Minnesota WeatherTalk

Preliminary Climate Summary for June of 2023: June of 2023 was very warm, ranking on a statewide basis as the 4th warmest in state history, trailing only June of 2021, June of 1988, and June of 1933. The relative warmth of June historically was more pronounced in western and northern Minnesota than in eastern Minnesota. For example, Baudette reported its 2nd warmest June in history and Crookston its warmest ever, while Duluth reported the 7th warmest June in history and Rochester the 13th warmest. The Twin Cities reported its 3rd warmest June, just behind 1933 and 2021. Most climate observers reported a mean monthly temperature that ranged from 3°F to 6°F above normal. Extreme temperature readings ranged from 24°F at Ely (St Louis County) on June 11th to 98°F at Artichoke Lake (Big Stone County) on the 4th. A large majority of climate stations reported at least one day in the 90s F, and many areas reported 7-9 such days. Within the state climate station network approximately 50

June warmth and dryness will likely persist this summer: The warm June weather has been persistent this week. Just about every county, but Cook County in the far northeast, has seen at least one day of 90°F temperatures. In the Twin Cities the first three weeks of June rank as the 4th warmest in history, trailing only 2021, 1933, and 1956. On a statewide basis this June ranks as the 4th warmest in history so far, trailing only 1933, 1988, and 2021. Many climate stations have reported 8 or more days with 90°F temperatures. The atmosphere has been so dry however, that few nights have seen the air temperature stay above 70ۥF. Speaking of dry air, June rainfall has been lacking in most areas. A large percentage of climate observers report less than a half inch of rainfall so far this month, and since mid-May reports of total rainfall from many areas of the state fall 4 to 6 inches below normal values. Temperatures are generally expected to stay warmer than normal throughout most of the sum

Weather Headlines in Minnesota This Week: Drought has spread. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, abnormally dry weather dominates across 77 percent of the state landscape this week. Moderate Drought is affecting portions of 35 Minnesota Counties, while Severe Drought has taken hold across portions of 8 east-central counties (from southern Pine County west to eastern Stearns County. Despite the overall expansion of drought across the state since last week some isolated heavy thunderstorms brought significant rainfalls to some places over June 10 and 11, when some observers reported amounts ranging from 1 to 2 inches. Areas around South St Paul and Cottage Grove reported over 2 inches of rainfall, as did areas around Bemidji in the north. However, the vast majority of weather observers in Minnesota saw less than two tenths of inch of rain over the past week. Climatologically, June is generally the wettest month of the year for most of Minnesota, yet many climate observers have r

June Starts Historically Warm: Several people have written or commented to me about how June has started so warm. Indeed, it has, both daytime high temperatures and nighttime low temperatures have been well above normal, the low temperatures more so than the highs. It has been exceptionally dry as well. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor this week about 1/8 of the Minnesota landscape is now in Moderate Drought, including portions of 25 counties. Rainfall deficits since May 1st now range from 3 to 5 inches below normal in many areas of the state. But, back to temperature. Let’s take a statistical look at the first week of June (1-7). A majority of climate stations reported at least one day with 90°F or greater, and several have reported nighttime minimum temperatures that did not dip below 70°F. The highest temperature so far in June has been 98°F at Artichoke Lake (Big Stone County) on June 4th. Within the statewide climate station network, the first week of June brought re

Climate Summary for May of 2023: On a statewide basis May of 2023 was the 6th warmest in history back to 1895. It was the second warmest May in history for portions of the Red River Valley (northwestern MN), and the 4th warmest for the western thumb area of the state (Big Stone and Traverse Counties). At least 15 climate stations reported a day to wo with 90°F or greater. Most climate stations reported a mean monthly temperature that was 3°F to 7°F above normal. With the statewide climate network there were 5 record daily high temperatures reported and 24 record daily warm minimum temperatures reported. Extremes for the month ranged from 18°F at Eveleth (St Louis County) on the 3rd, and 93°F at Red Wing Dam (Goodhue County) on the 24th. Most of the rainfall in May came during the first two weeks, and much heavier in the southern counties than the rest of the state. During those first two weeks there were 27 daily record rainfall values reported. For the second half of May, rainf