FROM: Bob Weisman

Earth Sciences, St. Cloud State University

March in Saint Cloud was the first real winter month. The average temperature of 18.6 degrees at the Saint Cloud Municipal Airport was nearly 10 degrees colder than normal. This made March 2002 the 8th coldest March in the 121 years of Saint Cloud records and the coldest March since 1965. The average high of 28.0 degrees and the average low of 9.2 degrees would be more typical of February 20 or 21 than of March. The high temperature on March 3 only reached 3 degrees, breaking the daily record by 7 degrees and making March 3, 2002, the 4th coldest March daily high temperature ever. There were also 6 days with a below zero low during March 2002. The normal number of below zero days in March is 3.5.

What made this March different from the earlier months? We had cold spells at the end of every month since November that persisted into the early portion of the following month. The key difference was having a snow cover and adding to it. When the early March arctic air finally receded, we got another 3.5 inches in new snow cover on the 8th and 9th. Then, when that snow finally melted, we got walloped by the March 14 storm. This storm produced 10.4 inches at Selke Field and 15-20 inches elsewhere in central Minnesota.

The March snowfall, thanks to these storms, totaled 19.8 inches, more than 10 inches above normal. This made March 2002 the 5th snowiest March in the 102 years of Saint Cloud snowfall records. It was the snowiest March since 1985. However, those 4 Marches that rank ahead of March 2002 had incredible snowfalls, topped by March 1965, the snowiest month in Saint Cloud history with 51.7 inches. March 2002 was also the snowiest month in Saint Cloud since January 1996 (21.9 inches).

The heavy March snowfall brings the seasonal snowfall total to 48.7 inches, more than 5.5 inches above normal through March. We are now above the average cold season snowfall of 45.5 inches, despite the mild winter.

While the Twin Cities didn’t make it, March 2002 was also the coldest month of this winter. It was colder than January (which had temperatures typical of March) by more than 2 degrees. This is the first time in the 120 winters in Saint Cloud records that March has been the coldest month of the cold season. January has been the coldest month 78 times (65.0%), February was the coldest month 26 times (21.7%), and December was the coldest month 16 times (13.3%).

The melted precipitation was officially 1.51 inches. However, there was a problem with that total. The sleet and freezing rain during the storms of March 5-6 and March 8-9 were not included in the total melted precipitation. The SCSU accumulated precipitation during those two storms were .85 inch while the official reading recorded only .36 inches. So, perhaps half an inch of melted precipitation was lost during these storms.

However, even when Saint Cloud records are cold this year, they are not that cold. The 6 below zero days in March brings the seasonal total to only 12 days. That is still 4 fewer days with below zero temperatures than any previous cold season. So, we have an excellent chance to break the 1997-1998 record for the fewest cold season below zero days. While March 2002 has been the coldest month of the winter, this would be only the second cold season in which our coldest temperature had an average temperature above 18 degrees. The mildest minimum reading was the winter of 1930-31 when December 1930, the coldest month of that winter, had an average temperature of 19.4 degrees.

Also, the coldest low temperature for this season so far has been -9 degrees, set on January 18 and tied on March 1st and 3rd. Before this winter, the mildest winter season daily low temperature was also during the winter of 1930-31 when the lowest temperature was -13, set on November 30 and December 1. So, we have never had a winter without at least one low of -10 or colder. The odds are good that we will do it this winter

Finally, the five-month average temperature (November 1 through March 31) for this cold season is 26.1 degrees. That is the second warmest November through March average temperature. The warmest? Just two years ago during the non-winter of 1999-2000 when the average temperature was 26.2 degrees. Note also that all four of the mild winters we’ve had during the past five years are in the top 10. So, even when we are cold, we are not that cold.

===========================================================================
MARCH 2002 STATISTICS           MAR 2002        NORMAL
TEMPERATURE (oF)
Average High                     28.0           37.6
Average Low                       9.2           19.1
Average Temp                     18.6*          28.4
Warmest high temperature          47 on the 27th
Coldest high temperature           3 on the 3rd (broke record-see below)
Mildest low temperature           33 on the 28th
Coldest low temperature           -9 on the 1st and 3rd
Daily Record Temperatures
Daily cold high:                   3 on the 3rd (old record: 10 in 1916)
Daily cold average:               -3 on the 3rd (old record: 1 in 1916)
*8th coldest March; coldest March since 1965 (see table below)


MELTED PRECIP (in)               1.51            1.50
Most in 24 hours                 0.79 on the 14th 

SNOWFALL (in)                    19.8**           9.8
Most in 24 hours                 10.4 on the 14th (broke record-see below)
Daily record snowfall:           10.4 on the 14th (old record: 7.4 inches
                                                  in 1957)
Seasonal Snowfall (Oct-Mar)      48.7            43.1
**5th snowiest March on record; snowiest March since 1985

		 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  6.6             56.6
2001-2002  0.5 11.8  2.8  3.5 10.3 19.8             48.7
NORMAL     0.5  6.8  8.9 10.1  7.0  9.8  2.3  0.1   45.5

     ST. CLOUD TEMPS--MARCH     (122 YEARS; AVG = 27.1 F; SDEV =  5.5 F)

        WARMEST                          COLDEST

     43.0 F  1910                     14.9 F  1899
     37.8 F  1918                     15.0 F  1888
     37.5 F  2000                     15.7 F  1965
     37.3 F  1973                     17.6 F  1960
     36.7 F  1946                     18.1 F  1951
     36.3 F  1902                     18.4 F  1943
     36.0 F  1911                     18.5 F  1923
     36.0 F  1968                     18.6 F  2002 ß 8TH COLDEST
     35.7 F  1987                     18.8 F  1975
     35.5 F  1981                     19.0 F  1940



     ST. CLOUD SNOWFALL--MARCH     (103 YEARS; AVG =   8.3 IN; SDEV =   7.5 IN)

             SNOWIEST                           DRIEST

      51.7 IN  1964-1965                  0.0 IN  1924-1925
      36.0 IN  1916-1917                   TRACE  1901-1902
      28.1 IN  1950-1951                   TRACE  1902-1903
      22.8 IN  1984-1985                   TRACE  1909-1910
      19.8 IN  2001-2002 5TH SNOWIEST      TRACE  1980-1981
      19.4 IN  1974-1975                   TRACE  1999-2000
      17.7 IN  1907-1908                  0.1 IN  1967-1968
      16.1 IN  1994-1995                  0.2 IN  1920-1921
      15.7 IN  1951-1952                  0.3 IN  1972-1973
      15.5 IN  1919-1920                  0.4 IN  1908-1909
HIGHEST AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR COLDEST MONTH OF THE WINTER (121 YEARS)


		19.4 DEGREES	DEC 1930 (1930-1931)
		18.6 DEGREES	MAR 2002 (2001-2002) - 2ND WARMEST
		17.8 DEGREES	JAN 1987 (1986-1987)
		17.0 DEGREES	DEC 1989 (1989-1990)
		16.8 DEGREES	FEB 1942 (1941-1942)

     ST. CLOUD TEMPS--FEWEST LOW TEMPERATURES OF 0 DEG OR LOWER
       
			COLD SEASON (NORMAL = 43 days)

              12  2001-2002  Through March 31
              16  1997-1998 
              17  1986-1987     
              22  1918-1919
              22  1941-1942
              29  1908-1909
              29  1990-1991
              29  1998-1999
              30  1931-1932
              30  1982-1983
              31  1937-1938
              31  1943-1944
              31  1957-1958

WARMEST NOVEMBER THROUGH MARCH AVERAGE TEMPERATURES (121 YEARS ON RECORD)

		26.2 DEGREES	1999-2000
		26.1 DEGREES	2001-2002 - 2ND WARMEST ON RECORD
		25.9 DEGREES	1930-1931
		25.6 DEGREES	1881-1882
		25.6 DEGREES	1986-1987
		25.0 DEGREES	1997-1998
		24.6 DEGREES	1918-1919
		24.6 DEGREES	1919-1920
		24.6 DEGREES	1941-1942
		24.4 DEGREES	1980-1981
		24.3 DEGREES	1913-1914
		24.0 DEGREES	1998-1999
		

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