Saint Cloud Weather Summary for August 2025 and Summer 2025

A blast of Canadian air pushed into St. Cloud on August 22, finally cleaning out the persistent humidity and allowing some cooling. During the first 22 days of August, St. Cloud averaged 71.8 degrees, 3.2 degrees above average. The average low temperature of 62.5 degrees was more than 6 degrees above the August average. However, the cooler and drier air dropped the average August temperature to 69.4 degrees, 1.7 degrees above average, the 46th warmest August of the 144 Augusts on record). The above average temperature was still mainly fueled by the warm lows, which averaged 59.3 degrees (3.0 degrees warmer than average, 20th warmest of 130 on record). The average August high was 79.5 degrees, merely 0.3 degrees above average and only the 71st warmest out of 130 Augusts on record.

Warm Low Temperatures Fueled by Persistent Moisture

The cause of the persistent warmth, not just in August, but all meteorological summer (June 1-August 31), was the persistent rainfall either over central Minnesota or nearby. Having a constant supply of wet grounds kept the dew points often in the 60's or higher. Since the low temperature on a clear, cool night cannot drop lower than the dew point, since cooling beyond the dew point will cause water vapor to condense. This is the opposite of the process that our bodies use to keep cool, having the air evaporate our perspiration, so latent heat is taken away from our bodies, cooling us. When dew is formed on a clear, calm morning, that latent heat is released, keeping the temperature from cooling below the dew point, so that is the usual lowest possible temperature. Since our dew points were so warm for much of the summer, the overall summer average low temperature was 59.5 degrees (2.8 degrees warmer than average, 11th warmest of 129 summers). The summer average high was only 79.9 degrees (+0.6 degree from average, 67th warmest of 129 summers), but the overall average summer temperature was still 69.7 degrees, 1.7 degrees above average, and the 42 warmest of 144 summers.

Having only 6 days with a high of at least 90 degrees, none in August, was consistent with the suppressed high temperatures. For much of the summer, central and northern Minnesota were merely on the edge of the persistently hot and humid found in the central and southern Plains. That is typically an area where thunderstorms are common anytime the really hot and humid air is pulled northward over the more seasonable air. That supports the high dew points and frequently produces leftover clouds from the often overnight storms, so that the high temperatures are held down.

On the other hand, the persistent humidity produced warm low temperatures. While I have charts for lows warmer than 70 degrees and warmer than 75 degrees, the table below summarizes all of the warm low. Note that summer 2025 was among the top 20 in all categories of mild lows, including the rare 2 days with a low of at least 75 degrees, the first recorded in St. Cloud since 2012. The 80 degree low set on June 22 set a record for the warmest June low temperature ever and was only the 7th low of 80 degrees or warmer in St. Cloud records and the first since August 14, 1938.

The persistent humidity also meant very few cool highs or low. The table above notes that there were only 9 summer days with a low cooler than 50 degrees, 4 of which happened during the last 10 days of August. That tied for the 17th fewest number of cool lows, although the 2022 and 2024 summers had fewer of those lows. There was only 1 high cooler than 70 degrees in August and a total of 10 for the summer months, even though 2 of them ended up setting record cool highs in June. That's one above average for the entire summer, but the July and August count was 2 days (the average is 4 days).

Warm Period Since End of Snowiest Winter on Record Continues

The above average August means that St. Cloud has now seen 27 warmer than average months during the past 28 months since April 2023. Only February 2025 has been colder than average.

Recent Summers Also Showing Persistent Warmth, Despite Lack of Records

Note from the table above that the most unusual months (at least 3 degrees above average shown in bold red) have been during the cooler 9 months of the year. That is consistent with the predictions of global warming which indicate that the warm-up in northern latitudes would be most likely during the cold season. That is consistent in the St. Cloud annual temperature graph, which shows the warmer than average temperatures (5-year running average, blue dashed line) of recent years among the warmest on record. Still, the very warm El Nino event, partly responsible for the extremely warm global temperatures in the past 3 years, is another factor in the very warm temperatures. However, I was a bit surprised to note that the past 6 summers from 2020 have been well above average. In fact, the 2025 summer was the coolest of those 6 warm summers. Only the summer of 2021 among those 6 summers rank among the warmest summers in St. Cloud records, and 2021 barely makes it, tying for 10th place. None of these years stand up to the extreme heat from the summer of 1988 or the 1930's. Still, the recent 5-year average summer temperature in St. Cloud is still warmer than nearly all of the rest of years on record, except for the Dust Bowl drought years.

Keep in mind that the records of a single place cannot either prove or disprove the global warming theory. That proof is in the global warming trend since the start of industrialization and especially since the mid-1970's. I am simply using these figures as an illustration of the kind of warming expected in the predictions, which are the least certain part of the global warming theory.

Rainfall Eased in August, But Not Everywhere in Minnesota

The cooler temperatures finally came with drier weather. The St. Cloud Regional Airport received only 1.79 inches of August rain, 2.21 inches below the average. That's the least amount of August rain since 2013, despite the dry spells seen during the falls of 2023 and 2024. Most of the southern half of Minnnesota, including places like Albany and South Haven, still picked up huge amounts of August rain (from NWS Water Prediction Service, zoom map to Minnesota, set month to August 2025). Much of it fell during the August 14-18 period. However, the St. Cloud Airport picked up only 1.01 inches during these date, most of it the 0.97 inch on August 16. Rainfall was over 5 inches (red on the above linked figure) from Fargo to Marshall, along the Minnesota River Valley from Ortonville to Mankato, and then to Rochester and southeastern Minnesota. However, much of northern Minnesota saw less than 2 inches. Also, the Brainerd Lakes area and northward also had less than 2 inches of August rain.

Still, the heavy June and July rainfall ensured that summer 2025 ended up with 14.26 inches in St. Cloud, 2.91 inches above average, making this the 28th wettest summer in St. Cloud records. For the growing season so far (since April 1), St. Cloud has picked up 20.27 inches, 3.60 inches above average and the 34th wettest April through August of 133 seasons in St. Cloud records. For the year, St. Cloud has picked up 23.55 inches of precipitation, 2.93 inches above average, making it the 58th wettest in St. Cloud records.

In Minnesota, 2025 thus far (from NWS Water Prediction Service, zoom map to Minnesota, set date to August 31, and period to year to date), the same trends are present. There is a stark division across Minnesota from the dark green (25 inches or less) in the northern half to the red in the southern half of Minnesota. Most of the southern portion of Minnesota is at least 5 inches above average. On the other hand, the light green areas in north central and northwestern Minnesota has seen less than 15 inches of rainfall, putting it 1-5 inches below average. That's the edge of the much drier conditions that led to a likely record year of Canadian Prairie Province wildfires.

Rain Finally in South Central Canada Eases Occasional Smoke Problems

The other major change in Minnesota weather in August was that the late August inflow of Canadian air was smoke-free, unlike much of the summer, and especially the last major smoke outbreak during July 29-August 6. During this period, the air quality index remained at least in the orange, 100, or worse. That was the most persistent period of low air quality in Minnesota since 2021, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. During our higher humidity period in middle August, there was important rainfall right over the fire areas from the Yukon through the central Prairie Provinces and into southern Manitoba, finally easing the smoke conditions over the source.

    August 2025 Statistics

Summer (June 1-August 31) 2025 Statistics