Weather

Summer 2005 Saint Cloud Hot Weather Facts

Summer 2005 Heat and Dryness Not Long Enough to Reach Records

Saint Cloud Hot, Dry 2005 Weather In Perspective

Send comments to: Bob Weisman

What is the most significant weather aspect of Summer 2005?

Neither the heat nor the dry conditions were long enough or severe enough to set records in most of Minnesota.

Did the Summer of 2005 set any dry summer records?

No! There was a period of dry weather from July 15 through August 25, but rainier conditions in early June and late August cancelled much of that out.

Did the Summer of 2005 set any hottest summer records?

No! The mid-August cool spell has virtually eliminated the chances of one of the 10 warmest summers in Saint Cloud history.

  • Most of the warm weather statistics are near normal. There have been 12 days with a 90°F or hotter high. The normal number of days is 11.4 days.
    • In 1988, in the midst of a 3 1/2 year heat wave and drought, we had 33 days with a high of at least 90°F.
    • The much stated extreme has been the 16 days (and 9 straight days) with a high at least 90°F in July. This was only true in the Twin Cities.
  • Saint Cloud does have one significant extreme in the summer of 2005
    • There have been 7 lows of 70°F+, consistent with high humidity, the most since 1955.

 

Hot Summer 2005 Toolbar      
90°F+ Highs  
Consecutive Days Annual Days
Warm Lows 
Rainfall
 

Most Often Cited Statistic Not True in Saint Cloud

While the Twin Cities managed to have 9 consecutive days (July 9-17) with a high of at least 90°F, Saint Cloud was one degree short of a similar streak. The high on Tuesday, July 12 "only" reached 89°F. There were two official heat waves (3 or more days with a high of at least 90°F) in Saint Cloud on July 9-11 and July 13-17. The five-day streak had been most recently duplicated in 1995 and 2001. Longer recent streaks include a seven-day streaks in 1988 and 1995.

 

Hot Summer 2005 Toolbar      
90°F+ Highs  
Consecutive Days Annual Days
Warm Lows 
Rainfall
 
Saint Cloud Consecutive Days with Highs >= 90°F
Rank
Days
Dates
1
14
July 5-18, 1936
2
12
July 13-24, 1901
3
10
June 16-25, 1910
4(tie)
9
July 31 - August 8, 1930
4(tie)
9
July 24 - August 1, 1935
4(tie)
9
July 15-23, 1964
7(tie)
8
June 19-26, 1911
7(tie)
8
July 14-21, 1932
7(tie)
8
July 2-9, 1948
10(tie)
7
July 18 -24, 1940
10(tie)
7
July 22-28, 1941
10(tie)
7
August 18-24, 1976
10(tie)
7
July 26 - August 1, 1988
10(tie)
7
June 16 - 22, 1995
15(tie)
6
10 streaks, most recently in 1966
25(tie)
5

19 streaks, most recently
July 10-14, 1995
August 4-8, 2001
July 14-18, 2005

 

The 12th 90-degree high of the summer was set on August 8. The normal number of 90-degree days for a given summer is 11.4 days. During recent years, there were as many or more 90-degree days during the summers of 1989 (11 days), 1995 (15 days), 1999 (12 days), 2001 (18 days), and 2003 (12 days). Note at right that, during the extreme heat wave and drought of 1988, there were 33 days with a high of at least 90 degrees.

 

Hot Summer 2005 Toolbar      
90°F+ Highs  
Consecutive Days Annual Days
Warm Lows 
Rainfall
 
Most 90+ Degree Highs - Year
Rank
Year
Days
1
1936
36
2
1900
34
3
1988
33
4
1931
31
5
1910
29
6 (tie)
1933
28
6 (tie)
1934
28
8
1937
26
9 (tie)
1901
25
9 (tie)
1930
25
     
43(tie)
7 years tied, including 1999, 2003, 2005
12
 

Hottest High of This Year or Previous Years?

Despite the warm July and early August, the hottest Saint Cloud temperature for the year so far (and the hottest since 2001) was the 98°F high on June 23.

98°F is the hottest temperature we've seen in Saint Cloud since 1990. However, that is a reflection of how cool the summers since 1990 have been.

Hot Summer 2005 Toolbar      
90°F+ Highs  
Consecutive Days Annual Days
Warm Lows 
Rainfall

 

 
Saint Cloud Hottest Annual Temperatures (1988-2005)
Year
Hottest High (°F)
Date
Days with High >= 97°F
1988
102°F
June 24, July 31
13
(7 days with >= 100°F)
1989
98°F
August 4
1
1990
101°F
July 3
1
1991
95°F
July 18
0
1992
92°F
June 12, August 9
0
1993
90°F
August 10
0
1994
95°F
June 14
0
1995
97°F
June 17, July 13
2
1996
96°F
June 28
0
1997
95°F
June 23
0
1998
94°F
May 18
0
1999
98°F
July 30
2
2000
94°F
June 9
0
2001
98°F
August 6, 7
4
2002
95°F
June 30, July 6
0
2003
96°F
August 24
0
2004
96°F
June 30
0
2005
98°F
June 23
1
 

Extreme Lows for the Year Becoming Significant

The 70-degree low on August 8 was the 7th of the year, tying 2005 with 2 other years. This is the most 70-degree lows since 1955. The average number of 70-degree lows in a year is 3.02 days.

The one day in June had a low temperature of 76°F, only the 51st day in Saint Cloud history with a low temperature of 75°F or warmer.

 

Hot Summer 2005 Toolbar      
90°F+ Highs  
Consecutive Days Annual Days
Warm Lows 
Rainfall
 
Annual Days with Lows >= 70°F
Rank
Year
Days
1
1931
16
2 (tie)
1900
11
2 (tie)
1936
11
4
1937
10
5
1941
9
6 (tie)
1897
8
6 (tie)
1901
8
6 (tie)
1935
8
6 (tie)
1947
8
6 (tie)
1955
8
11(tie) 3 years including 2005
7
 

August Cool Weather have Knocked Temperatures to Near Normal

The cooler than normal weather since August 10th have knocked the temperatures to near normal. On August 10th, the average temperature for August was 74.2°F, seven degrees above normal and warm enough to push the Summer of 2005 to 7th place on the list of Saint Cloud's ten warmest summers. However, the cooler weather knocked August back to less than a degree warmer than normal.

Thus, the summer average ended up being 3.0°F warmer than normal, but only ranking as the 21st warmest summer on record. It was, however, the warmest summer average since 1988. That reflects how cool summers have been since 1990, not how extreme this summer was.

Hot Summer 2005 Toolbar      
90°F+ Highs  
Consecutive Days Annual Days
Warm Lows 
Rainfall

 

 

Summer Average Temperatures by Month

 

June

July

August

Summer Average Rank Among Warmest St. Cloud Summers

2005 + August 1-10

70.1°F

72.9°F

74.2°F
71.9°F
7th

Actual Summer 2005

70.1°F

72.9°F

68.1°F
70.4°F
21st

2005 + Normal August

70.1°F

72.9°F

67.2°F

70.1°F

25th

To Break into Top 10

70.1°F

72.9°F

70.3°F
71.1°F
10th

To Make Warmest

70.1°F

72.9°F

72.7°F
1st
 

Mid-Summer Dry Period Won't Show in Summer Records

The heavy rainfall on August 26 drowned out the dry conditions we've had for most of the summer. During the period of June 15 through August 25, rainfall in Saint Cloud was four inches below normal. This rainfall shortage, which was concentrated from Willmar through Saint Cloud east and southeastward to Pine City and the northern and western suburbs of the Twin Cities Metropolitan area, can be best seen in the August 22 growing season rainfall map from the Minnesota State Climatology Office shows rainfall 20%-30% below normal from Saint Cloud south and east to the northern and western suburbs of the Twin Cities. After the storm (August 29 rainfall map), only much of Sherburne County and northeastern Wright County have seasonal rainfall 10-20% below normal. The rest of the dry conditions are limited to the Saint Croix Valley and northeastern Minnesota.

Without the first two weeks in June and the big August 27 rainfall, the nine-week total, if maintained through the summer, would have ranked as the second driest summer in Saint Cloud history. Instead, the overall summer ended up 1.62 inches below normal.

The actual effect of the dry spell was worse than the numbers show due to both the intense heat (increasing water usage) and getting a lot of rain on a few days (more rain runs off into rivers and lakes, but less gets into the soil). Note that the August 23 Drought Monitor from the National Drought Mitigation Center shows only that a few areas in extreme eastern Minnesota and the Duluth-Two Harbors area are part of the moderate drought conditions that dominate Wisconsin, Upper Michigan, and eastern Iowa.

The last significant dry spell that was similar to this year was a 10-month dry period from July 15, 2003 through the rest of the 2003 growing season and continuing through mid-May 2004 after the ground thawed. The rainfall deficit from mid-summer 2003 through April 2004 in Saint Cloud reached more than six and three-quarters inches until the rains came. Although this 10-month dry period could not compare to Minnesota's last major drought during 1986-1989, the period was intense enough to cause much of the state to be classified in the moderate to severe drought categories

 

Hot Summer 2005 Toolbar      
90°F+ Highs  
Consecutive Days Annual Days
Warm Lows 
Rainfall
 

Saint Cloud Summer Dry Spell

Time Period

Actual Rainfall

Normal Rainfall

June 1-14

2.94 inch

2.10 inch

June 15 to August 25 Totals

4.90**inches (**4.03 in below normal)

8.93 inches

August 26

2.28 inches

0.13 inch

August 27-31

0.00 inch

0.62 inch

Summer (June 1 to August 31) Totals

10.12**inches (**1.66 in below normal)

11.78 inches

 

Daily Normals by Month

Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Year

Daily Records by Month

Historic temperature data provided courtesy of the Saint Cloud National Weather Service Office, and NOAA/NWS
National Weather Service logo NOAA logo

Send comments to: raweisman@stcloudstate.edu