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FROM: Bob Weisman, Earth Sciences St. Cloud State
University
DATE: 1 May 2001 SUBJECT: Is the ark done yet? Record April Rainfall in Saint Cloud
St. Cloud April 2001 Weather Summary
Saint Cloud made up for two consecutive dry growing seasons by enduring the rainiest April in the 109 years of Saint Cloud records. According to the statistics at the Saint Cloud Airport, there were 8.42 inches of rainfall in April, nearly three-and-a-half times the normal rainfall and exceeding the previous record of 8.31 inches set in April 1928. April 2001 was the rainiest month in Saint Cloud since June 1990 when 10.52 inches fell. April 2001 also ranks as the 15th rainiest month on record in Saint Cloud. Believe or not, the Saint Cloud State University rain gauge was even more active in April, recording 8.81 inches of rainfall in April. More than half of the rain fell during a series
of three consecutive storms on April 19 through 23. The rainfall for this
period totaled 4.89 inches, including 3.52 inches during April 22. On that
Sunday, Saint Cloud set a record for daily rainfall in April by more than
an inch. In addition, this was the first daily rainfall exceeding 3 inches
ever recorded outside of the months of June through September. April 22
also marked the heaviest daily rainfall total since September 8, 1985.
Of course, the April 22 rainfall set a daily record, the third April day
of 2001 to see a new rainfall record set, and ranked as the 8th heaviest
daily rainfall in Saint Cloud history (see details on records below).
The combination of the heavy rains and the
unusually high snowpack, which rapidly completed its melting during the
first heavy rain period of April 5-7, led to major river flooding on the
Sauk and Mississippi Rivers, especially in the Little Rock Lake area. The
further rainfall over saturated ground led to overland flooding of many
areas in central Minnesota.
Temperatures for April 2001 averaged a degree
warmer than normal in Saint Cloud. The month began very chilly with near
record lows on the first and second and nearly a record cold high on the
16th. However, this was balanced by a warm spell during the last week,
including a new record mild low and a record high average temperature tied
on the 29th. Overall, the daily range of temperature (the difference between
the average high and the average low) was three degrees below normal, a
characteristic which would be expected during an extremely rainy month
when there is a lot of clouds and lingering moisture on the ground.
Only a trace of snow was recorded in April
2001. Assuming no May snowfall, although snow has been reported on occasion
in Saint Cloud during May, Saint Cloud will finish the cold season with
56.6 inches of snow, 11 inches higher than normal.
MONTHLY STATISTICS APR 2001 NORMAL TEMPERATURE (oF)
Average high temp
54.5
55.0
Average low temp
34.4
32.0
Overall average
44.5
43.5
Warmest high temperature
84 on the 29th
Coolest high temperature
34 on the 16th
Mildest low temperature
60 on the 29th (broke daily record; see below)
Coldest low temperature
25 on the 18th
Records set: Daily record warm low:
60 on the 29th (old record: 59 in 1934)
Daily record warm mean:
72 on the 29th (tied old record set in 1934)
PRECIPITATION
Total melted precip (in)
8.42**
2.36
Most in 24 hours
3.52 on the 22nd (set records; see below)
**Most ever in April; 15th rainiest month in Saint
Cloud reporting history
Records set:
Highest daily rainfall total in April:
3.52 on the 22nd (old record: 2.47 on April 26, 1984)
Record daily rainfall:
1.10 on the 7th (old record: 0.68 in 1919)
1.30 on the 13th (old record: 0.70 in 1896)
3.52 on the 22nd (old record: 1.08 in 1985)
SNOWFALL (in) Trace Trace Most in 24 hours
Trace on the 16th
Seasonal snowfall (Oct-Apr)
56.6
45.6
ST. CLOUD PRECIP--APRIL (109 YEARS; AVG = 2.24 IN; SDEV = 1.44 IN) WETTEST DRIEST ** 8.42 IN 2001 ** 0.05 IN 1987 6.31 IN 1896
0.08 IN 1926
5.74 IN 1893
0.21 IN 1907
5.55 IN 1986
0.25 IN 1934
5.31 IN 1954
0.32 IN 1898
4.93 IN 1894
0.34 IN 1959
4.68 IN 1991
0.46 IN 1933
4.51 IN 1968
0.48 IN 1980
4.40 IN 1947
0.59 IN 1930
4.16 IN 1984
0.67 IN 1996
HEAVIEST DAILY RAINFALL TOTALS IN SAINT CLOUD HISTORY AMOUNT (in) DATE 4.80 2 July 1903
4.57 3 August 1956
4.50 6 July 1897
4.12 19 August 1935
3.90 24 August 1895
3.62 8 September 1985
3.59 27 August 1960
3.52 22 April 2001
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