Minnesota WeatherTalk

Welcome Rains: Since last Friday (September 11) many climate observers have reported significant rainfall. In fact, over 150 climate stations have reported receiving between 1.50 inches and 2.50 inches of rain. Portions of Wadena and Fillmore Counties reported over 3 inches of rain over the past week. There were even a couple of reports of daily record rainfall. Hokah (Houston County) reported a record 2.05 inches on September 15th, while Delano (Wright County) a record 1.70 inches on September 17th. Rainfall totals through the first 17 days of the month now exceed 3 inches in 20 Minnesota counties. Of further note, Friday will bring chances for significant rainfall across a wide area of the southern half of the state, and for the balance of the month, there will be more frequent chances for rainfall during the last week of the month. Drought conditions across the state remain a concern with 38 percent of the state in Moderate Drought, 29 percent in Severe Drought (a drop of 13 p...

  Warm Start to September Coming to an End: Through the first 10 days of the month, temperatures have been averaging from 5°F to 10°F above normal in most areas of Minnesota. In fact, temperatures of 90°F or higher have been reported in 33 counties. Within the state climate stations network there have been 9 reports of new daily record high temperatures, including 94°F a Theilman (Wabasha County) on the 5th, and 15 reports of record warm overnight temperatures, including 72°F at Pipestone on the 6th. The warmer than normal temperature pattern will end this weekend and a period of cooler than normal temperatures will begin. Starting on Saturday and running through most of next week much cooler air will blanket the state, bringing overnight low temperatures in the 40s F and 50s F, even some upper 30s F in northern counties. Though cooler, these temperatures are no where near record lows for this time of year. Some fairly widespread rain over the past week was very welcome across...

Warm Start to September: The month of September has clearly started warm, with daily average temperatures at most locations in Minnesota running from 5°F to 9°F above normal. In fact, 11 counties have already reported at least one daily maximum temperature of 90°F or higher. This should not be unexpected as 11 of the last 15 Septembers (73 percent) have started out warmer than normal during the first week of the month. The NOAA outlook models continue to favor warmer than normal temperatures through at least mid-month. Though rainfall over the first few days of the month has been highly variable across the state, a number of observers in southern counties have reported receiving over 1 inch of rain. Some severe thunderstorms moved across northern parts of the Red River Valley, while other thunderstorms moved across the Minnesota State Fairgrounds on Thursday afternoon dropping the temperature by about 10°F and causing attendees to hurry for cover. In Marshall Polk, and Clay Count...