FROM: Bob Weisman

Earth Sciences, St. Cloud State University

Despite the wintry weather of the past week, November 2001 will easily go down as the warmest November in the 121 years of Saint Cloud temperature records. The average temperature of 41.8 degrees was more than 12 degrees above normal for November and more than 2 degrees warmer than the previous warmest November in 1899. Even more amazing was that it took the last week of the month to make it relatively close. Through November 21, the average temperature was 45.9 degrees, more than 16 degrees above normal.

The warm weather produced two days which tied record highs (the 6th and the 15th) and three days which broke or tied records for the warmest daily average temperature. There were more days with a high of above 60 degrees (10) than the normal number of days with a high of freezing or colder (9). The normal number of 60-degree days in November is zero.

The extremely warm November dragged the overall fall (1 Sept-30 Nov) temperature up to 48.6 degrees, more than 3 degrees above normal, and warm enough to tie the fall of 1998 as the 9th warmest fall in Saint Cloud history. The last fall that was warmer happened in 1963, the all-time warmest fall in the 121 years of St. Cloud temperature records.

For the first time since May of this year, precipitation during November 2001 was above normal in Saint Cloud. In fact, thanks to the two major storms in three days during the last week of the month, the total liquid precipitation in Saint Cloud was 2.83 inches, more than an inch and a half above normal and ranking as the 10th wettest November in the 107 years of Saint Cloud precipitation records. However, it has been wetter twice in the past 5 years: in November 1996 which ranks as the third wettest November and November 2000 which ranks as the 8th wettest. The rain storm on Saturday, November 24 produced 1.07 inches, breaking the daily precipitation record, and the snowfall of Monday, November 26, broke the daily record for melted precipitation with 0.69 inches.

Two snowstorms hit Saint Cloud during the last 5 days of November 2001, producing a total of 11.8 inches of snow, 5 inches above normal for the month. This is the highest November total snowfall since November 1996 when 13.4 inches fell. The biggest storm, on November 26-27, dropped 29.1 inches in Willmar, 13 inches on Saint Cloud State University and 10.9 inches of snow at the official snow observing site for Saint Cloud: Selke Field. This snowfall included 9.2 inches ending at 6 AM on the 27th, which set a new daily record for snowfall on the 26th. This storm produced the highest single storm snowfall in Saint Cloud since January 4-5, 1997, when 11.6 inches of fell. Still, this November didn’t even come close to November 1940, the snowiest November on record when 26.9 inches fell during the month. November 1940 included the Armistice Day blizzard on the 11th when 15.5 inches of snow fell in Saint Cloud. Forty-nine Minnesotans died in that blizzard, most of them duck hunters who were caught in the woods unprepared.

The wet and white November allowed Fall 2001 in Saint Cloud to come within half an inch of the normal amount of precipitation. Also, the late November snows produced a fall total of 12.3 inches, also 5 inches above normal.

SUMMARY FOR NOVEMBER 2001               NOV 2001        NORMAL
TEMPERATURE
Average high temperature ( F)            51.8            39.0
Average low temperature ( F)             31.7            20.3
Average temperature ( F)                 41.8*           29.7
Number of days with high of 60 or more   10               0.0
Number of days with high of 32 or less    4               9.3
Warmest high for this month ( F)         71 on the 5th
Coolest high for this month ( F)         29 on the 28th
Mildest low for this month ( F)          45 on the 1st
Coldest low for this month ( F)          20 on the 20th
*Warmest November in Saint Cloud history

Daily record temperatures:
Record highs:                            70 on the 6th (tied record set in 1916)
                                         65 on the 15th (tied record 
                                                         set in 1939)
Record mean temperature:                 55 on the 5th (old record: 53 in 1975)
                                         49 on the 12th (old record: 48 in 1973)
                                         54 on the 17th (tied record 
                                                         set in 1953)
                                         
PRECIPITATION (in)
November                                  2.83%            1.27
Greatest in 24 hours (Nov 2001)           1.07 on the 24th*
*Set record (see below)
%10th wettest in Saint Cloud history
Daily record precipitation:               1.07 on the 24th (old record: 0.40 in
                                                            1929)
                                          0.69 on the 26th (old record: 0.63 in
                                                            1965)

SNOWFALL (in)
November                                  11.8             6.8
Greatest in 24 hours                       9.2 on the 26th (broke record;
                                                            see below)
Season (2001-2002)                        12.3             7.3
Daily record snowfall:                     9.2 inches on the 26th
                                                (old record: 4.1 inches in 1965)

SUMMARY FOR FALL (SEPT-NOV) 2001         FALL 2001       NORMAL
Average High Temperature (F)              59.5            55.2
Average Low Temperature (F)               37.7            33.4
Average Temperature (F)                   48.6**          45.2
Liquid precipitation (in)                 5.88            6.29
Snowfall (in)                             12.3             7.3
**9th warmest on record (see below)
 

     ST. CLOUD TEMPS--NOVEMBER  (121 YEARS; AVG = 30.0 F; SDEV =  4.6 F)

        WARMEST                          COLDEST

     41.8 F  2001 ßWarmest in St.    18.7 F  1896
     39.5 F  1899   Cloud history     20.9 F  1911
     39.0 F  1904                     21.1 F  1985
     38.6 F  1913                     22.0 F  1955
     37.4 F  1999                     22.2 F  1991
     36.6 F  1939                     22.3 F  1959
     36.5 F  1908                     22.5 F  1951
     36.3 F  1963                     22.5 F  1996
     36.2 F  1934                     23.2 F  1976
     36.1 F  1917                     23.8 F  1926



     ST. CLOUD TEMPS--FALL      (121 YEARS; AVG = 45.2 F; SDEV =  2.5 F)

        WARMEST                          COLDEST

     51.3 F  1963                     38.0 F  1896
     51.2 F  1931                     40.3 F  1985
     50.2 F  1908                     40.4 F  1976
     50.2 F  1914                     40.6 F  1887
     49.6 F  1922                     40.7 F  1951
     49.4 F  1900                     40.7 F  1993
     49.3 F  1953                     40.8 F  1959
     48.8 F  1899                     40.8 F  1991
     48.6 F  2001 ß 9th warmest      40.9 F  1926
     48.6 F  1998    on record (tie)  41.5 F  1911

     ST. CLOUD PRECIP--NOVEMBER  (107 YEARS; AVG =  1.29 IN; SDEV =  0.98 IN)

         WETTEST                           DRIEST

      4.16 IN  1922                     TRACE     1916
      4.02 IN  1931                     TRACE     1939
      3.83 IN  1996                      0.01 IN  1912
      3.74 IN  1977                      0.01 IN  1941
      3.24 IN  1975                      0.05 IN  1917
      3.14 IN  1940                      0.08 IN  1904
      3.11 IN  1983                      0.14 IN  1967
      3.09 IN  2000                      0.14 IN  1976
      2.99 IN  1918                      0.16 IN  1942
      2.83 IN  2001 ß10th wettest       0.17 IN  1984
                      on record

 

     ST. CLOUD SNOWFALL--NOVEMBER  ( 99 YEARS; AVG =   6.3 IN; SDEV =   6.3 IN)

             SNOWIEST                           DRIEST

      26.9 IN  1940-1941                  0.0 IN  1981-1982
      25.0 IN  1947-1948                   TRACE  1899-1900
      25.0 IN  1983-1984                   TRACE  1901-1902
      21.3 IN  1991-1992                   TRACE  1904-1905
      20.3 IN  1911-1912                   TRACE  1907-1908
      18.3 IN  1985-1986                   TRACE  1913-1914
      18.2 IN  1988-1989                   TRACE  1916-1917
      17.1 IN  1975-1976                   TRACE  1918-1919
      16.9 IN  1982-1983                   TRACE  1922-1923
      15.0 IN  1927-1928                   TRACE  1928-1929
                                           TRACE  1939-1940
                                           TRACE  1941-1942

      11.8 IN  2001-2002

 

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