Minnesota WeatherTalk

Preliminary August Climate Summary: Despite the high dew point temperatures, Heat Advisories, and warm nights of the first half of August, the average monthly temperatures reported from climate stations around the state will be very close to normal, with some stations reporting about 1°F above normal. There were not many 90°F days this month around Minnesota. Temperature extremes ranged from 95°F at Red Lake Falls (Red Lake County) on August 9th, to just 32°F near Goodridge (Pennington County) on August 25th. Monthly total rainfall around the state was mixed, with many northern areas receiving less than normal amounts, and some central and southern areas of the state receiving above normal amounts. Many areas of the state reported between 3 and 6 inches, most of which came over August 14-18. In fact, 52 daily rainfall records were reported within the state climate network during the month, which include 6.30 inches at Grand Meadow (Mower County) on August 17th, a new statewide rec...

Suddenly a wetter than normal August: Significant daily rainfalls over August 14-18 have suddenly pushed the southern two-thirds of the state to above normal values for the month, especially in west-central, south central, and southeastern counties. Many observers now report over 5 inches of rain for the month so far, and observers in 8 Minnesota counties have reported over 8 inches. Leading the numerous reports are Waseca with 11.08 inches and Grand Meadow with 10.90 inches. The persistent rainfalls over August 14-18 brought over 30 record daily values to the historical Minnesota climate station network. Some of these included: 1.58 inches at Madison (Lac Qui Parle County) on the 15th 2.51 inches to Hastings Dam (Dakota County) and 2.07 inches to Milan (Chippewa County) on the 16th 6.30 inches to Grand Meadow (Mower County), 3.46 inches to Lamberton (Redwood County), and 2.68 inches to Preston (Fillmore County) on the 17th 2.86 inches at Wabasha (Wabasha County), 2.81 inches at Wi...

August trending warmer with highly variable rainfall: Despite a somewhat cooler than normal start to the month and the fact that very few places have seen a 90°F day, most areas of the state are reporting mean monthly temperatures that are 1°F to 3°F above normal. Much of this is due to warmer than normal nights, as no frosts have been reported so far this month in northern areas of the state. Most places are reporting below normal rainfall for the month so far, despite a few record-setting daily amounts from thunderstorms. Some of those climate stations reporting at least one day of record-setting rain are: August 6th: 2.38” at Artichoke Lake (Big Stone County), 1.15” at Lamberton (Redwood County), and 1.02” at Luverne (Rock County) August 9th: 1.91” at Floodwood (St Louis County) and 3.06” at Rochester Airport (Olmsted County) August 10th: 1.63” at Lake City (Goodhue County) and 1.62” at Theilman (Wabasha County)  There are currently no designated Drought Categories in Minnesot...

August starts cool and dry for most of the state: The first week of August has been generally cooler than normal or close to normal and generally drier than normal around the state. No frosts have been reported yet. Rainfall has bee highly scattered and mostly light. Most areas have reported less than a quarter of an inch so far. However, thunderstorms brought some amounts of 1 inch or greater to parts of western Minnesota over Monday through Wednesday this week. Warren (Marshall County) reported a record daily total rain of 1.80 inches on Tuesday and on Wednesday morning Sabin (Clay County) reported a record daily rainfall of 3.52 inches, while Glenwood (Pope County) reported a record daily rainfall of 2.21 inches. The outlook models all favor a return of warmer and wetter than normal conditions for the mid part of August. BTW: today’s date, August 8th is the only historical date during the month that Minnesota has never reported a frost. All other days of the month have brough...

Climate Summary for July of 2025: Warm and wet are the simple descriptors of this July. Most climate stations report an average monthly temperature that is 1°F to 2°F above normal. Many observers reported 4 or more days with 90°F and a few days with Heat Index Values of 100°F or greater, thanks to dew points approaching 80°F or higher. On July 27th, Fergus Falls and St James reported record high dew points of 82°F and Benson reported a record high dew point of 81°F. Extremes for the month were 96°F at Marshall (Lyon County) and at Georgetown (Clay County) on July 4th, and just 37°F at Ada (Norman County) on the 18th. After 4 years of drier than normal Julys, this year was wetter than normal across most of the state. The vast majority of climate stations reported above normal rainfall during July, with a statewide average rainfall over 5.50 inches, borderline for the 10th wettest July in state history. Within the statewide climate network, over 50 new daily record rainfall amount...