Due to persistent and often heavy rains, the summer of 2002 ranked among the wettest in Twin Cities history. "Meteorological summer" is defined as the months of June, July and August. Summer rainfall measured at the Twin Cities International Airport totaled 21.79 inches, ranking it 4th wettest in the modern record (1891-present). The ten wettest Twin Cities summers are listed in the table below. The wettest summer of the modern record is 23.52 inches, occuring in 1987. Of this 23.52 inch total, 10.00 inches came from the Twin Cities "Superstorm" of July 23 and 24. Total rainfall for July 1987 was 17.90 inches, the highest monthly total ever recorded in the Twin Cities.

Historical data used for this narrative come from the downtown Minneapolis office of the U.S. Weather Bureau (1891-1938), and the Twin Cities International Airport (1938-present).

Top Ten Wettest Summers for Minneapolis/St. Paul (June, July and August)

Rank   Year    Amount
---------------------
1      1987     23.52 
2      1892     23.32 
3      1997     22.31 
4      2002     21.79 *
5      1914     18.50
6      1993     18.36
7      1900     17.03 
8      1956     16.98  
9      1953     16.66
10     1977     16.60

               2002 Monthly Data
         Total      Normal      Departure 
-----------------------------------------
June     8.30        4.34         +3.96 
July     5.19        4.04         +1.15
August   8.30        4.05         +4.35

values are in inches

Return to Minnesota Climatology Working Group Main page

mcwg@soils.umn.edu
URL: http://climate.umn.edu/doc/journal/wetsummer2002.htm
Last modified: September 8, 2002