SUBJECT: Warm August makes the Summer of 1998 Incredibly.....Normal St. Cloud August 1998 and summer 1998 weather summaries August 1998 in Saint Cloud was a warm month. The average temperature of 69.2 degrees was about two degrees above normal. However, extreme temperatures were hard to come by. Not only did August pass without any records, but also there wasn't a single day with a high of 90 degrees or better. The total number of 90 degree days for this warm season was 5, with 3 of those occurring in May. Even though the warmth of this month set no records, it was unusual in recent years. Only 4 years since 1976 have had a warmer average August temperature (1983, 1984, 1988, 1995). In contrast, eight of the ten warmest Augusts were set in 1947 or earlier. Only 1983 (avg temp of 73.4) in the past 20 years ranks in the top ten (4th). Because of this, the "normal" monthly temperature for August, which reflects temperatures during 1961-1990, is 67.1 degrees while the average August temperatures during the entire 119 years of St. Cloud records is 68.1 degrees. So, global warming is not being felt in Saint Cloud during August. Rainfall in Saint Cloud was slightly below normal, but that would be misleading for Central Minnesota as a whole. On the 7th, the airport received 1.15 inches of rain, but the rain gauge at SCSU picked up 1.54 inches. Also, the heavy rainfall of the 22nd and 23rd only recorded .98 inch at the airport, but 1.85 inches at SCSU. And, the heaviest rainfall during that storm in the Saint Cloud Metro was in Sauk Rapids, missing both the airport and the University. So, the SCSU rainfall total for August was 4.82 inches, more than an inch higher than at the airport, with a strong possibility that other points around the area could have picked up even more rain. The warm conditions in August cancelled out June's cool readings to produce average temperatures within a degree of normal for the summer. This is an incredible result considering the severity of the heat in the Central and Southern Plains, which at times, pushed into Minnesota. It is also a fairly incredible result considering the amount of hot air being released about the potential effects of the dying El Nino, ignoring that summer weather is not as closely tied to the hemispheric wind pattern as the rest of the year. With the relatively modest cooling of tropical Pacific waters, perhaps the hype of the upcoming La Nina may fall into the same category. Or, we may realize that those long range forecasts are not usually worth the paper they are printed on. AUGUST STATISTICS AUG 1998 NORMAL TEMPERATURE ( F) Average high temp 81.0 79.4 Average low temp 57.3 54.8 Average temp 69.2 67.1 Warmest high for the month 89 on the 9th Coolest high for the month 72 on the 18th Warmest low for the month 69 on the 19th Coolest low for the month 47 on the 30th Records: PRECIPITATION (IN) Total for month 3.59 3.96 Maximum daily amount 1.16 on the 19th SUMMER STATISTICS SUMMER 1998 NORMAL Avg high temperature ( F) 78.8 79.8 Avg low temperature ( F) 56.1 54.9 Average temperature ( F) 67.5 68.2 Total Precipitation (in) 11.25 11.44 ============================================================================= Bob Weisman, Meteorology Professor SUPERVISOR: Shirley (age 6) Earth Sciences Department PHONE: (320) 255-3247 MS 48 FAX: (320) 255-4262 Saint Cloud State University EMAIL: scsweisman@tigger. 720 4th Avenue South stcloudstate.edu Saint Cloud, Minnesota 56301-4498 =============================================================================
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