Weather

April 2019 Saint Cloud Weather Summary

It Was the Worst Ever Winter.....Since Last Winter

The complaints ran rampant as the snow kept falling for the first half of April. There were 8.6 inches of snow in the first two weeks of the month, most of which fell during April 10-12. High temperatures only made it above 60 degrees 3 days of the first 15 days of the month. In the storm and its aftermath, the high temperature didn't even make it to 35 degrees during April 10-12 and lows remained below 30 degrees for 7 straight days. However, the rest of the month didn't manage to stay that cold after the snow finally melted for good.

Temperatures broke 60 degrees again on April 16 and climbed above 60 again 7 of the following 10 days. Still, the month ended with a cold rain, persistent clouds, and a biting wind.

The overall effect was an April that was 2.1 degrees colder than average at 42.4 degrees. This wasn't extremely cold and was more than 8 degrees warmer than April 2018, which tied April 1950 for the coldest April in St. Cloud records. April 2019 set no new record cold temperatures, unlike the 12 different temperature records set in April 2018, including the latest zero reading on record.

The 8.3 inches that fell during April 10-12 only ranks as the 12th snowiest April on record, failing to be the 5th April in the 2000s to reach the 10 snowiest.

In 2018-2019, the real winter weather has mainly been confined to the period between mid-January and the end of April. The February through April snowfall has totaled 47.3 inches, the 3rd snowiest February through April on record. 4 of the 6 snowiest end of the winters have taken place in the 2000s with 2008 ranked 9th. This heavy snowfall did finally push the entire snow season of 2018-2019 to 68.5 inches through the end of April, the 8th snowiest winter on record in St. Cloud.

If you wish to use an "analogue" forecast to figure out what the winter of 2019-2020 will be like, good luck. Not only have we had a variety of conditions, but we have had both extremely mild and snowless winters and cold and snowy winters. The past 7 cold seasons (defined as our possible snow months, October through April) have features the three warmest cold seasons on record (2011-2012, 2015-2016, 2016-2017), the 5th coldest (2013-2014) and 2 other years definitely on the cold side. Then, there was the half-and-half cold season this winter. Three of those colder than average seasons have been among the 10 snowiest cold seasons. There have been nearly no "average cold seasons" in this period.

St. Cloud Winter Spring Statistics 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-2019
Average October-April Temperature 35.3 (warmest) 25.9 21.9 (5th coldest) 33.2 (2nd warmest) 32.5 (3rd warmest) 25.3 28.2
Lows of freezing or colder (days) 151 (3rd fewest) 191(10th most) 173 143 (fewest) 150 (2nd fewest) 186 183
Lows of zero or colder (days) 10 (fewest on record) 43 63 (8th most) 14 (3rd fewest) 24 42 49
Highs of freezing or colder (days) 49 87 103 64 65 89 106
Highs of zero or colder (days) 0 2 15 2 3 5 5
Lows of -20 or colder (days) 0 0 14 0 1 2 7
Snowfall (inches) 27.4 78.5(4th snowiest) 75.5 (5th snowiest) 30.3 31.9 62.7 69.1 (8th snowiest)
Days with at least one inch of snow on the ground 63 141 131 69 65 127 119
Consecutive days with at least 1 inch on ground 33 121 127 55 46 75 90
Days with at least an inch of snowfall 10 17 21 11 12 22 22
First 50-degree high Jan 5 (earliest) Apr 26 (latest) Mar 30 Mar 9 Feb 17 Apr 19 Mar 27
First 60-degree high Mar 11 Apr 26 (latest) Apr 6 Mar 10 Mar 5 (2nd earliest) Apr 22 Mar 27
First 70-degree high Mar 14 Apr 27 Apr 9 March 15 Apr 8 Apr 30 Apr 20
First 80-degree high Apr 13 May 14 May 24 Apr 14 May 5 Apr 30 May 30

The combined effect of the snowfall and heavy rainfall (total of 3.29 inches) produced significant flooding on the Red and Minnesota Rivers.

St. Cloud Daily April Records 10 Coldest Aprils 10 Snowiest Aprils 10 Highest Late Season Snow Totals
Latest 50- and 60-degree highs Blizzard April 10-12, 2019

April 2019 Statistics

Temperatures (°F)
April 2019
Normal
Average High Temperature (°F)
52.6
54.9
Average Low Temperature (°F)
32.1
32.2
Mean Temperature for April (°F)
42.4
44.5
April Extremes
Temperature(°F)
Date
Warmest High Temperature for April 2019 (°F)
79
April 20
Coldest High Temperature for April 2019(°F)
30
April 11
Warmest Low Temperature for April 2019 (°F)
44
April 21
Coldest Low Temperature for April 2019 (°F)

19

April 14
Record Temperatures in April 2019
Temperature(°F)
Date
Old Record
No record temperatures set
Temperature Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
April 2019 Days with High Temperatures =>90°F
0
0.04
April 2019 Days with High Temperatures <= 32°F
1
0.73

Cold-season 2018-2019 Days with High Temperatures <= 32°F

106
87.7
April 2019 Days with Low Temperatures <= 32°F
26
15.7

Cold-season 2018-2019 Days with Low Temperatures <= 32°F

180
170.4
April 2019 Days with Low Temperatures <= 0°F
0
0.0

Cold-season 2018-2019 Days with Low Temperatures <= 0°F

49
42.7
 
Liquid Equivalent Precipitation (in)
April 2019
Normal
April 2019 Rainfall (in)
3.29
2.57
April Extremes
Precipitation (in)
Date
Most Daily Precipitation in April 2019
0.82
April 17
Record Precipitation in April 2019
Rainfall (in)
Date
Old Record

No records set

Precipitation Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
April 2019 Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation
11
8.4
April 2019 Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation
8
4.9
April 2019 Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation
4
3.1
April 2019 Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation
3
1.5
April 2019 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 2019
Normal
April 2019 Snowfall (in)
8.3* (12th snowiest April)
2.9
68.5
42.9
April Extremes
Snowfall (in)
Date
Most Daily Snowfall in April 2019
4.6
April 11
Record Snowfall in April 2019
Snowfall (in)
Date
Old Record
Snowfall Thresholds
Number of Days
Average
April 2019 Days with Measurable (>= 0.1 inch) Snowfall
3
1.9
2018-2019 Cold Season Total Days with Measurable (>= 0.1 inch) Snowfall
38
31.8

April 2019 Days with >= 1.0 inch Snowfall

3
0.9
2018-2019 Cold Season Total Days with >= 1.0 inch Snowfall
22
14.0
April 2019 Days with >= 2.0 inch Snowfall
2
0.6
2018-2019 Cold Season Total Days with >= 2.0 inch Snowfall
13
7.6
April 2019 Days with >= 5.0 inch Snowfall
0
0.1
2018-2019 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 Blizzard April 10-12, 2019

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