TO: University Communications
FROM: Bob Weisman, Earth Sciences
DATE: 1 March 2001
2001 February and 2000-2001 Winter St. Cloud Weather Summary
After a prolonged January thaw, the Yukon Express resumed over Saint
Cloud. The February 2001 average temperature at the Saint Cloud Airport only reached 6.3 degrees, eight degrees below
normal. This made February 2001 the 14th coldest February of the 120 years on record and the coldest February since 1989.
Three more mornings had lows of –20 or colder, bringing the cold season total to 5 days, the total of the previous three
winters combined.
The extreme cold also provided plenty of snow, although the big blow on
February 23-25 was the result of a milder weather pattern. During February 2001,
Saint Cloud picked up 17.8 inches of snow, more than 10 inches above normal.
The large snowfall made February 2001 the eighth snowiest February of the 102 years on record and the snowiest February
since 1971 (the snowiest February
of all time with 21.6 inches). Three daily snowfall records were broken, including back-to-back days during the storm of
the 23-25.
The melted precipitation at Saint Cloud Airport totaled 1.46 inches,
more than .8 inches above normal. Thus, February 2001 ranked as the ninth wettest February of the 110 years on record. This
was the wettest February since 1971. Again, the storm of February 23-25 played a huge role, accounting for 0.99 inch, more
than 2/3 of the total precipitation. The increasing moisture of the snowpack, in general, is of some concern for flooding
consequences, depending on the speed of the spring meltdown.
The combination of a severely cold December, a mild January, and another cold month in February produced a winter
season (Dec. 1-Feb. 28) which was cold and snowy. The average winter 2000-2001 temperature was 8.9 degrees, more than 3
degrees below normal, and ranking as the 12th coldest winter of the 119 years on record. The last winter that was colder
was 20 years ago. The melted precipitation of 2.97 inches ranks as the 17th highest winter total. Similar precipitation
totals have been responsible for the flooding threat this spring. Also, the winter snowfall of 39.4 inches is about 50%
above normal for the season. Our total cold season snowfall has now hit 50.0 inches, almost 17 inches above normal and
March, April, and May are yet to come. It’s hard to believe that the persistent snow cover was gone by this time last year.
===========================================================================
FEBRUARY 2001 STATISTICS FEB 2001 NORMAL
TEMPERATURE
Average High 17.6 24.8
Average Low -5.1 3.8
Average Temp 6.3 14.3
Warmest high temperature 32 on the 24th
Coldest high temperature 1 on the 2nd
Mildest low temperature 18 on the 8th
Coldest low temperature -24 on the 21st
MELTED PRECIP (in) 1.46+ 0.63
Most in 24 hours 0.66 on the 25th
+9th highest total on record (see below)
SNOWFALL (in) 17.8* 7.0
Most in 24 hours 5.8 on the 25th (record daily snowfall;
See below)
Seasonal Snowfall (Oct-Feb) 50.0 33.3
*8th highest snowfall on record; most since 1971
Daily record snowfall: 1.9 in on the 12th (old record: 1.0 in 1994)
4.5 in on the 24th (old record: 4.5 in 1962)
5.8 in on the 25th (old record: 2.3 in 1994)
WINTER STATISTICS WINTER 2000-2001 NORMAL
Average High Temp 18.2 22.1
Average Low Temp -0.4 2.1
Average Temperature 8.9 12.1
Total Melted Precip(in) 2.97 2.20
Snowfall (in) 39.4 26.0
ST. CLOUD SNOWFALL--FEBRUARY (102 YEARS; AVG = 7.1 IN; SDEV = 5.5 IN)
SNOWIEST DRIEST
21.6 IN 1970-1971 0.0 IN 1920-1921
21.5 IN 1908-1909 TRACE 1900-1901
20.6 IN 1921-1922 TRACE 1901-1902
20.0 IN 1961-1962 0.5 IN 1963-1964
19.9 IN 1918-1919 0.5 IN 1998-1999
19.5 IN 1938-1939 0.6 IN 1997-1998
18.8 IN 1936-1937 1.0 IN 1911-1912
17.8 IN 2000-2001 ß8th snowiest 1.0 IN 1959-1960
16.5 IN 1952-1953 on record; 1.2 IN 1905-1906
15.9 IN 1990-1991 snowiest in 1.5 IN 1986-1987
30 yrs
ST. CLOUD PRECIP--FEBRUARY (110 YEARS; AVG = 0.69 IN; SDEV = 0.56 IN)
WETTEST DRIEST
2.94 IN 1922 0.00 IN 1894
2.76 IN 1951 0.00 IN 1921
2.22 IN 1919 TRACE 1901
1.78 IN 1898 TRACE 1902
1.67 IN 1979 0.04 IN 1964
1.61 IN 1953 0.05 IN 1934
1.58 IN 1955 0.07 IN 1999
1.53 IN 1971 0.09 IN 1960
1.46 IN 2001 ß 9th wettest on 0.10 IN 1912
1.42 IN 1948 record; wettest 0.12 IN 1987
in 30 years
ST. CLOUD SNOWFALL(IN)
OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY TOTAL
1999-2000 0.0 1.1 4.5 10.8 8.4 T 3.3 0.0 28.1
2000-2001 0.0 10.6 16.2 5.4 17.8 50.0
NORMAL 0.5 6.8 8.9 10.1 7.0 9.8 2.3 0.1 45.5
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