Perhaps the Warmest December 14th Ever

The table below is preliminary and probably contains some errors, but I think that it clearly demonstrates that in both magnitude (temperature departure) and areal extent (numbers of individual station records being set), this is perhaps the warmest December 14th ever....

The following table summarizes the 3 pm temperatures from various locations around the state. Nearly all of these temperatures establish a new record high for December 14th. Though the all-time state high temperature for this date of 60 degrees F at Pipestone in 1912 is likely not be be broken, the number of high temperature records being broken today around the state and region probably makes this the warmest December 14th ever on a statewide basis.. Unfortunately, the freezer door to our north which has been closed most of the fall, will open by the end of the week, allowing cold air to spill down over us. It is not out of the question to be approaching 0 degrees F by the weekend. This is disturbing, not only for our own comfort, but for all those plants in the landscape (shrubs, grasses, alfalfa, lilacs, etc) that have broken dormancy or not properly hardened off for winter....

Location       3pm temp     Previous record for Dec 14th
Name             (F)          (value and year)
MSP              54             52 F in 1894
Bemidji          48 (tied)      48 F in 1899
Park Rapids      48             44 F in 1960
Morris           55             48 F in 1894
Montevideo       55             53 F in 1894 and 1912
Willmar          54             49 F in 1960
Redwood Falls    56             49 F in 1960
New Ulm          57             53 F in 1960
Hibbing          50             43 F in 1997
Cook             50             42 F in 1960
St Cloud         53             49 F in 1960
Duluth           49             39 F in 1960 and 1997
Faribault        54             53 F in 1910
Hutchinson       55             50 F in 1960
Winona           55             47 F in 1910 and 1912
Rochester        52             41 F in 1960
Worthington      54             51 F in 1921
Marshall         55             45 F in 1960, 1986, and 1997
Albert Lea       55             50 F in 1910
Crane Lake       52             38 F in 1976
Intl Falls       46             41 F in 1997
La Crosse, WI    55             46 F in 1910 and 1936

Mark Seeley
Professor and Extension Climatologist
Department of Soil, Water, and Climate
University of Minnesota
St Paul, MN  55108

-

- Return to the Climate Journal

mcwg@soils.umn.edu
URL: http://climate.umn.edu/doc/journal/981214.htm
Last modified: December 14, 1998