Minnesota WeatherTalk

Preliminary Climate Summary for December 2021: Warm and wet are the two appropriate descriptors for December. Average temperatures around the state ranged from 2 to 4 degrees F warmer than normal. Overall, this December was not among the warmest 20 in history, but it was among the warmest 30. Extremes in the state ranged from 66°F at Caledonia (Houston County) on the 16th (a new statewide record high for the date) to -35°F at Warren (Marshall County) on the 29th. Score of new daily maximum temperature records were reported from the Minnesota climate network on December 1, 2, and again on December 15, 16. December of 2021 was the 2nd wettest in state history on a statewide basis, trailing only 1968. The statewide average precipitation was just under 2 inches. At least 15 long term climate stations in the state reported their wettest December in history, including Hastings Dam which reported 4.40 inches of precipitation and Hibbing which reported 3.01 inches. Hasting Dam, Two Ha

Strong Trend of Warm/Wet Continues in December: No matter what the weather brings for the rest of the month this December will wrap up in Minnesota as both warmer and wetter than normal, following the trends of recent years. Over the most recent 15 years two-thirds of all Decembers have been warmer and wetter than normal. This year some areas, especially along the north shore of Lake Superior will see December snowfall totals between 20 and 30 inches, while other areas will report over 3 inches of precipitation, about three to four times normal. Much of the precipitation for the month came either in the winter storm of December 10-11 or the highly unusual storm of December 15-16. These storms produced many record-setting rainfall and snowfall amounts around the state. Austin, MN reported 2.90 inches of precipitation on December 11th which set a new statewide record for the date. Similarly, the climate station at Cottage Grove 1.6NNW reported a snowfall amount of 20 inches setting