Minnesota WeatherTalk

Preliminary Climate Summary for May of 2025: Mean monthly temperatures for May will be above normal for all locations in the state, but there are some differences. In southern counties, mean monthly temperature for May will be from 2°F to 3°F above normal, while some northern counties that enjoyed less cloudiness will report a mean monthly temperature that is 4°F to 5°F above normal. In the far north, places like International Falls and Baudette may be as much as 6°F to 7°F above normal. The mid-month heat that brought several 90°F plus days also set over 100 daily high temperature records, including 96°F at Baudette, International Falls, and Thief River Falls on the 11th, and 95°F at Red Lake Falls on the 12th. From May 11 to 14 International Falls (the nation’s Icebox) reported 4 consecutive days with temperatures of 90°F or higher, extremely unusual for them. Extremes for the month across Minnesota were 99°F at Crookston on the 13th, and 23°F at Ely on the 3rd. Total rainfall f...

A very wet week for much of Minnesota: Since last Friday (May 16), many areas of the state have received abundant rainfall, and for many the wettest week of the year so far. Many climate stations have reported 3 to 5 inches of rainfall since last Friday, and portions of Wright and Cass Counties have reported over 5 inches. A few areas of north-central and northeastern Minnesota reported less than an inch of rainfall, and International Falls reported only 0.10 inches since last Friday. Some areas that reported abundant rainfall also recorded record-setting daily amounts. A number of these areas included long-term Minnesota climate stations: A few examples of record rainfalls reported included: For May 20th: 2.00 inches at Pipestone 1.88 inches at Litchfield 1.60 inches at Marshall 1.56 inches at Detroit Lakes 1.52 inches at both Waseca and Alexandria 1.45 inches at Tracy 1.36 inches at Milan For May 21st: 2.21 inches at Kimball 1.58 inches at Minnesota City 1.46 inches at Long Prair...

Record Warmth and Record Low Humidity: The warm start to the month of May which I wrote about last week really ramped up even more this week as temperatures around the state average 12°F to 20°F above normal. Afternoon high temperatures in the 90s F were quite common. Within the Minnesota climate station network, there were many new high daily maximum temperature records set over May 11 to May 14. On May 11th at least 20 climate stations reported record high temperatures, including 96°F at International Falls and Baudette. On May 12th at least 40 climate stations reported record high temperatures, including 94°F at Granite Falls. On May 13th at least 15 climate stations reported record high temperatures, including 93°F at Thief River Falls. On May 14thth at least 10 climate stations reported record high temperatures, including 93°F at Red Lake Falls. International Falls reported record high maximum temperatures of 90°F or greater on four consecutive days, May 11-14. Minnesota’s geo...

Very Warm Start to May: The month of May has started very warm across Minnesota, with temperatures averaging 4°F to 7°F above normal. Daytime high temperatures in the 80s F were reported on May 4, May 5, and May 6 from several areas of the state, the first time such temperatures have been measured since late last October. Even International Falls (the Nation’s Icebox0 reported back-to-back days in the 80s F over May 4-5. A few locations reported some record-setting high daily maximum temperatures this week. Some examples: On May 4th a new daily record high temperature was reported from Elk River with 81°F and from Baudette with 85°F. On May 5th Kabetogama reported a record high temperature of 80°F. On May 6th Grand Marais airport reported a record high of 81°F. Despite the warm start to May, the morning of May 8th this week brought frost to many northern Minnesota communities. Portions of St Louis, Koochiching, and Lake Counties reported morning low temperatures ranging from 26°F ...

Climate Summary for April of 2025: Average monthly temperature in April was from 1 to 3°F warmer than normal in many places around the state, but near normal to 1°F below in some northern Minnesota communities. Extremes for the month ranged from 83°F at Winnebago (Faribault County) and Sherburn (Martin County) on the 18th to -1°F at Gunflint Lake on the 9th. Most areas of the state reported above normal precipitation during the month. The wettest areas of the state were generally in the northeast where observer reports averaged about 3.5 inches for the month, and in the southeast, where observer reports averaged about 4.5 inches for the month. Many climate stations reported between 2.5 and 3.5 inches of precipitation for the month, while Houston and Preston in southeastern Minnesota reported over 6 inches. In fact, over 50 new daily precipitation records were set during the month within the Minnesota climate station network, including 2.26 inches at La Crescent on the 21st and 2.5...