cooler than normal month for the year 2019. Some areas up north have accumulated over 20 inches of snowfall this month, but the outlooks for the remainder of the month suggest less than normal snowfall. This outlook suggests that little more precipitation will be added