SUBJECT: Mild and Dry December Caps 8th Warmest Year on Record
December 1999 and 1999 annual St. Cloud weather summary
The mild and dry conditions from November continued into December
at the St. Cloud Municipal Airport; however, December was not quite as warm
or as dry. Still, the average December temperature of 22.2 degrees
was more than 8 degrees above normal. This marks the 3rd consecutive December
with well above normal temperatures. In fact, since 1986, only 2 of the 14
Decembers have had below normal temperatures. While 40-degree highs were very
common during the first half of the month, the temperature broke 40 three times
during the last 6 days and broke record highs on the 28th and 29th.
The warmth elevated the 1999 average temperature to 44.8 degrees, tying
1913 for the 8th warmest year of the 119 years on record. This 1999 reading is
more than 3 degrees above the annual normal and follows the 3rd warmest year on
record in 1998. The only other consecutive years in the top 10 warmest are
1938 and 1939. As was the case in 1998, the warm reading was mainly the
product of a mild spring and late fall, rather than an extraordinarily hot
summer.
The December warmth came despite a colder flow from central Canada.
However, except for the period of December 20-24, the main surge of arctic air
has primarily moved over eastern Canada and the Northeast U.S. Even when we
have been "sideswiped" by the colder air, the lack of snow cover has allowed
the air to warm up rather quickly.
The predominant northwest flow has continued the very dry conditions.
Only 4.5 inches of snow accumulated at the St. Cloud Airport in December,
which is about half of the normal amount. This snowfall occurred in three
storms during the second half of the month. Each snow event was followed within
a day or two by a thaw, giving St. Cloud only 5 mornings with a measurable snow
cover so far this season.
The low snowfall and low melted precipitation total again contributed
to a 1999 precipitation total which was more than an inch and half below normal.
This also continues a recent trend. There has been below normal precipitation
in each of the past 6 years; in fact, the total for 1999 is actually the
highest of the past four years. On the other hand, we have seen streaks like
this in the other direction. As recently as 1982-1986, there were five
consecutive years with 30-35 inches of precipitation. Still, the relatively
dry conditions have put stress on local agriculture during the past few
growing seasons.
As of Jan. 1, the seasonal snowfall is less than 6 inches, so again I
have checked the records to find similar winter with similar low snowfall
totals. There have been 17 previous winters (of the 100 years on record)
which have had 6 inches or less of snowfall through Dec. 31. The average
seasonal snowfall of those 17 winters is 28.4 inches, well below the normal
total of 45.5 inches. Fourteen of the 17 winters had snowfalls below 35
inches, so the statistics again strongly favor a low snowfall winter.
(DETAILS OF DEC 1999 FOLLOW, THEN COMES A SUMMARY OF 1999)
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DECEMBER 1999 ST CLOUD STATISTICS
TEMPERATURE (F) DEC 1999 NORMAL
Average high 31.9 23.1
Average low 12.5 5.0
Monthly average 22.2 14.1
Warmest high 52 on the 29th (broke daily records; see below)
Coldest high 5 on the 21st
Mildest low 32 on the 1st, 29th
Coldest low -15 on the 21st, 22nd
Daily records set:
Record warm highs: 41 on the 28th (old record: 37 in 1908, 1958,
and 1984)
52 on the 29th (old record: 42 in 1929)
Record warm lows: 32 (tie) on the 29th (tied record set in 1965)
MELTED PRECIPITATION (in) DEC 1999 NORMAL
Total melted precip .22 .83
Most in 24 hours .12 on the 26th
SNOWFALL (in)
Total snowfall 4.5 8.9
Most in 24 hours 2.3 on the 26th
Seasonal (1999-2000) 5.6 16.2
ST. CLOUD SNOWFALL(IN)
OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY TOTAL
1999-2000 0.0 1.1 4.5 5.6
NORMAL 0.5 6.8 8.9 10.1 7.0 9.8 2.3 0.1 45.5
=============================================================================
1999 WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS BY MONTH/SEASON
JANUARY - 18.4 inches of snow: 10th snowiest January on record, snowiest
month of year (accounted for % of year's
snowfall)
11 consecutive days of lows of at least -10: 11th longest streak on
record, longest streak since Jan. 18-Feb. 6, 1996
Jan 1-3 - Minnesota was on the northern fringe of a severe Great
Lakes snowstorm which paralyzed travel in Chicago (22
inches; 2nd greatest snowfall on record), Detroit (11
inches), and Indianapolis. St. Cloud picked up 4.7 inches
of snow. Following the snow, severe cold produced wind
chills of -40 to -60. The cold air produced a low of -36 in
Illinois, the new all-time state record.
FEBRUARY - 25.0 degrees average temperature - 7th warmest Feb on record
(10.7 degrees above normal)
1 below zero low temperature - 3rd lowest February total on record
0.5 inches of snow - tied for 4th lowest February total snowfall
with 1964
0.04 melted precipitation - 7th driest February on record
MARCH - Storm of March 8-9: -9.8 inches of snow in St. Cloud - largest
March snowfall in 14 years
-produced 7.5 inches on March 8, broke daily
snowfall record
JUNE - June 1 - 47 high temperature - tied with June 1, 1945 for second coldest
June high on record (coldest: 45 on June 4, 1935)
JULY - July 4 - A thunderstorm complex hits Fargo/Moorhead at 6 AM, then
roars through Detroit Lakes, Bemidji, and the BWCA. Wind
gusts of 50-90 MPH and hail up to 3/4 inches in diameter
damaged planes, houses, and trees. In the BWCA, between 17
and 25 million trees were toppled in a swath 300 feet wide
and 30 miles long. Thirty-five people were hurt.
July 5 - A second night of severe storms produced heavy rains in
Itasca and Cook counties. In Floodwood, 193 homes were
damaged by the flooding
July 30 - 98 high temperature - hottest high of any month since July 3,
1990 (101 high)
St. Cloud shares in heat and humidity which produces over 200 deaths,
including one elderly woman near Rochester, in the Central and
Eastern U.S.
AUG - Aug 9 - Tornado hits the western portion of Belgrade, damaging roofs
and overturning grain tubes
Aug 21 - 2.81 inches of rain (almost all in 3 hours) -
highest daily rainfall total since Sept. 8, 1985
highest August daily rainfall total since Aug. 7, 1980
OCT - Oct 1 - Southern Minnesota receives between 1 and 3 inches of snow
Oct 3 - Embarass hits low of 9 degrees, the earliest ever Minnesota
single digit reading
NOV - 49.2 average temperature - 4th warmest November on record, warmest in 86
years
Nov 8 - 75 high - warmest high ever in November. 5 stations in
Minnesota break 80 degrees, including 82 at Canby and
Olivia
Nov 13 - 71 high - latest in season 70+ deg high. Winnebago hits 80
degrees. Nov. 8 and 13 rank as the two warmest days
in Minnesota history.
===============================================================================
1999 MONTHLY STATISTICS FOR ST. CLOUD
MONTH JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN
Avg High (F) 17.8 33.2 42.1 56.6 69.4 76.3
Normal High (F) 18.5 24.8 37.6 55.0 68.4 77.4
Avg Low (F) -0.9 16.8 21.2 34.4 47.3 55.2
Normal Low (F) -2.4 3.8 17.6 32.0 43.4 52.2
Avg Temp (F) 8.5 25.0 31.7 45.5 58.4 65.7
Normal Avg (F) 8.1 14.3 27.6 43.5 55.9 64.8
Precip (in) .61 .07 0.85 2.29 4.72 3.99
Normal Pre (in) .74 .63 1.41 2.35 3.16 4.60
Snowfall (in) 18.4 0.5 10.5 0.8 0.0 0.0
Normal Snow (in) 10.1 7.0 9.8 2.3 0.1 0.0
MONTH JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC YEAR
Avg High (F) 85.2 78.2 69.1 58.9 49.2 31.9 55.7
Normal High (F) 82.6 79.4 69.1 57.4 39.0 23.1 52.7
Avg Low (F) 59.9 56.3 45.0 32.4 25.6 12.5 33.8
Normal Low (F) 57.6 54.8 45.4 34.4 20.3 5.0 30.3
Avg Temp (F) 72.6 67.3 57.1 45.7 37.4 22.2 44.8
Normal Avg (F) 70.1 67.1 57.3 45.9 29.7 14.1 41.5
Precip (in) 3.84 4.95 2.61 1.35 0.20 .22 25.70
Normal Pre (in) 3.38 3.96 3.16 2.21 1.27 .83 27.43
Snowfall (in) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.1 4.5 35.8
Normal Snow (in) 0.0 0.0 T 0.5 6.8 8.9 45.5
ANNUAL ST. CLOUD TEMPS (119 YEARS; AVG = 42.2 F; SDEV = 1.8 F)
WARMEST COLDEST
47.9 F 1931 38.3 F 1950
46.4 F 1987 38.5 F 1884
46.3 F 1998 38.7 F 1951
46.0 F 1921 38.8 F 1888
45.9 F 1900 38.8 F 1972
45.0 F 1938 38.8 F 1996
44.9 F 1939 39.1 F 1979
44.8 F 1913 39.2 F 1886
44.8 F 1999 <--8TH WARMEST 39.5 F 1917
44.7 F 1908 YEAR ON RECORD 39.5 F 1887
(tied with 1913)
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 FEBRUARY 5.4 F 1967
24.2 F 1915 5.6 F 1899
23.8 F 1983 5.6 F 1923
ST. CLOUD TEMPS--NOVEMBER (119 YEARS; AVG = 29.9 F; SDEV = 4.5 F)
WARMEST COLDEST
39.5 F 1899 18.7 F 1896
39.0 F 1904 20.9 F 1911
38.6 F 1913 21.1 F 1985
37.4 F 1999 <-- 4TH WARMEST 22.0 F 1955
36.6 F 1939 NOVEMBER; 22.2 F 1991
36.5 F 1908 WARMEST IN 22.3 F 1959
36.3 F 1963 86 YEARS 22.5 F 1951
36.2 F 1934 22.5 F 1996
36.1 F 1917 23.2 F 1976
36.1 F 1923 23.8 F 1926
=============================================================================
Bob Weisman, Meteorology Professor SUPERVISOR: Shirley (age 7 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
Shirley: (opening a Chanukah gift from Grandpa) Clothes? I hate clothes as
presents (leaves on the floor).
(opens next gift) I already have that book.
Shirley next day is wearing the t-shirt and has the books in her backpack to
read on the bus.
THE CURRENT BOSTON SCOREBOARD
Red Sox: lost 11 of last 12 ALCS games; no title since 1918
Bruins: no Stanley Cup since 1972
Patriots: OK, I blew it. I said they'd lose 5 in a row..they lost 5 of 6
0-3 in title games (avg score: Opps. 41 Patriots 14)
Celtics: Lost 6 in a row. Bye-bye, Pitino?
Politics: Michael Dukakis (need I say more?)
Donate food daily to the world's hungry at no cost to you.
Click on http://www.hungersite.com/
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