August 1998 Saint Cloud Weather Summary

SUBJECT: Warm August makes the Summer of 1998 Incredibly.....Normal
St. Cloud August 1998 and summer 1998 weather summaries

August 1998 in Saint Cloud was a warm month. The average
temperature of 69.2 degrees was about two degrees above normal.
However, extreme temperatures were hard to come by. Not only did August
pass without any records, but also there wasn't a single day with a
high of 90 degrees or better. The total number of 90 degree days for
this warm season was 5, with 3 of those occurring in May.

Even though the warmth of this month set no records, it was
unusual in recent years. Only 4 years since 1976 have had a warmer
average August temperature (1983, 1984, 1988, 1995). In contrast, eight
of the ten warmest Augusts were set in 1947 or earlier. Only 1983 (avg
temp of 73.4) in the past 20 years ranks in the top ten (4th). Because of
this, the "normal" monthly temperature for August, which reflects temperatures
during 1961-1990, is 67.1 degrees while the average August temperatures during
the entire 119 years of St. Cloud records is 68.1 degrees. So, global
warming is not being felt in Saint Cloud during August.

Rainfall in Saint Cloud was slightly below normal, but that
would be misleading for Central Minnesota as a whole. On the 7th,
the airport received 1.15 inches of rain, but the rain gauge at SCSU
picked up 1.54 inches. Also, the heavy rainfall of the 22nd and 23rd
only recorded .98 inch at the airport, but 1.85 inches at SCSU. And,
the heaviest rainfall during that storm in the Saint Cloud Metro was
in Sauk Rapids, missing both the airport and the University.
So, the SCSU rainfall total for August was 4.82 inches, more than an
inch higher than at the airport, with a strong possibility that other
points around the area could have picked up even more rain.

The warm conditions in August cancelled out June's cool readings
to produce average temperatures within a degree of normal for the summer.
This is an incredible result considering the severity of the heat in
the Central and Southern Plains, which at times, pushed into Minnesota.
It is also a fairly incredible result considering the amount of hot air
being released about the potential effects of the dying El Nino, ignoring
that summer weather is not as closely tied to the hemispheric wind pattern
as the rest of the year. With the relatively modest cooling of tropical
Pacific waters, perhaps the hype of the upcoming La Nina may fall into
the same category. Or, we may realize that those long range forecasts are
not usually worth the paper they are printed on.

AUGUST STATISTICS                 AUG 1998              NORMAL
TEMPERATURE ( F)
Average high temp                  81.0                 79.4
Average low temp                   57.3                 54.8
Average temp                       69.2                 67.1
Warmest high for the month        89 on the 9th         
Coolest high for the month        72 on the 18th 
Warmest low for the month         69 on the 19th
Coolest low for the month         47 on the 30th      


PRECIPITATION (IN)
Total for month                   3.59                   3.96
Maximum daily amount              1.16 on the 19th

SUMMER STATISTICS               SUMMER 1998             NORMAL
Avg high temperature ( F)         78.8                   79.8
Avg low temperature ( F)          56.1                   54.9
Average temperature ( F)          67.5                   68.2
Total Precipitation (in)         11.25                  11.44