Winter 2025-2026 Was Not Cold and Snowless??!!

Saint Cloud February 2026 and Winter 2025-2026 Weather Summary

The most notable period of the 2025-2026 cold season was the true arctic cold during the second half of January (17-31), which included:

• 14 days with a low of zero or colder
• 2 consecutive days below zero
• first high colder than -10 since January 30, 2019
• 3 lows of -20 or colder

When such arctic air moves into Minnesota, it takes a while to replace it. As I noted in the January 2026 St. Cloud weather summary, that kind of cold air takes at least a month to develop over the sunless regions above the Arctic Circle. After you drain that kind of cold air out, it is difficult to replace. 

15th Mildest February in St. Cloud Records

So, after the extreme cold, St. Cloud and Minnesota were on a temperature rebound that lasted most of February. The February 2026 St. Cloud average temperature was 23.7 degrees, 7.6 degrees warmer than average, making February 2026 the 15th mildest out of 146 Februaries on record. Only 6 of the 28 days were colder than average, while 14 of the 15 days between February 4 and 19 (and 15 days overall) were more than 10 degrees above average.

There were only 2 days (February 2 and 3) that had a daily low temperature of zero or colder (Feb. average: 11.9 days).

No record warm temperatures were set, but this month added to the accumulation of warm winter thresholds.

Above Average Temperature for Meteorological Winter

The extremely warm February more than cancelled the colder than average December (-2.9 degrees) and January (-2.2 degrees), so the meteorological winter (Dec. 1-Feb. 28, the three coldest months of the year on average) produced an average temperature of 16.0 degrees in St. Cloud, 0.8 degrees milder than average. This was the 39th mildest meteorological winter of the 146 in St. Cloud records.

The colder than average December and the extreme cold outbreak in January did get St. Cloud close to the typical levels for cold highs and lows:

• 4 highs of zero or colder (average: 4.3)
• 31 lows of zero or colder (average Oct-Feb: 39)
• 4 lows of -20 or colder (average: 5.3)
• And, that high of -10 or colder for the first time since January 2019

Still, there were no cold temperature records. There hasn't been a wintertime record cold low in St. Cloud since February 27, 2014.

The warm-up got rid of the snow pack, that first arrived during the two storms of Thanksgiving week (November 25-26 plus another 3.2 inches on November 29-30). But, St. Cloud had at least an inch of snow on the ground from November 26 through February 16. That streak of 83 consecutive days was just three days short of St. Cloud's winter average  

February and Winter Precipitation Near Average, Despite Long Dry Spells

February's precipitation seemed to be few and far between. There were only 5 February days with measurable precipitation and only 3 February days with measurable snowfall. However, February averages only 5.7 days with measurable precipitation. Only the days of measurable snowfall fell well behind the 5.71 February average days with measurable snowfall.

The St. Cloud Sky Central Airport picked up 0.62 inch of melted precipitation in February, coming up 0.14 inch short of the average. Most of the precipitation was actually in liquid form and fell during the February 17-18 storm (total precipitation: 0.45 inch). That system only produced a partial dusting during the morning of February 17, and a more persistent 0.2 inch of snowfall early on February 18. This was in sharp contrast to the blizzard that struck northern Minnesota, dumping between 1 and more than 3 feet of snow in northeastern Minnesota (40.4 inches near Hovland in Cook County) with wind gusts of 60-85 MPH. St. Cloud only caught a piece of the south flank snow band, that ended up producing 4-8 inches over parts of the Minnesota River Valley to the southern suburbs of the Twin Cities.

St. Cloud and parts of central Minnesota had a much lighter precipitation amount of 0.02 inch on February 24, but it came in the form of freezing rain and fell just before sunrise, producing many traffic issues for the morning commute.

St. Cloud's only significant February snowstorm produced 2.6 inches of fluffy snow on February 1. The February snowfall was only 2.9 inches, significantly less than the 8.9 inch average. This was the 29th lowest February snowfall total out of 121 Februaries with reliable snow records.

Winter and Cold Season Precipitation Totals

Still, the total winter precipitation was 1.89 inches of liquid precipitation, only 0.42 inch below average. The seasonal snowfall, thanks to the snowy conditions in late November and December, is up to 30.7 inches, only 0.4 inch below average. However, the lack of major snowfall during long periods of January and February and the thawing and refreezing cycles of the first half of January and most of February meant that most of the snow became a hard-packed mass, not great conditions for outdoor snow sports. 

What's Up Next? 1. We Need Rain Once the Ground Thaws

After the extremely dry August-November period (10th driest as noted in the November and Fall 2025 St. Cloud weather summary), St. Cloud will need major spring rainfall once the ground thaws to ease the very dry soil conditions. That's because most of the meltwater from the snow pack drains into rivers and lakes before the ground thaws. Despite the major February storm to our north, the NWS North Central River Forecast Center is forecasting only a near average to below average threat for snowmelt flooding. 

2. Little Chance for Return of Late January Cold

Some of the arctic air that has sat over the darkened area in polar latitudes has returned to northern Canada during the second half of February (use left arrow to follow the white and dark blue colors back in time on the Alicia Bentley 850 mb equivalent potential temperature map). The forecast weather pattern is to have a pair of storm tracks, mostly running west-to-east, over western North America. That flow would tend to keep that arctic air away from south central Canada or the Northern Tier of US states through the first 10 days of March. We have a shot at temperature swings between near average or slightly below average cold and much milder than average conditions. If the two storm tracks work together, that could bring storms with significant moisture back to Minnesota. However, any storm system this week could have problems having enough cold air available for snow.

3. Can't Say Snow Season is Over Yet (Although Not Much Likely to Begin March)

Still, the dry, but very mild air has the potential to cool to near or below freezing at times, so it is far too early to rule the cold season over. March and April average 12.9 inches of snow. Even during our last two relatively snowless cold seasons, there has been a spike of either March (2024) or April (2025) snowfall. However, the March record temperatures in St. Cloud show that it is difficult to get a low of -20 or colder once we get to mid-March and nearly impossible to get a high of zero or colder in all of March. 

February 2026 Statistics

Last Update: 3 March 2026