Wet wrap up of March and beginning of April
Back-to-back low pressure weather systems brought a very wet weekend to conclude the month of March across Minnesota. Many climate stations reported between 1.50 inches and 2.50 inches of precipitation over the weekend. A few places in south-central Minnesota reported over 3 inches. At least 30 new daily precipitation records were reported within the Minnesota climate station network, including a remarkable 3.17 inches at Owatonna (Steele County) on March 30th. The added precipitation over the weekend pushed the monthly total for March to above normal values at most climate stations across the state.
Some areas of the state reported thunderstorms, sleet, snow, and even freezing rain from the storms over last weekend. Along the north shore of Lake Superior freezing rain caused ice to form on power lines and bare trees. More on the impact of the weekend storms can be found in a summary from the Minnesota State Climatology Office on their web site.
This week to start the month of April, temperatures were cooler than normal, but more rain and snow blanketed the state. Many climate stations reported from 0.50 inches to 1.50 inches of precipitation this week, and a few reported over 2 inches (2.19 inches at Hovland along the north shore of Lake Superior). Many parts of northern Minnesota reported more than 8 inches of snowfall as well. In fact, for April 2nd, Collegeville (Stearns County) reported a daily record snowfall of 5.0 inches and Two Harbors 7NW reported a daily record snowfall of 9.7 inches. Then on April 3rd, dozens of more record snowfall amounts were reported, including:
13.0 inches at Wolf Ridge
11.0 inches at Ottertail
9.8 inches at Grand Marais
8.0 inches at Pokegama Dam
7.8 inches at Tower
7.0 inches at Leech Lake
With little chance for more precipitation in the coming days and daily temperatures expected to be in the 40s and 50s F, the snow will be short-lived.
Literary diversions of the old Crop/Weather Reports
When the National Weather Service was created in the 19th Century, it was called the U.S. Weather Bureau and was part of the USDA (it is now part of NOAA under the Department of Commerce). In the old days the Weather Bureau collaborated with the USDA to produce Weekly Crop Weather Reports and Bulletins. The staff writers of the 19th Century were creative and often included poetry, advertising, pearls of wisdom, and recent agricultural research findings, along with the weather and crop conditions summaries. This could be pretty engaging reading. Here are some excerpts from the Crop Weather Bulletin of April 15, 1896:
Little drops of water
Freezing on the walk
Makes the man who steps there
Indulge in naughty talk
The deep ground temperature outside Paris, France is a constant 53 degrees F, while that of Mammoth Cave in Kentucky is 54 F. The deep ground temperature in St Paul, MN is 50 F.
A secondhand aneroid barometer used previously by the Weather Bureau is for sale for $10 with case....
A farmer says that he first met his wife in a storm,
took her to their first ball in a storm,
popped the big question in a storm,
and has lived in a storm ever since.
There was an article on principles for establishing and maintaining rural cemeteries....and a 50-acre farm
six miles west of Minneapolis was for sale at $50 cash.
And finally, no agricultural field activity was reported as temperatures had been too cold.......\
Weekly Weather Potpourri:
In northern Michigan, the same system of storms that affected Minnesota last weekend brought snow, rain, sleet, and ice that caused widespread power outages and slippery road conditions across northern Michigan. The Mackinaw Bridge which links the Upper Peninsula to lower Michigan had to be closed for a time on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week because of the danger of falling ice from the cables and towers of the bridge. Lots of tree and power line damage were reported northern areas. CBS News in Detroit reported on all the damages.
The NOAA Severe Storm Prediction Center had a busy first few days of April, with over 55 reports of tornadoes, and hundreds of reports of large hail and damaging winds across Midwest and southeastern states. There were also numerous reports of flash flooding. According to the Weather Underground web site, it was one of the worst outbreaks of severe weather since 2011. The Nashville areas was especially hard hit.
MPR listener question:
In 2012 the extraordinary warm month of March in Minnesota was attributed to El Nino. I read in last weeks MN WeatherTalk Blog you said this March was the something like the 12th warmest in history on a statewide basis, but we are in a La Nina year. How do you explain the causes of the warm March this year
Answer:
Good question, and not an easy answer. The record warm March of 2012 (while a La Nina episode was going one) was about 14°F above normal statewide, while this March (with a modest La Nina episode going on) was about 5°F about normal. In 2012 the warmth was fairly uniform across the state while this March it was much warmer than normal (5-8°F above normal) in southern regions of Minnesota, but this was partially offset by the northern areas which had more consistent snow cover throughout the month, only being 2-3°F above normal. So, snow cover played a big roll in the distribution of temperature across the state this March. The other part of the explanation is likely a climate change signature in the state, which shows that since the mid 1990s the average March temperature has increased by over 3°F in Minnesota, which magnifies the historical correlation of El Nino with warm months of March, but which offsets or negates the historical correlation of La Nina with cool months of March.
Twin Cities Almanac for April 4th:
The average MSP high temperature for this date is 51 degrees F (plus or minus 12 degrees F standard deviation), while the average low is 33 degrees F (plus or minus 8 degrees F standard deviation).
MSP Local Records for April 4th:
MSP records for this date: highest daily maximum temperature of 81 degrees F in 1921; lowest daily maximum temperature of 25 degrees F in 1874; lowest daily minimum temperature of 5 degrees F in 1995; highest daily minimum temperature of 62 degrees F in 1921, and record precipitation of 0.77 inches in 1932. Record snowfall is 7.2 inches also in 1957.
Average dew point for April 4th is 26°F; the maximum dew point on this date is 65°F in 1929 and the minimum dew point on this date is -9 degrees F in 1995.
All-time state records for April 4th:
The state record high temperature for this date is 89 degrees F at Tracy (Lyon County) in 1929. The state record low temperature for this date is -17 degrees F at Tower (St Louis County) in 1975. The state record precipitation for this date is 2.57 inches at Hokah (Houston County) in 1981. The statewide snowfall record for this date is 18.0 inches also at Meadowland (St Louis County) in 1968.
Past Weather:
It was almost mid-summer for some Minnesota counties on April 4 of 1929. Afternoon temperatures climbed to 80°F or greater in 30 counties under bright sunshine and south winds. There was little or no snow on the ground and some farmers were seen working their fields.
A late season snowstorm brought heavy snow to may parts of eastern Minnesota over April 3-4 of 1945. Many communities reported 8-14 inches of snowfall. Heaviest amounts were in northeastern counties where schools were closed.
Bitterly cloud temperatures prevailed on the morning of April 4 of 1975, especially across northern Minnesota. Over 40 communities reported subzero temperatures. It was -17°F at Tower, while at Pipestone the afternoon high temperature only reached 25°F.
Outlook:
Sunny and breezy over the weekend, but mostly dry. Cooler than normal temperatures will slowly moderate towards normal by the middle of next week, when there will be a chance for rain by Wednesday.
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