Weather

April 2018 Saint Cloud Weather Summary

It Was the ______-est Febru-April of All Time!

Coldest April (tie) Produces 12 Records

The late season winter relapse hit critical condition in April 2018. The average April temperature at the St. Cloud Regional Airport was 33.8 degrees, 10.8 degrees below average. So, April 2018 tied April 1950 for the coldest April in St. Cloud records . The month set a record with a 22.4 degree average low temperature. The old record was 24.8 degrees in April 1950. This was the first month in St. Cloud with a temperature at least 10 degrees below average since December 2013 (10.0 degrees below average).

April was relentlessly cold, with a surge of arctic air that has remained in northern Canada for a month pushing into the North Central States and beyond. That cold came in after a 6.3 inch snowstorm during the last two days of March and another 7.7 inches of snow the first 3 days of April. That cold air over the deep snow cover produced highs that failed to reach freezing 7 of the first eight days of the month and low temperatures in the plus single digits. That period produce 8 daily record cold temperatures, including the latest date for a zero degree low on April 5 (old record April 4, set in 1975).

The cold eased somewhat on the 10th-12th, but another mixed precipitation turning to snow storm on April 13-15 produced another 6.0 inches of snowfall in St. Cloud. The reduced temperatures during the snow produced the latest high to fail to reach 30 degrees on April 15 (old record: April 13, 1928) and 4 daily cold records. High temperatures in the 20's are typical of mid-February, not April.

Temperatures began to ease in central Minnesota during the second half of the month. Areas from St. Cloud and north missed the record-setting April blizzard on the 13th through the 16th. St. Cloud finally made it to 50 degrees for the first time this year on April 19, the 3rd latest first 50-degree high and got to 60 degrees for the first time on April 22 (6th latest first 60-degree high). While those thresholds were more than a month late, St. Cloud's first 70-degree high came on April 23, only 6 days late, and the first 80-degree high came on the last day of the month, 4 days early.

Still, 27 of the 30 days in April were colder than average with only the last day of the month having a mean temperature more than a degree above average.

4th Snowiest April

As noted above, the snow was a major part of the cold. St. Cloud picked up 14.8 inches of April snow, nearly 12 inches above average. April 2018 now ranks as the 4th snowiest April. The total February through April snowfall was 46.3 inches, the third Feb-Apr highest total. For the spring season (March 1-May 31) so far, St. Cloud has picked up 30.2 inches of snow, which ranks as the 6th snowiest spring.

In an average winter, St. Cloud has 86 days of consecutive snow cover of at least 1 inch. This winter, that streak came late with 75 consecutive days between February 4 and April 20. That date of April 20 was the latest final day of the streak on record. The old record was April 15, 1975. After a long period with no snow cover in January, St. Cloud ended up with 125 days with at least an inch of snow on the ground, ranking 18th most on record. The cold season average is 101 days.

The amount of water contained in the snow was below average with 1.41 inch, 1.16 inch below average. That's because the bulk of the snow St. Cloud received was fluffy snow in very cold air. St. Cloud only was brushed by the April 13-16 storm that produced over 20 inches in the Twin Cities.

In the past 6 winters, there have been two years ranking in the top 5 in snowfall (2012-2013 and 2013-2014), this season that was well above average, and three of the warmest winters on record (2011-2012, 2015-2016, and 2016-2017).

St. Cloud Winter Spring Statistics 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018
Average October-April Temperature 35.3 25.9 21.9 33.2 32.5 25.3
Lows of freezing or colder (days) 151 191 173 143 150 186
Lows of zero or colder (days) 10 43 63 14 24 42
Highs of freezing or colder (days) 49 87 103 64 65 89
Highs of zero or colder (days) 0 2 15 2 3 5
Lows of -20 or colder (days) 0 0 14 0 1 2
Snowfall (inches) 27.4 78.5 75.5 30.3 31.9 62.7
Days with at least one inch of snow on the ground 63 141 131 69 65 127
Consecutive days with at least 1 inch on ground 33 121 127 55 46 75
Days with at least an inch of snowfall 10 17 21 11 12 22
First 50-degree high Jan 5 Apr 26 Mar 30 Mar 9 Feb 17 Apr 19
First 60-degree high Mar 11 Apr 26 Apr 6 Mar 10 Mar 5 Apr 22
First 70-degree high Mar 14 Apr 27 Apr 9 March 15 Apr 8 Apr 30
First 80-degree high Apr 13 May 14 May 24 Apr 14 May 5 Apr 30

The lingering effects of the late season snow were: some minor to moderate flooding along the Red, Minnesota, and Mississippi Rivers south of St. Paul. A few bridges were closed for several days in Henderson and along the Minnesota-North Dakota border. The other effect has been the very slow melting of Minnesota lakes. Only Lake Pepin had ice out before April 22 and most smaller lakes across Minnesota were not ice free until the last week of April. Most larger lakes are still not ice free as of early May.

[system-asset]
St. Cloud Daily April Records 10 Coldest Aprils 10 Snowiest Aprils 10 Highest Late Season Snow Totals
Latest 50- and 60-degree highs Last Consecutive Day with an inch on the ground

April 2018 Statistics

Temperatures (°F)
April 2018
Normal
Average High Temperature (°F)
45.1
54.9
Average Low Temperature (°F)
22.4
32.2
Mean Temperature for April (°F)
33.8* (tied for coldest April)
44.5
April Extremes
Temperature(°F)
Date
Warmest High Temperature for April 2018 (°F)
80
April 30
Coldest High Temperature for April 2018 (°F)
21 (set record; see below)
April 6
Warmest Low Temperature for April 2018 (°F)
49
April 30
Coldest Low Temperature for April 2018 (°F)

0 (latest zero degree reading; see below)

April 5
Record Temperatures in April 2018
Temperature(°F)
Date
Old Record
Daily Record Cold High
21°F
April 6
23°F in 2007
 
31°F
April 14
33°F
 
26°F
April 15
30°F in 1928
Daily Record Cold Low
0°F
April 5
8°F in 1979
 
8°F
April 7
9°F in 1997
 
3°F
April 8
7°F in 1997
 
3°F
April 8
7°F in 1997
Daily Record Cold Average
15°F
April 4
tied record set in 1995
 
 17°F
April 5
18°F in 1979
 
 15°F (tie)
April 6
tied record set in 1979
 
 16°F
April 8
19°F in 1997
 
 27°F (tie)
April 14
tied record set in 1928
 
24°F
April 15
26°F in 1961
Monthly Record Cold Low
22.4°F
April 2018 
24.8°F in April 1950
Latest Temperature of 0°F or colder
0°F
April 5
-3°F on April 4, 1975
Latest High Temperature colder than 30°F
26°F
April 15
24°F on April 13, 1928
Temperature Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
April 2018 Days with High Temperatures =>90°F
0
0.04
April 2018 Days with High Temperatures <= 32°F
9
0.73

Cold-season 2017-2018 Days with High Temperatures <= 32°F

89
87.7
April 2018 Days with Low Temperatures <= 32°F
26
15.7

Cold-season 2017-2018 Days with Low Temperatures <= 32°F

186 (15th most through April 30)
170.4
April 2018 Days with Low Temperatures <= 0°F
1
0.0

Cold-season 2017-2018 Days with Low Temperatures <= 0°F

43
42.7
 
Liquid Equivalent Precipitation (in)
April 2018
Normal
April 2018 Rainfall (in)
1.41
2.57
April Extremes
Precipitation (in)
Date
Most Daily Precipitation in April 2018
0.30
April 2
Record Precipitation in April 2018
Rainfall (in)
Date
Old Record

No records set

Precipitation Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
April 2018 Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation
8
8.4
April 2018 Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation
6
4.9
April 2018 Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation
2
3.1
April 2018 Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation
1
1.5
April 2018 Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation
0
0.2
Complete list of Saint Cloud April Records
Link to 10 Wettest/Driest Aprils
   
Snowfall (in)
April 2018
Normal
April 2018 Snowfall (in)
14.8* (3rd snowiest April)
2.9
62.7
42.9
April Extremes
Snowfall (in)
Date
Most Daily Snowfall in April 2018
5.1
April 2
Record Snowfall in April 2018
Snowfall (in)
Date
Old Record
Snowfall Thresholds
Number of Days
Average
April 2018 Days with Measurable (>= 0.1 inch) Snowfall
6
1.9
2017-2018 Cold Season Total Days with Measurable (>= 0.1 inch) Snowfall
38
31.8

April 2018 Days with >= 1.0 inch Snowfall

6
0.9
2017-2018 Cold Season Total Days with >= 1.0 inch Snowfall
22
14.0
April 2018 Days with >= 2.0 inch Snowfall
3
0.6
2017-2018 Cold Season Total Days with >= 2.0 inch Snowfall
10
7.6
April 2018 Days with >= 5.0 inch Snowfall
1
0.1
2017-2018 Cold Season Total Days with >= 5.0 inch Snowfall
3
1.4

 

St. Cloud Daily April Records 10 Coldest Aprils 10 Snowiest Aprils 10 Highest Late Season Snow Totals
Latest 50- and 60-degree highs Last Consecutive Day with an inch on the ground

Historic temperature data provided courtesy of the Saint Cloud National Weather Service Office, and NOAA/NWS
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Send comments to: raweisman@stcloudstate.edu