Climate Summary for October of 2025:
For the 5th consecutive year October was warmer than normal across Minnesota. Average monthly temperatures were from 5°F to 6°F warmer than normal. On a statewide basis, this makes October of 2025 the 8th warmest since 1895. During the first week of the month, over 30 climate stations reported at least one day with a 90°F or higher maximum temperature. Also, during the first week, over 95 new daily high maximum temperature records and over 100 new daily high minimum temperature records were set within the state climate station network. Widespread frosts occurred only on October 7-8, and again over October 23-24. Extremes for the month were 94°F at Granite Falls (Yellow Medicine County) on October 3rd and just 16°F at Brimson (St Louis County) on October 24.Rainfall for October was below normal across nearly all of Minnesota, except the northwestern counties. Climate stations in Roseau, Hallock, Warroad, Thorhult, and Karlstad reported over 4 inches of rain, and a few new record daily rainfall amounts were reported. Among these were 1.02 inches at Hallock on October 5th, 1.67 inches at Winona Dam on October 6th, 1.74 inches at Thorhult on October 12th, and 1.49 inches at International Falls on October 16th.
Most other areas reported less between 1 and 2 inches of rain, and several southern and southwestern Minnesota climate stations reported less than 1 inch. Both Granite Falls with 0.33 inches and Mankato with 0.19 inches, reported their 4th driest October in history.
A number of northern Minnesota climate stations reported a trace of snow for the month, with the only measurable amount near International Falls on the 23rd with 0.1 inches.
Winds were mostly stronger than normal during the month. Several climate stations reported daily wind gusts of 30 mph or greater on a third to half of all days. Several stations reported wind gusts of over 50 mph on at least one day.
Overall, the month of October was favorable for Minnesota farmers to harvest their crops, with several excellent field working days. Areas of north-central Minnesota showed Moderate Drought, representing about 22 percent of the state landscape.
Speaking of wind, I will be speaking about the meteorological attributes of the Edmund Fitzgerald Storm at a public presentation on November 12th at noon at the Landmark Center in St Paul for those who are interested. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the sinking of that vessel in a violent storm on November 10 of 1975.
Weekly Weather Potpourri:
The biggest weather news of the week was Hurricane Melissa, which caused devastation across the Caribbean Sea, especially in Jamaica, Dominican Republic Haiti, and eastern Cuba. It produced winds up to 185 mph and sea waves up to 50 feet. The storm also dumped 15 to 30 inches of rainfall. Death and damages are still being reported in the aftermath of the storm. More details can be found at the Weather Channel web site.Speaking of Melissa, the BBC Weather Center featured an interesting article about how the remnant low pressure storm center from the hurricane may cross east across the Atlantic Ocean, but will likely weaken and partially dissipate south of Greenland before reaching the United Kingdom on Monday of next week. As such, the storm may bring some significant rains and breezy conditions to parts of the U.K. but nothing of a threatening nature.
9 News in Australia featured a report this week about the outrage associated with changes to the Bureau of Meteorology web site that confused and misguided users during a recent severe hail- storm. The Chief of the Bureau made a public appearance to apologize and said the flaws in the web site would be fixed. Speculation was that the Bureau should have done more user testing before releasing the new web site.
This week’s AGU-EOS Bulletin features an interesting article about the scarcity of weather observations on the African continent. This has hampered analysis of the changing climate in Africa and also been a restriction on forecasting the weather for African countries. The World Meteorological Organization has initiated an effort to improve the network of climate observing stations on the continent. Thanks to this effort and the cooperation of other participating agencies climate data will become more available from Africa over the coming years.
MPR listener question:
Can you tell us what have been the coldest Wind Chill conditions for Halloween in the Twin Cities? We always think about warm costumes for our children.Answer:
Well, the mean high and low temperatures for Halloween in the Twin Cities are 50°F and 35°F, respectively. The all-time high and low temperatures are 83°F (1950) and 15° F (1878). The climate data show that precipitation occurs about one third of the time, while measurable snow is quite rare, having occurred only eight times since 1875, with the most memorable occurrence 8.2 inches in 1991. It snowed 0.2 inches in the Twin Cities last Halloween (2024).
It is somewhat surprising that the climate history for Halloween in the Twin Cities shows a relatively high frequency of Wind Chill conditions of just 15°F or colder, rather nippy to be out "trick or treating” even if your child is wearing a warm costume. Since 1891, there have been 24 times (18 percent frequency) when the Wind Chill Index fell below 15 F, most recently just 13 F for Halloween in 2006. From a Wind Chill standpoint, the coldest historical Halloweens have been....
1905 -8 degrees F 1935 -6 degrees F
1912 2 degrees F 1934 2 degrees F
1954 3 degrees F 1926 4 degrees F
1919 5 degrees F 1930 6 degrees F
1966 9 degrees F 1991 9 degrees F
It goes without saying that these values are not conducive to the ballerina or surfer costume ideas, but perhaps more compatible for astronauts, deep sea divers, or large furry animals!
Twin Cities Almanac for October 31st:
The average MSP high temperature for this date is 50 degrees F (plus or minus 11 degrees F standard deviation), while the average low is 35 degrees F (plus or minus 8 degrees F standard deviation).
MSP Local Records for October 31st:
MSP records for this date: highest daily maximum temperature of 83 degrees F in 1950; lowest daily maximum temperature of 26 degrees F in 1873; lowest daily minimum temperature of 15 degrees F in 1878; highest daily minimum temperature of 57 degrees F in 1933; and record precipitation of 1.26 inches in 2024. Record snowfall for this date is 8.2 inches in 1991.
Average dew point for October 31st is 34°F; the maximum dew point on this date is 60°F in 1974 and the minimum dew point on this date is 4 degrees F in 1996.
All-time state records for October 31st:
The state record high temperature for this date is 86 degrees F at Worthington (Nobles County) in 1950. The state record low temperature for this date is -4 degrees F at Hallock (Kittson County) in 1913. The state record precipitation for this date is 4.12 inches at Luverne (Rock County) in 1979. A record 8.5 inches of snow fell at New Hope Park (Hennepin County) on this date in 1991.
Past Weather:
By far the warmest Halloween across the state was in 1950 when many places set new record high daily temperatures. Most areas of the state reported afternoon high temperatures in the 70s F, but across southern and western Minnesota over 20 counties reported 80°F or higher. In contrast, the high temperature at Grand Marais harbor was only 43°F.
The very next year, Halloween of 1951, was one of the coldest in state history. Temperatures were in the single digits in northern Minnesota communities, and teens and twenties elsewhere. The high temperature at Duluth only reached 25°F that day as there was 5 inches of snow on the ground.
A large, slow-moving storm brought a mixture of rain, sleet, and snow to Minnesota over October 30 to November 1st of 1979. This storm contained some embedded thunderstorms that brought heavy rainfall to southwestern Minnesota, with over 4 inches reported at Marshall, Tracy, and Luverne. Lake Wison reported almost 6 inches. In northwestern areas of the state communities reported 2 to 6 inches of snow. The storm disrupted what was a very late harvesting season for Minnesota farmers, who were still harvesting corn and sugar beets.
October 31 of 1991 marked the beginning of the famous Halloween Blizzard in Minnesota. This storm carried on until November 2nd, bringing high winds and very heavy snowfall amounts, especially to eastern sections of the state, where 20 to 30 inches of snow fell. This storm marked the beginning of one of the state’s snowiest Novembers. Many eastern Minnesota observers reported over 40 inches of snowfall that month, while Bruno (Pine County) reported 58.6 inches.
Outlook:
Mostly cloudy and cooler than normal temperatures for Saturday. It will warm up to above normal temperatures for Sunday through Wednesday. Slight chances for showers Sunday night in the north. It will be mostly a dry week, and temperatures will mostly remain warmer than normal.
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