GRAPHICAL
CLIMATOLOGY OF MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL AREA TEMPERATURES, PRECIPITATION, AND
SNOWFALL
(1820-PRESENT)
By Charles
Fisk* Last Update: 4 February 2010
The following is a graphical climatology of
Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota temperatures, precipitation, and snowfall, from
the start of 1820 (Fort Snelling) through 2010. Presented are
summary overview charts, a link to a year-by-year account of early (1820-1869)
Minnesota weather history, followed by year-to-year graphs depicting daily
temperatures, precipitation, and snowfall. Original source data are from Fort
Snelling (1820-1858), St. Paul Smithsonian recordings (1859-1872); and
government weather service observations for St. Paul (1873-1890), downtown
Minneapolis (1890-1938), and the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
(1938-present). Daily snowfall totals
date from 1891, snow depth data from 1893.
Data were obtained from the National
Archives, the Minnesota Historical Society, The University of Minnesota
Periodicals Library, the National Climatic Data Center, the Minneapolis-St.
Paul National Weather Service Office online site, and the Minnesota Climatology
Working Group. Monthly updates are from the site: http://climate.umn.edu/doc/prelim_lcd_msp.htm
CLIMATE
OVERVIEW GRAPHS –
TEMPERATURE:
MINNEAPOLIS-ST.
PAUL DAILY TEMPERATURE MEANS & EXTREMES (FOR 1820-2008)
COMPLETE
YEAR JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
OTHER MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL DAILY TEMPERATURE
STATS:
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL
AVERAGE DAILY TEMPERATURE RANGES, BY CALENDAR DAY
ANNUAL TEMPERATURE GRAPH:
MINNEAPOLIS-ST.
PAUL ANNUAL MEAN TEMPERATURE HISTORY (1820-2009) 
PRECIPITATION:
MINNEAPOLIS-ST.
PAUL YEARLY PRECIPITATION HISTORY (1859-2009)
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL AVERAGE
MONTHLY PRECIPITATION (1871-2008)
SNOWFALL:
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL
SEASON-TO-DATE SNOWFALL FOR 2009-10
MINNEAPOLIS-ST.
PAUL SEASONAL SNOWFALL HISTORY (1884-85 THRU 2008-09 SEASONS)
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL
AVERAGE MONTHLY SNOWFALL
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL
ONE-HALF, ONE, TWO, AND THREE-INCH SNOW-DAY PROBABILITIES, BY CALENDAR DAY
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL
MEDIAN, MEAN, AND EXTREME MAXIMUM SNOW DEPTHS, BY CALENDAR DAY
ESTIMATED ST. PAUL
SEASON-TO-DATE SNOWFALL FOR 1880-81 (THE GREAT "SNOW WINTER")
“A
Multivariate Analysis of Summary-of-the-Day Snowfall Statistics vs. Same-Day
Water Precipitation and Temperature Recordings”
– American Meteorological Society 17th
Conference on Applied Climatology – Whistler, B. C., Canada, 2008.
http://ams.confex.com/ams/pdfpapers/141141.pdf
(Estimates
Seasonal Snowfall for great “Snow Winter” of 1880-81: ~ 140 inches)
MONTH/HOUR CLIMOGRAMS:
MEAN HOURLY TEMPERATURE/HUMIDITY THUNDERSTORM
FREQ WINDS FOG/HAZE
FLYING
WEATHER/CEILINGS
YEAR-BY-YEAR ENCYCLOPAEDIC ACCOUNT OF EARLY
MINNESOTA WEATHER (1820-1869)
THE HISTORICAL
TEMPERATURE DATA: OFFICIAL WEATHER BUREAU OBSERVATIONS (1873-PRESENT) AND
RECONSTRUCTED PIONEER ERA
RECORDINGS (1820-1872)
Temperature graphs
for the 1873-present period are based on official St. Paul or Minneapolis
absolute maximum and minimum temperature observations for given days (nearly
all for the midnight-to-midnight period), the standard method of recording
"summary-of-the-day" temperature statistics for first-order weather
stations.
Original
summary-of-the-day temperature observations for the 1820-1872 “Pioneer” era
(along with those for cloudiness, wind direction, and wind force), however,
consisted of fixed-time scheme observations according to a prescribed format
(e.g., 7AM, 2PM, and 9PM; or Sunrise, 9AM, 3PM, and 9PM) (example 1) (example 2).
To achieve
methodological consistency, the fixed-time-scheme 1820-1872 observations were
converted into midnight-to-midnight maxima and minima estimates, using
application of 1961-1980 statistical relationships between Minneapolis-St. Paul
Airport temperature, cloudiness, and wind information at hours corresponding to
the old fixed-time schemes, and 1961-1980 midnight to midnight daily
temperature maxima and minima [Fisk, 1984]. This reconstruction “homogenized”
the entire history as to summary-of-the-day method, and allows identical-type
daily temperature graphs to be constructed on an individual yearly basis for
the entire 189 year history ADD'L DETAILS ON
RECONSTRUCTION OF MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL AREA PIONEER-ERA TEMPERATURE RECORD.
YEAR-TO-YEAR GRAPHS - INTERPRETATION
The uppermost chart on a given yearly page (links below) are
“floating-bars” of the daily maxima and minima. Superimposed are two line
traces, the upper one connecting average daily maxima, the lower one average
daily minima. The bars depict the varying diurnal, synoptic,
long-wave, and seasonal influences on temperature over time, and subjectively, some
years’ patterns can be quite interesting to look at (see “REPEAT LINKS TO SOME
OF THE MORE INTERESTING YEARS WITH ACCOMPANYING NOTES” section below).
The second chart down shows the
arithmetic departures of day-to-day mean temperatures (sum of the daily maximum
plus the daily minimum divided by two) less the corresponding calendar-day
average means. Vertical lines extending
upward from the zero line indicate above average means for the day (colored red),
those extending downward indicate below average daily means (colored
blue). In the entire series of more than
68,000 days, greatest positive departure for any individual day is +38 F for 25
January 1944, the
greatest negative departure -45 F for 1 January 1864.
1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839
1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859
1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879
1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899
1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
The third chart down shows
chart two’s departures in deseasonalized or
“standardized” form. This adjusts for the fact that individual calendar days
have higher or lower inherent year-to-year variability (standard deviations) in
daily mean temperature. Dividing
a given day’s departure from average by its’ respective calendar day mean
temperature standard deviation creates the “relative” departures or
“z-scores”. Only five daily departures
in the entire series are plus or minus 3.5 or greater. Three of these, all
negatives, came over the four-day period 4-7 November 1991, associated with an
unseasonably cold arctic air outbreak in the wake of the Great 1991 Halloween
snowstorm.
The fourth chart down depicts daily
rainfall, the fifth and sixth charts, respectively, daily snowfall and snow
depths.
REPEAT LINKS TO SOME OF THE MORE INTERESTING YEAR-TO-YEAR GRAPHS,
WITH ACCOMPANYING NOTES
1820 - Year
One. Frigid January WEATHER DIARY FOR JAN
1820, very mild April, eleven-inch snowstorm in mid-October.
1820 Writeup.
1822 - Coldest December in
history DEC 1822;
December 2nd 42 F below average. Also torrential June rains, producing local
flooding
1824-1825 – (July-June view). Exceptionally mild December ‘24 to April ’25 period; likely El Nino
influence. 1825 Writeup
1826 - Very backward April APR 1826 (accompanied by severe
flooding), but May 28 F warmer than April. 1826 Writeup
1829
- “The Dry Year”, as described by early
Minnesota history texts. Severely cold February and other extreme temperature
spells throughout year. 1829 Writeup
1830 - Hottest July until 1936, and much
above normal October/November. 1830 Writeup
1833 - El Nino winter of ‘32-’33 mildest for
another 45 years. Very mild December ’33 also. 1833 Writeup
1833-34 - (July-June view). Greatest
three-month thermal “see-saw” in history: January 1834 29 F colder than
December 1833, February 1834 28 F warmer than January. 1834 Writeup
1835 - Volcanic dust-veil produces series of anomalous cold
spells during second half. 1835 Writeup
1838 - Great temperature extremes. Minus
40 F in February and a late May hard freeze. Hot
summer, but unseasonable cold in fall and early winter. 1838 Writeup
1838-39 - (July-June view). Abnormal cold over October to
December ’38 gives way to abnormal warmth over January to April ‘39.
1839 - Warmest recorded year up
to this time; warmest April APR 1839 down to the present day. 1839 Writeup
1842 - Extraordinary coolness
over mid-May into July. Coldest June JUN 1842
and coldest November NOV 1842
in all history down to present.
1843 - Coldest year in area history. Extraordinary persistent arctic cold over February and March. Coldest March (more than 25 F below average) MAR 1843, and coldest October OCT 1843 in all history down to present. 1843 Writeup
1842-43
-
(July-June view).
1845 -
Steep
temperature plunge over mid-to-late November. 1845 Writeup
1846 - Warmest year of pre-statehood era. Mildest January in all history down to the present JAN 1846. 1846 Writeup
1849 - December 34 F colder than November. 1849 Writeup
1855-56
– Two
successive arctic blasts, in late December DEC 1855 and early January JAN 1856. A third in February. 1856 Writeup
1857 - Second successive bitter winter. Coldest January JAN 1857
and April APR
1857 in history. 1857 Writeup
1863 - The “Strange” weather year. Extremes in temperatures, and worst growing season drought to date
- no measurable rain in June (St. Paul). Killing frosts in July and
August across settled areas. 1863 Writeup
1864 - Continued drought during the year.
Frigid New Years’ Day – Maximum: -24 F, Minimum: –38 F in St. Paul. 1864 Writeup
1865 - Heavy summer rains break drought; 38”
recorded for year in
1 F cooler than September. 1865 Writeup
1867 - Very backward spring. March 1867 5 F colder than any March since, but still 8 F warmer
than 1843. More than 10” rain in June in St. Paul. 1867 Writeup
1869 - More than 18” rain over August and September. 1869 Writeup
1875 - Second coldest year in history. January and February both AVERAGE below zero.
1877-78
- “Year Without a Winter”. El Nino-induced
extraordinarily mild winter. Mildest December in
history. Warmest February until 1931 and warmest March
until 1910.
1879 - “Second Edition of Summer” brings
unseasonable October warmth. Very cold Christmas Day, minus 39 recorded in St.
Paul.
1885 - Great temperature variability over January to March.
1888 - Severe winter (including –41 F in
January). Persistent spells of unseasonable coolness into spring and summer.
1895 - Abrupt May cold turn temporarily derails an otherwise
forward Spring.
1899 - Great February cold wave.
1907 - Persistent abnormal cold through April
and May; 13” snowstorm over Apr 27-28.
1910 - Driest year (11.54”) in local climatic
history down to present. Also warmest March in all history.
1911 - Great adjacent-year reversal in annual
precipitation – Wettest year (40.15”) in all history down to
present.
1915 - Very forward April, but May 4 F
colder; very cool summer ensues.
1917 - Coldest year of 20th Century. Deep
Snows – 31” depth on 16 March.
1921 - Warmest year since 1878.
1923 - Very cold March, very mild November-December.
1930 - Sharp temperature gyrations over latter part of
year.
1931 - Warmest year in history down to the
present; 104 F recorded in September.
1933 - Warmest June in history. 77 F on 1 November
1934 – In midst of Dust Bowl era. Warmest May
in history, including 106 F on the 31st. June registers a 104 F day, three days
in July record 105 F.
1936 – Great temperature contrasts between
winter and summer. Thirty-six consecutive days with subzero
minima over January and February (including –34 F in January). Hottest
July on record; 108 F recorded on 14th for highest in history. Also recorded in July: 106 F three times, 105 F and 104 F once
each.
1940 – Great Armistice-Day Blizzard leaves
nearly 17 inches’ snow over 11th-12th.
1942 – Very irregular temperature anomaly
pattern over course of year.
1945 – Very forward early spring, then very
cool through early summer.
1947 – Warmest August AND October in all
history down to the present.
1948 - March temperature range –27 F to 70 F (97 F spread
highest ever for a single calendar month locally).
1951 – 40” snowfall in March.
1953-54
–
Quasi-periodic much above normal spells over late-August through February. February ‘54 warmest since 1878.
1958 - Driest year (16.20”) since
1910.
1959 – December 5 F warmer than November.
1962 - Deep snows in late February and early March; minus
32 F on 1 March.
1965 - Coldest March since 1899; coldest
September since 1868.
1967 - 35.3” snowfall in January; 30” snow depth on 19
February.
1972 - Coldest year since 1917.
1976-77 – Twentieth century
approximate version of 1838-39. Abnormally cold
October-January, unusually warm February-May.
1982 - 46.4” snowfall in January, 38” snow depth on 23
January. 1981-82 season sets new snowfall record (95.0”) – only to last two
seasons, however.
1983 - Wettest year (39.07”) since 1911. Very mild January to early March, a warm summer, but coldest
December since 1831. 21.8” snowfall in April – a new high mark for that
month.
1983-84 - Snowiest winter in official recorded history
(98.4”).
1985 - Unusually mild March and April, cold
November-December.
1987 - Second warmest year in history. Steady
above average warmth throughout virtually the whole year. July
wettest calendar month in local history (17.90”).
1988 - Drought year. Very
hot summer, 105 F in July.
1991 - Great early snowstorm drops 27” over 31 Oct and 1
Nov followed by unseasonably early arctic outbreak; 46.9” total snowfall for
November, snowiest calendar month in recorded history.
1992 - Very mild winter. Very
cool summer (possibly induced by Mt. Pinatubo eruption); Coolest July since
1865.
1996 - Great arctic outbreak in late-January/early
February.
1997-98 - El Nino-induced, very mild ‘97-‘98 winter.
2000 - Very mild March, very cold December.
2001 - Wettest April on record (7.00”). Warmest November in history by more than 4 F. Fifty-seven
consecutive above normal temperature days from late October to late December.
2001-02 - Mildest November-February period in all history by nearly 2
F.
2006 – Third warmest year in all
history. Warmest
January since 1846; warmest July since 1936.
*Member, American
Meteorological Society
mailto:cjfisk@worldnet.att.net
Link to Graphical History of Chicago
Daily Temps & Precip., (1870's to Present)
Graphical History of
Downtown Los Angeles Daily Temps and Rainfall (1921-Present)