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 record for the date.
Though not record-setting values, some Minnesota climate stations were extremely wet this August, including:
Elgin (Wabasha County) with 14.03 inches
Grand Meadow (Mower County) with 11.13 inches
Waseca (Waseca County) with 11.08 inches
Spring Valley (Fillmore County) with 8.88 inches
Marshall (Lyon County) with 8.23 inches
Winds during August were mostly from the south during the first half of the month, and from the north during the second half of the month. Wind gusts of 30 mph or greater were measured generally on 5 to 9 days and mostly associated with thunderstorms. There were a number of Air Quality Alerts during the month, especially during the first week.
Weekly Weather Potpourri:
The BBC reports this week that 2025 has brought the worst wildfire season for the European Union (data going back to 2006). Roughly 2.5 million acres of landscape has been scorched, a good deal of it in Spain and Portugal. Many European scientists acknowledge that this is definitely an ongoing symptom of climate change.
A recent study published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics suggest that successful reduction of ozone depleting CFCs combined with ongoing production of ozone by air pollution from factories, vehicles, and power plants will magnify the greenhouse effect of ozone in future years and may cause further climate change. Mitigating the release of ozone in the lower atmosphere may need to be done with greater efforts to curb pollution.
This week’s AGU-EOS Bulletin features a good review article about what has been learned since category 5 hurricane Katrina struck the Louisiana coast 20 years ago. Forecasting precision has improved since Katrina and communications protocols have been improved as well. It remains to be seen whether or not the recent cuts to NOAA’s budget will affect any further advances in hurricane forecasting
MPR listener question:
We recorded five consecutive days with rain earlier this month in the Twin Cities (August 14-18). It made us wonder what is the most consecutive days in August that have brought rain to the Twin Cities?
Answer:
In the Twin Cities climate record back to 1871 there have been two occasions when it has rained on 9 consecutive days in August: August 7 to August 15 of 1943, and August 16 to 24 of 1975. It is interesting to note that August of 1943 was wetter than normal, but August of 1975, despite 9 consecutive days of rain, was drier than normal.
Twin Cities Almanac for August 29th:
The average MSP high temperature for this date is 79 degrees F (plus or minus 8 degrees F standard deviation), while the average low is 61 degrees F (plus or minus 7 degrees F standard deviation).
MSP Local Records for August 29th:
MSP records for this date: highest daily maximum temperature of 96 degrees F in 1969; lowest daily maximum temperature of 60 degrees F in 1915; lowest daily minimum temperature of 45 degrees F in 1946; highest daily minimum temperature of 75 degrees F in 2013; and record precipitation of 2.05 inches in 1964. There has not been any snowfall on this date.
Average dew point for August 29th is 58°F; the maximum dew point on this date is 76°F in 1945 and the minimum dew point on this date is 34 degrees F in 1931.
All-time state records for August 29th:
The state record high temperature for this date is 103 degrees F at Beardsley (Big Stone County) in 1921. The state record low temperature for this date is 22 degrees F at Tower (St Louis County) in 1976. The state record precipitation for this date is 5.32 inches at Thorhult (Beltrami County) in 1980. No snowfall has occurred on this date.
Past Weather:
A Heat Wave gripped the state on August 29 of 1921 with most areas reporting afternoon temperatures in the 90s F. Observers in Big Stone, Traverse, Chippewa, and Brown Counties reported temperatures of 100°F or greater.
August 29 of 1976 brought a morning frost to 10 northern Minnesota counties, with some morning lows in the 20s F. Some afternoon temperatures remained in the 50s F, and many garden plants were frozen and killed.
Outlook:
Temperatures will be cooler than normal over the weekend and through much of next week. There will be slight chances for showers and thunderstorms, with a better chance by next Tuesday and Wednesday. By the end of next week there may be some frosts in northern areas of the state after a cold front passes over on Wednesday.
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