FROM: Bob Weisman, Earth Sciences DATE: 1 March 1999 SUBJECT: El Nino, La Nina: They all look alike to these statistics Corrected February 1999 and Winter 1998-99 St. Cloud Summary Last year's "excuse" was El Nino, a pool of abnormally warm water in the tropical Pacific. This year's "excuse" was La Nina, a pool of abnormally cold water in the tropical Pacific. But, the net result for Saint Cloud was almost identical: an extraordinarily mild February and an easy winter (December-February) in Saint Cloud. February 1999 was another mild one. Temperatures averaged more than 10.5 degrees above normal, placing it as the 7th warmest in the 119 years on record. This would seem extraordinary, except that we just went through the warmest February of all time in 1998. This certainly makes the past two Februaries the warmest consecutive Februaries on record. February 1999 had only one day of zero degrees or colder (on the 4th), ranking as the third lowest total on record. The only years with fewer are 1987 and last February which had none. Last winter set the record for fewest days with a low of zero or colder with 16. Thus far, the winter of 1998-99 has had only 29 days, tying this winter for 5th fewest number of days during the cold season. Outside of the 11 consecutive days of sub-zero readings in January (longest streak in two years), we would approach last year's incredibly low total of 14 days. The normal number of days with lows of 0 or colder in February is 12 and the normal number for the cold season is 47. February 1999 was also nearly snowless, just like February 1998. Saint Cloud Airport only received 0.5 inch of snow during February 1999, tied for the 4th lowest total on record with 1964. (It should be mentioned that snowfall which was measurable, although less than an inch, elsewhere in St. Cloud on a couple of other days in February, but did not reach a measurable amount at the airport). This was only 0.1 inch less than February 1998. However, we did not even get the rain that we received last year in February, so the total melted precipitation for February 1999 was only 0.07 inch, the 7th driest February on record and the driest since 1964. The statistics for the meteorological winter (Dec 1998-Feb 1999) also show a mild and relatively snowless winter. The mild December (more than 7 degrees above normal), the near normal January, and our mild February resulted in an average winter temperature of 6 degrees above normal. Again, this would seem extraordinary, but for last winter's nearly 11 degrees above normal, the 2nd mildest winter of all time. The 1998-99 seasonal snowfall, fueled mainly by the 18.4 inches in January, is only 25.1 inches, more than 8 inches below normal. So what do all of these numbers really mean to us? We have had two extraordinarily mild winters back-to-back. It means that we have had basically 4 weeks plus two days of colder than normal weather since last September. We haven't had a low temperature colder than -25 since December 26, 1996. We have had only 4 days with a high temperature below zero in the last two winters combined. We haven't had a single day snowfall of more than 3 inches this winter and only two days with more than 4 inches since January 1997. And, we have seen bare ground in February for the second straight year. This doesn't mean that there hasn't been major snowfalls nearby, like the storm which pounded Omaha and Des Moines a week ago or the deep snowpack which has led to warnings of the potential for moderate flooding in the Red River Valley from Grand Forks northward this spring. Still, for central Minnesota, we have gotten off quite easily two winters in a row. =========================================================================== FEBRUARY 1999 STATISTICS FEB 1999 NORMAL TEMPERATURE Average High 33.2 24.8 Average Low 16.8 3.8 Average Temp 25.0+ 14.3 Warmest high temperature 43 on the 8th Coldest high temperature 10 on the 4th Mildest low temperature 32 on the 10th,27th Coldest low temperature -2 on the 4th Record temperatures: NONE +7TH WARMEST ON RECORD (SEE TABLE BELOW) MELTED PRECIP (in) 0.07* 0.63 Most in 24 hours 0.05 on the 1st *6TH LOWEST ON RECORD (SEE TABLE BELOW) SNOWFALL (in) 0.5** 7.0 Most in 24 hours 0.5 on the 24th Seasonal Snowfall (Oct-Feb) 25.1 33.3 **TIED FOR 4TH LOWEST ON RECORD (SEE TABLE BELOW) WINTER STATISTICS WINTER 1998-9 NORMAL Average High Temp 27.6 22.1 Average Low Temp 8.6 2.1 Average Temperature 18.1 12.1 Total Melted Precip(in) 1.80 2.20 Snowfall (in) 21.7 26.0 ST. CLOUD TEMPS--FEBRUARY (119 YEARS; AVG = 13.9 F; SDEV = 6.1 F) WARMEST COLDEST 29.6 F 1998 -4.4 F 1936 28.9 F 1987 3.7 F 1904 27.2 F 1954 4.3 F 1887 27.0 F 1931 4.3 F 1917 26.4 F 1882 4.6 F 1989 25.7 F 1984 4.9 F 1885 25.0 F 1999 <--7TH WARMEST 5.1 F 1979 24.6 F 1992 ON RECORD 5.4 F 1967 24.2 F 1915 5.6 F 1899 23.8 F 1983 5.6 F 1923 ST. CLOUD PRECIP--FEBRUARY (108 YEARS; AVG = 0.68 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 <--7TH DRIEST ON RECORD; 1.53 IN 1971 0.09 IN 1960 DRIEST SINCE 1964 1.42 IN 1948 0.10 IN 1912 1.40 IN 1897 0.12 IN 1987 ST. CLOUD SNOWFALL--FEBRUARY (100 YEARS; AVG = 7.0 IN; SDEV = 5.4 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 <--4TH LOWEST ON 19.5 IN 1938-1939 0.6 IN 1997-1998 RECORD (TIE); 18.8 IN 1936-1937 1.0 IN 1911-1912 LOWEST IN 35 YRS 16.5 IN 1952-1953 1.0 IN 1959-1960 15.9 IN 1990-1991 1.2 IN 1905-1906 15.6 IN 1950-1951 1.5 IN 1986-1987 ST. CLOUD TEMPS--FEWEST LOW TEMPERATURES OF 0 DEG OR LOWER FEBRUARY COLD SEASON 0 1987 16 1997-1998 0 1998 17 1986-1987 1 1999 <--3RD FEWEST ON 22 1918-1919 2 1954 RECORD 22 1941-1942 3 1926 29 1908-1909 3 1935 29 1990-1991 4 1930 29 1998-1999 <-- TIED 5TH LOWEST 4 1938 30 1931-1932 (SO FAR) 4 1984 30 1982-1983 4 1992 31 1937-1938 5 (5 YEARS) 31 1943-1944 31 1957-1958 ============================================================================= Bob Weisman, Meteorology Professor SUPERVISOR: Shirley (age 6 1/2) Earth Sciences Department PHONE: (320) 255-3247 (V) MS 48 (800) 627-3529 (TTY via Saint Cloud State University Minnesota Relay Service) 720 4th Avenue South FAX: (320) 255-4262 Saint Cloud, Minnesota 56301-4498 EMAIL: scsweisman@tigger. stcloudstate.edu (while driving in the car, Shirley is yakking constantly in the back seat) Dad: (starts to say something) Shirley: You have to be quiet, Dad. I'm the teacher. Dad: Let's have a contest to see who can be quiet the longest. Shirley: OK. You and Janet (sitting in front passenger seat) be quiet and the first one to talk loses. Dad: I was thinking that all 3 of us could have a contest. Shirley: OK, we'll start now. No talking! And you two can't kiss. Dad: Why? Shirley: Kissing makes lots of noise. OK, ready, set, go. No talking starting now. No more noise starting now. First one to talk loses.... (goes on for 30 more seconds about not talking) (60 seconds of quiet) Shirley: The contest is over! =============================================================================== FROM: Bob Weisman, Earth Sciences DATE: 1 March 1999 SUBJECT: El Nino, La Nina: They all look alike to these statistics Corrected February 1999 and Winter 1998-99 St. Cloud Summary Last year's "excuse" was El Nino, a pool of abnormally warm water in the tropical Pacific. This year's "excuse" was La Nina, a pool of abnormally cold water in the tropical Pacific. But, the net result for Saint Cloud was almost identical: an extraordinarily mild February and an easy winter (December-February) in Saint Cloud. February 1999 was another mild one. Temperatures averaged more than 10.5 degrees above normal, placing it as the 7th warmest in the 119 years on record. This would seem extraordinary, except that we just went through the warmest February of all time in 1998. This certainly makes the past two Februaries the warmest consecutive Februaries on record. February 1999 had only one day of zero degrees or colder (on the 4th), ranking as the third lowest total on record. The only years with fewer are 1987 and last February which had none. Last winter set the record for fewest days with a low of zero or colder with 16. Thus far, the winter of 1998-99 has had only 29 days, tying this winter for 5th fewest number of days during the cold season. Outside of the 11 consecutive days of sub-zero readings in January (longest streak in two years), we would approach last year's incredibly low total of 14 days. The normal number of days with lows of 0 or colder in February is 12 and the normal number for the cold season is 47. February 1999 was also nearly snowless, just like February 1998. Saint Cloud Airport only received 0.5 inch of snow during February 1999, tied for the 4th lowest total on record with 1964. (It should be mentioned that snowfall which was measurable, although less than an inch, elsewhere in St. Cloud on a couple of other days in February, but did not reach a measurable amount at the airport). This was only 0.1 inch less than February 1998. However, we did not even get the rain that we received last year in February, so the total melted precipitation for February 1999 was only 0.07 inch, the 7th driest February on record and the driest since 1964. The statistics for the meteorological winter (Dec 1998-Feb 1999) also show a mild and relatively snowless winter. The mild December (more than 7 degrees above normal), the near normal January, and our mild February resulted in an average winter temperature of 6 degrees above normal. Again, this would seem extraordinary, but for last winter's nearly 11 degrees above normal, the 2nd mildest winter of all time. The 1998-99 seasonal snowfall, fueled mainly by the 18.4 inches in January, is only 25.1 inches, more than 8 inches below normal. So what do all of these numbers really mean to us? We have had two extraordinarily mild winters back-to-back. It means that we have had basically 4 weeks plus two days of colder than normal weather since last September. We haven't had a low temperature colder than -25 since December 26, 1996. We have had only 4 days with a high temperature below zero in the last two winters combined. We haven't had a single day snowfall of more than 3 inches this winter and only two days with more than 4 inches since January 1997. And, we have seen bare ground in February for the second straight year. This doesn't mean that there hasn't been major snowfalls nearby, like the storm which pounded Omaha and Des Moines a week ago or the deep snowpack which has led to warnings of the potential for moderate flooding in the Red River Valley from Grand Forks northward this spring. Still, for central Minnesota, we have gotten off quite easily two winters in a row. =========================================================================== FEBRUARY 1999 STATISTICS FEB 1999 NORMAL TEMPERATURE Average High 33.2 24.8 Average Low 16.8 3.8 Average Temp 25.0+ 14.3 Warmest high temperature 43 on the 8th Coldest high temperature 10 on the 4th Mildest low temperature 32 on the 10th,27th Coldest low temperature -2 on the 4th Record temperatures: NONE +7TH WARMEST ON RECORD (SEE TABLE BELOW) MELTED PRECIP (in) 0.07* 0.63 Most in 24 hours 0.05 on the 1st *6TH LOWEST ON RECORD (SEE TABLE BELOW) SNOWFALL (in) 0.5** 7.0 Most in 24 hours 0.5 on the 24th Seasonal Snowfall (Oct-Feb) 25.1 33.3 **TIED FOR 4TH LOWEST ON RECORD (SEE TABLE BELOW) WINTER STATISTICS WINTER 1998-9 NORMAL Average High Temp 27.6 22.1 Average Low Temp 8.6 2.1 Average Temperature 18.1 12.1 Total Melted Precip(in) 1.80 2.20 Snowfall (in) 21.7 26.0 ST. CLOUD TEMPS--FEBRUARY (119 YEARS; AVG = 13.9 F; SDEV = 6.1 F) WARMEST COLDEST 29.6 F 1998 -4.4 F 1936 28.9 F 1987 3.7 F 1904 27.2 F 1954 4.3 F 1887 27.0 F 1931 4.3 F 1917 26.4 F 1882 4.6 F 1989 25.7 F 1984 4.9 F 1885 25.0 F 1999 <--7TH WARMEST 5.1 F 1979 24.6 F 1992 ON RECORD 5.4 F 1967 24.2 F 1915 5.6 F 1899 23.8 F 1983 5.6 F 1923 ST. CLOUD PRECIP--FEBRUARY (108 YEARS; AVG = 0.68 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 <--7TH DRIEST ON RECORD; 1.53 IN 1971 0.09 IN 1960 DRIEST SINCE 1964 1.42 IN 1948 0.10 IN 1912 1.40 IN 1897 0.12 IN 1987 ST. CLOUD SNOWFALL--FEBRUARY (100 YEARS; AVG = 7.0 IN; SDEV = 5.4 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 <--4TH LOWEST ON 19.5 IN 1938-1939 0.6 IN 1997-1998 RECORD (TIE); 18.8 IN 1936-1937 1.0 IN 1911-1912 LOWEST IN 35 YRS 16.5 IN 1952-1953 1.0 IN 1959-1960 15.9 IN 1990-1991 1.2 IN 1905-1906 15.6 IN 1950-1951 1.5 IN 1986-1987 ST. CLOUD TEMPS--FEWEST LOW TEMPERATURES OF 0 DEG OR LOWER FEBRUARY COLD SEASON 0 1987 16 1997-1998 0 1998 17 1986-1987 1 1999 <--3RD FEWEST ON 22 1918-1919 2 1954 RECORD 22 1941-1942 3 1926 29 1908-1909 3 1935 29 1990-1991 4 1930 29 1998-1999 <-- TIED 5TH LOWEST 4 1938 30 1931-1932 (SO FAR) 4 1984 30 1982-1983 4 1992 31 1937-1938 5 (5 YEARS) 31 1943-1944 31 1957-1958 ============================================================================= Bob Weisman, Meteorology Professor SUPERVISOR: Shirley (age 6 1/2) Earth Sciences Department PHONE: (320) 255-3247 (V) MS 48 (800) 627-3529 (TTY via Saint Cloud State University Minnesota Relay Service) 720 4th Avenue South FAX: (320) 255-4262 Saint Cloud, Minnesota 56301-4498 EMAIL: scsweisman@tigger. stcloudstate.edu (while driving in the car, Shirley is yakking constantly in the back seat) Dad: (starts to say something) Shirley: You have to be quiet, Dad. I'm the teacher. Dad: Let's have a contest to see who can be quiet the longest. Shirley: OK. You and Janet (sitting in front passenger seat) be quiet and the first one to talk loses. Dad: I was thinking that all 3 of us could have a contest. Shirley: OK, we'll start now. No talking! And you two can't kiss. Dad: Why? Shirley: Kissing makes lots of noise. OK, ready, set, go. No talking starting now. No more noise starting now. First one to talk loses.... (goes on for 30 more seconds about not talking) (60 seconds of quiet) Shirley: The contest is over! =============================================================================== FROM: Bob Weisman, Earth Sciences DATE: 1 March 1999 SUBJECT: El Nino, La Nina: They all look alike to these statistics Corrected February 1999 and Winter 1998-99 St. Cloud Summary Last year's "excuse" was El Nino, a pool of abnormally warm water in the tropical Pacific. This year's "excuse" was La Nina, a pool of abnormally cold water in the tropical Pacific. But, the net result for Saint Cloud was almost identical: an extraordinarily mild February and an easy winter (December-February) in Saint Cloud. February 1999 was another mild one. Temperatures averaged more than 10.5 degrees above normal, placing it as the 7th warmest in the 119 years on record. This would seem extraordinary, except that we just went through the warmest February of all time in 1998. This certainly makes the past two Februaries the warmest consecutive Februaries on record. February 1999 had only one day of zero degrees or colder (on the 4th), ranking as the third lowest total on record. The only years with fewer are 1987 and last February which had none. Last winter set the record for fewest days with a low of zero or colder with 16. Thus far, the winter of 1998-99 has had only 29 days, tying this winter for 5th fewest number of days during the cold season. Outside of the 11 consecutive days of sub-zero readings in January (longest streak in two years), we would approach last year's incredibly low total of 14 days. The normal number of days with lows of 0 or colder in February is 12 and the normal number for the cold season is 47. February 1999 was also nearly snowless, just like February 1998. Saint Cloud Airport only received 0.5 inch of snow during February 1999, tied for the 4th lowest total on record with 1964. (It should be mentioned that snowfall which was measurable, although less than an inch, elsewhere in St. Cloud on a couple of other days in February, but did not reach a measurable amount at the airport). This was only 0.1 inch less than February 1998. However, we did not even get the rain that we received last year in February, so the total melted precipitation for February 1999 was only 0.07 inch, the 7th driest February on record and the driest since 1964. The statistics for the meteorological winter (Dec 1998-Feb 1999) also show a mild and relatively snowless winter. The mild December (more than 7 degrees above normal), the near normal January, and our mild February resulted in an average winter temperature of 6 degrees above normal. Again, this would seem extraordinary, but for last winter's nearly 11 degrees above normal, the 2nd mildest winter of all time. The 1998-99 seasonal snowfall, fueled mainly by the 18.4 inches in January, is only 25.1 inches, more than 8 inches below normal. So what do all of these numbers really mean to us? We have had two extraordinarily mild winters back-to-back. It means that we have had basically 4 weeks plus two days of colder than normal weather since last September. We haven't had a low temperature colder than -25 since December 26, 1996. We have had only 4 days with a high temperature below zero in the last two winters combined. We haven't had a single day snowfall of more than 3 inches this winter and only two days with more than 4 inches since January 1997. And, we have seen bare ground in February for the second straight year. This doesn't mean that there hasn't been major snowfalls nearby, like the storm which pounded Omaha and Des Moines a week ago or the deep snowpack which has led to warnings of the potential for moderate flooding in the Red River Valley from Grand Forks northward this spring. Still, for central Minnesota, we have gotten off quite easily two winters in a row. =========================================================================== FEBRUARY 1999 STATISTICS FEB 1999 NORMAL TEMPERATURE Average High 33.2 24.8 Average Low 16.8 3.8 Average Temp 25.0+ 14.3 Warmest high temperature 43 on the 8th Coldest high temperature 10 on the 4th Mildest low temperature 32 on the 10th,27th Coldest low temperature -2 on the 4th Record temperatures: NONE +7TH WARMEST ON RECORD (SEE TABLE BELOW) MELTED PRECIP (in) 0.07* 0.63 Most in 24 hours 0.05 on the 1st *6TH LOWEST ON RECORD (SEE TABLE BELOW) SNOWFALL (in) 0.5** 7.0 Most in 24 hours 0.5 on the 24th Seasonal Snowfall (Oct-Feb) 25.1 33.3 **TIED FOR 4TH LOWEST ON RECORD (SEE TABLE BELOW) WINTER STATISTICS WINTER 1998-9 NORMAL Average High Temp 27.6 22.1 Average Low Temp 8.6 2.1 Average Temperature 18.1 12.1 Total Melted Precip(in) 1.80 2.20 Snowfall (in) 21.7 26.0 ST. CLOUD TEMPS--FEBRUARY (119 YEARS; AVG = 13.9 F; SDEV = 6.1 F) WARMEST COLDEST 29.6 F 1998 -4.4 F 1936 28.9 F 1987 3.7 F 1904 27.2 F 1954 4.3 F 1887 27.0 F 1931 4.3 F 1917 26.4 F 1882 4.6 F 1989 25.7 F 1984 4.9 F 1885 25.0 F 1999 <--7TH WARMEST 5.1 F 1979 24.6 F 1992 ON RECORD 5.4 F 1967 24.2 F 1915 5.6 F 1899 23.8 F 1983 5.6 F 1923 ST. CLOUD PRECIP--FEBRUARY (108 YEARS; AVG = 0.68 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 <--7TH DRIEST ON RECORD; 1.53 IN 1971 0.09 IN 1960 DRIEST SINCE 1964 1.42 IN 1948 0.10 IN 1912 1.40 IN 1897 0.12 IN 1987 ST. CLOUD SNOWFALL--FEBRUARY (100 YEARS; AVG = 7.0 IN; SDEV = 5.4 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 <--4TH LOWEST ON 19.5 IN 1938-1939 0.6 IN 1997-1998 RECORD (TIE); 18.8 IN 1936-1937 1.0 IN 1911-1912 LOWEST IN 35 YRS 16.5 IN 1952-1953 1.0 IN 1959-1960 15.9 IN 1990-1991 1.2 IN 1905-1906 15.6 IN 1950-1951 1.5 IN 1986-1987 ST. CLOUD TEMPS--FEWEST LOW TEMPERATURES OF 0 DEG OR LOWER FEBRUARY COLD SEASON 0 1987 16 1997-1998 0 1998 17 1986-1987 1 1999 <--3RD FEWEST ON 22 1918-1919 2 1954 RECORD 22 1941-1942 3 1926 29 1908-1909 3 1935 29 1990-1991 4 1930 29 1998-1999 <-- TIED 5TH LOWEST 4 1938 30 1931-1932 (SO FAR) 4 1984 30 1982-1983 4 1992 31 1937-1938 5 (5 YEARS) 31 1943-1944 31 1957-1958 ============================================================================= Bob Weisman, Meteorology Professor SUPERVISOR: Shirley (age 6 1/2) Earth Sciences Department PHONE: (320) 255-3247 (V) MS 48 (800) 627-3529 (TTY via Saint Cloud State University Minnesota Relay Service) 720 4th Avenue South FAX: (320) 255-4262 Saint Cloud, Minnesota 56301-4498 EMAIL: scsweisman@tigger. stcloudstate.edu (while driving in the car, Shirley is yakking constantly in the back seat) Dad: (starts to say something) Shirley: You have to be quiet, Dad. I'm the teacher. Dad: Let's have a contest to see who can be quiet the longest. Shirley: OK. You and Janet (sitting in front passenger seat) be quiet and the first one to talk loses. Dad: I was thinking that all 3 of us could have a contest. Shirley: OK, we'll start now. No talking! And you two can't kiss. Dad: Why? Shirley: Kissing makes lots of noise. OK, ready, set, go. No talking starting now. No more noise starting now. First one to talk loses.... (goes on for 30 more seconds about not talking) (60 seconds of quiet) Shirley: The contest is over! =============================================================================== =========================================================================== FEBRUARY 1999 STATISTICS FEB 1999 NORMAL TEMPERATURE Average High 33.2 24.8 Average Low 16.8 3.8 Average Temp 25.0+ 14.3 Warmest high temperature 43 on the 8th Coldest high temperature 10 on the 4th Mildest low temperature 32 on the 10th,27th Coldest low temperature -2 on the 4th Record temperatures: NONE +7TH WARMEST ON RECORD (SEE TABLE BELOW) MELTED PRECIP (in) 0.07* 0.63 Most in 24 hours 0.05 on the 1st *6TH LOWEST ON RECORD (SEE TABLE BELOW) SNOWFALL (in) 0.5** 7.0 Most in 24 hours 0.5 on the 24th Seasonal Snowfall (Oct-Feb) 25.1 33.3 **TIED FOR 4TH LOWEST ON RECORD (SEE TABLE BELOW) WINTER STATISTICS WINTER 1998-9 NORMAL Average High Temp 27.6 22.1 Average Low Temp 8.6 2.1 Average Temperature 18.1 12.1 Total Melted Precip(in) 1.80 2.20 Snowfall (in) 21.7 26.0 ST. CLOUD TEMPS--FEBRUARY (119 YEARS; AVG = 13.9 F; SDEV = 6.1 F) WARMEST COLDEST 29.6 F 1998 -4.4 F 1936 28.9 F 1987 3.7 F 1904 27.2 F 1954 4.3 F 1887 27.0 F 1931 4.3 F 1917 26.4 F 1882 4.6 F 1989 25.7 F 1984 4.9 F 1885 25.0 F 1999 <--7TH WARMEST 5.1 F 1979 24.6 F 1992 ON RECORD 5.4 F 1967 24.2 F 1915 5.6 F 1899 23.8 F 1983 5.6 F 1923 ST. CLOUD PRECIP--FEBRUARY (108 YEARS; AVG = 0.68 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 <--7TH DRIEST ON RECORD; 1.53 IN 1971 0.09 IN 1960 DRIEST SINCE 1964 1.42 IN 1948 0.10 IN 1912 1.40 IN 1897 0.12 IN 1987 ST. CLOUD SNOWFALL--FEBRUARY (100 YEARS; AVG = 7.0 IN; SDEV = 5.4 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 <--4TH LOWEST ON 19.5 IN 1938-1939 0.6 IN 1997-1998 RECORD (TIE); 18.8 IN 1936-1937 1.0 IN 1911-1912 LOWEST IN 35 YRS 16.5 IN 1952-1953 1.0 IN 1959-1960 15.9 IN 1990-1991 1.2 IN 1905-1906 15.6 IN 1950-1951 1.5 IN 1986-1987 ST. CLOUD TEMPS--FEWEST LOW TEMPERATURES OF 0 DEG OR LOWER FEBRUARY COLD SEASON 0 1987 16 1997-1998 0 1998 17 1986-1987 1 1999 <--3RD FEWEST ON 22 1918-1919 2 1954 RECORD 22 1941-1942 3 1926 29 1908-1909 3 1935 29 1990-1991 4 1930 29 1998-1999 <-- TIED 5TH LOWEST 4 1938 30 1931-1932 (SO FAR) 4 1984 30 1982-1983 4 1992 31 1937-1938 5 (5 YEARS) 31 1943-1944 31 1957-1958 ============================================================================= Bob Weisman, Meteorology Professor SUPERVISOR: Shirley (age 6 1/2) Earth Sciences Department PHONE: (320) 255-3247 (V) MS 48 (800) 627-3529 (TTY via Saint Cloud State University Minnesota Relay Service) 720 4th Avenue South FAX: (320) 255-4262 Saint Cloud, Minnesota 56301-4498 EMAIL: scsweisman@tigger. stcloudstate.edu
mcwg@soils.umn.edu