Summer is quietly coming to a close under sunny skies across much of Minnesota. June through August 2006 will finish as the warmest meteorological summer on record for Duluth and tied for the third warmest summer on record for the Twin Cities. The main reason for the warmth is the very mild overnight lows. The June through August average minimum temperature for the Twin Cities at the International Airport was the warmest on record. Summer 2005 finished in 10th place last year. The normal average summer temperature for the Twin Cities is 70.7. 2006 will be 3.6 degrees above normal. With August finishing about a degree and a half above normal this will be the 15th consecutive month at or above normal at the Twin Cities.

The peak of the summer heat arrived in the last nine days of July when each day was 90 or above. The last time there was a steak of nine 90 degree or warmer days in a row in the Twin Cities was in 2005. The warmest temperature of the summer was 101 on July 31. The last time the mercury cracked the century mark in the Twin Cities was July 13, 1995. The warmest statewide temperature for the summer of 2006 was 107 at Browns Valley on July 31.

Below is a table of the top ten warmest meteorological summers (June-August) in the Twin Cities from 1891-2006.

Top Ten Warmest Summers in the Twin Cities
----------------------------------------
Rank  Ave Temp  Year

1     75.5      1988
2     75.2      1933
3     74.3      1949
      74.3      2006 tie*
5     74.2      1936
      74.2      1894 tie
7     74.1      1955
      74.1      1921 tie
      74.1      1937 tie
10    74.0      1983 
      74.0      2005 tie

* if forecasts verify

Summer of 2006 to Make the Record Books (In Duluth)

The summer months consist of June, July and August. As of August 29th, 
the average temperature at Duluth this summer has been 67.0 degees F. 
This is just 0.5 degrees warmer than the All-Time warmest summer on record at Duluth. 
The normal average summer temperature
at Duluth is 63 degrees F. 

As of August 29th, the National Weather Service office in Duluth has 
recorded 8.16 inches of rain this summer. Even though this is 4.51 inches 
below the normal summer precipitation in Duluth, 
this will not make the top-ten record dry summers. 
The All-Time driest summer was 1936 with just 3.49 inches of rain all summer.

The top ten warmest summers are:
67.0    2006  as of Aug 29th
66.5    1930*
66.4    1878*
66.4    1955
66.4    1983
66.4    1995
65.9    1955*
65.8    1988
65.7    1921*
65.5    1949*
65.5    1949

The * denotes that the record was set while the weather office was 
located downtown Duluth. Otherwise, the record was set at the Duluth International Airport.

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URL: http://climate.umn.edu/doc/journal/warm_summer2006.htm
Last modified: August 31, 2006