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December 2015 Saint Cloud Weather Summary


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(December 2015 Summary)

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Warmest December Since 1939 Finishes 8th Warmest Year

December 2015 St. Cloud Weather Summary

December 2015 finished an incredibly warm fall and start to winter in style. The average temperature at the St. Cloud Regional Airport was 26.5 degrees, 10.6 degrees warmer than the average December. That ranks as the 6th warmest December among the 135 Decembers in St. Cloud records and the warmest December since 1939. Only a stretch of near seasonable days during the last week of the month knocked December 2015 out of first place, even though only 2 days in the last week were colder than average. Overall, there were only 11 days that failed to reach at least 10 degrees warmer than average.

There were 5 record daily record warm temperatures set in December, 4 of them being daily record warm lows and all 4 of them featuring low temperatures above freezing. Since the month tended to be cloudy, however, there weren't any record warm highs threatened since there only 4 days with a high of 40 degrees or warmer.

Only the low temperature on December 28 reached zero. There have been only 3 other Decembers with one low of zero or colder: 1952, 1997, and 2001. There have been 6 Decembers when the temperature stayed above zero all month. The most recent was 1959 (others: 1903, 1912, 1913, 1918, 1954)

There was more than average precipitation in December 2015. The unusual part is how much of it fell as rain. The total precipitation was 1.02 inch, 0.20 inch above average. 0.36 inch fell purely as rain with ground temperatures above freezing. There was 8.2 inches of snow, 2.3 inches below the December average of 10.5 inches. There were some heavy snow events in Minnesota during December, especially in southeastern Minnesota on December 28 and 29, but St. Cloud was completely shut out of that snow. St. Cloud got the bulk of the snow on December 26 with 4.3 inches recorded. There were 14 days that had zero or less than an inch of snow cover in St. Cloud. Compare this with the continuous snow cover in 2013-2014 that began on December 4 and stayed for the next 127 days. In 2012-2013, the snow cover began on December 8 and continued for the following 124 days.

The warm December capped off the last 4 months of the year, three of which placed among the 10 warmest. This also contributed to the 8th warmest year in St. Cloud records (see below).

 

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(December 2015 Summary)

Precipitation

Temperature

Snowfall

    December 2015 Statistics

Temperatures (°F)
December 2015
Normal
December Average High Temperature (°F)
32.0
24.7
December Average Low Temperature (°F)
21.0
7.1
Mean Temperature for December (°F)
26.5$
15.9

$6th Warmest December on Record

   

December Extremes

Temperature(°F)
Date
Warmest High Temperature for December 2015 (°F)
46
December 10
Coldest High Temperature for December 2015 (°F)
16
December 18
Warmest Low Temperature for December 2015 (°F)
36
December 10 (broke record; see below), 13
Coldest Low Temperature for December 2015 (°F)
0
December 28
Record Temperatures in December 2015
Temperature(°F)
Date
Old Record
Daily Record Warm Average
41
December 10
38 in 1939
Daily Record Warm Low
34
December 5
30 in 1939,1951,1980,2001
36
December 10
31 in 1918,1921
34
December 11
32 in 1921, 1965
35
December 12
34 in 1928, 2011
Temperature Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
December 2015 Days with High Temperatures <= 32°F
14
23.5
December 2015 Days with High Temperatures <= 0°F
0
1.0
December 2015 Days with Low Temperatures <= 32°F
25
25.7
December 2015 Days with Low Temperatures <= 0°F
1
9.9
December 2015 Days with Low Temperatures <= -20°F
0
0.9
Melted Precipitation (in)
December 2015
Normal
December 2015 Melted Precipitation (in)
1.02
0.82
 
Precipitation Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
December 2015 Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation
7
6.6
December 2015 Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation
5
2.0
December 2015 Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation
1
0.7
December 2015 Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation
0
0.1
December 2015 Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation
0
0.0
December Extremes
Precipitation (in)
Date
Most Daily Precipitation in December 2015
0.26 inch
December 26
Record Precipitation in December 2015
Precipitation (in)
Date
Old Record
No records set
     
Snowfall (in)
December 2015
Normal
December 2015 Saint Cloud Airport Snowfall (in)
8.2
10.5
2015-2016 Seasonal Snowfall (1 Oct 2015 - 31 Dec 2015)
13.9
20.1
 
Snowfall Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
December 2015 Days with Measurable (>= 0.1 inch) Snowfall
4
8.3
December 2015 Days with >= 1.0 inch Snowfall
3
3.2
December 2015 Days with >= 2.0 inch Snowfall
1
1.6
December 2015 Days with >= 5.0 inch Snowfall
0
0.2
     
December Extremes
Snowfall (in)
Date
Most Daily Snowfall in December 2015
4.3
December 26
Record Snowfall in December 2015
Snowfall (in)
Date
Old Record
No records set
     

 

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(December 2015 Summary)

Precipitation

Temperature

Snowfall

.

Warm Last Four Months Fuel Top 10 Finish in Temperature
2015 Annual Saint Cloud Weather Summary

2015 8th Warmest in St. Cloud Records

Mainly on the strength of the last four months of the year, St. Cloud's 2015 average temperature finished at 45.1°F, 3.1°F warmer than average. That ranks as the 8th warmest year out of the 135 years in St. Cloud records. The last 4 months of the year featured St. Cloud's 4th warmest September, 6th warmest November, and the 6th warmest December. The last four months of the year combined had a temperature of 44.5 degrees. Only September-December of 1931 had a warmer last four month average (45.2 degrees).

That's in contrast to a near average summer (68.0°F, 0.1°F above average) and a colder than average spring of the year (2.5°F colder than average) and a slightly warmer than average 2014-2015 winter (1.6°F warmer than average). In fact, the summer features many low dew point days and only 2 highs of 90 degrees or higher (average: 11 days), only the 11th summer with 2 or fewer 90-degree days in St. Cloud records (highest: 91 on August 14). Among some measurements, it was one of the most pleasant summers on record. By the same token, there was only 1 day with a low temperature of -20°F on January 13 (average: 5 days).

Note that 2015 will be the 5th year since 1998 that have ranked among the warmest 10 years in St. Cloud records. This has matched our trend of warmer than average winters that have dominated most of the past 20 years. Unlike the past two years, St. Cloud and Minnesota are sharing in the global warmth, since this year is on track to be the warmest year of the 135 years in global temperature. This year, it looks like that eastern Canada and the southern tip of Chile are among the holdouts with colder than average years.

Well Above Average Rainfall

While not being a top 5 rainfall year as in 2014, St. Cloud finished 2015 with 33.11 inches of precipitation, 5.38 inches above average.

Nearly Half the Average Snowfall

However, the total 2015 snowfall was 24.9 inches, 11.2 inches below average. The primary snowstorm in the 2014-2015 winter was the first one on November 10-11, 2014. And, there hasn't been a major snowstorm so far in 2015-2016 (13.9 inches so far, 6.6 inches below average).

There were only 35 consecutive days with snow cover in the winter of 2014-2015. That's a far cry from the 120-plus days recorded in the winters of 2012-2013 and 2013-2014. Both of those winters placed among St. Cloud's top 5 snowiest.

 

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(December 2015 Summary)

Precipitation

Temperature

Snowfall

.

2015 Statistics

.

Temperatures (°F)
2015
Average
Average High Temperature (°F)
55.1
53.7
Average Low Temperature (°F)
35.0
32.1
Mean Temperature for 2015 (°F)
45.1#
42.9
#8th warmest year    
2015 Temperature Thresholds
2015
Average
Warm Season    
2015 Days with High Temperatures >= 90°F
2
11.4
2015 Days with High Temperature >= 100°F
0
0.5
2015 Days with Low Temperatures >= 70°F
2
3.0
2015 Days with Low Temperatures >= 75°F
0
0.47
Growing Season (Consecutive Days with Low Temp>= 32°F)
153
137
Cold Season
2015 Days with High Temperatures <= 32°F
71
87.7
2015 Days with High Temperatures <= 0°F
3
4.3
2015 Days with Low Temperatures <= 32°F
152
170.4
2015 Days with Low Temperatures <= 0°F
32
42.5
2015 Days with Low Temperatures <= -20°F
1
5.4
Liquid Equivalent Precipitation (in)
2015
1981-2010 Average
2015 Total Precipitation (in)
33.11
27.71
     
Precipitation Thresholds
2015
1896-2015 Average
2015 Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation
114
97.3
2015 Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation
56
52.9
2015 Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation
36
32.1
2015 Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation
21
16.8
2015 Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation
10
5.5
Snowfall (in)
2015
1981-2010 Average
2015 Total Snowfall
24.9
46.1
Precipitation Thresholds
2015
1904-2015 Average
2015 Total Days with Measurable (>= 0.1 inch) Snowfall
24
32.5
2015 Total Days with >= 1.0 inch Snowfall
8
14.0
2015 Total Days with >= 2.0 inch Snowfall
2
7.6
2015 Total Days with >= 5.0 inch Snowfall
1
1.5
 
2015 Month-by-Month Summary January-July
Temperature (°F)
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
Average High Temperature 24.1 18.0 43.5 58.1 66.3 77.6 82.2
Average Low Temperature 8.8 -0.6 21.5 34.6 43.9 54.8 59,2
Mean Temperature 16.5 8.7 32.4 46.3 55.1 66.2 70.7
Departure from Normal +4.9 -8.3 +3.0 +1.8 -1.4 +0.6 +0.4
2015 Warmest High Temperature

91°F on August 14 (tied with 2008 as the coolest annual high since 1994)

2015 Coldest High Temperature -2°F on February 22
2015 Warmest Low Temperature 72°F on September 5
2015 Coldest Low Temperature -22°F on January 13


2015 Daily Record Temperatures
Temperature (°F)
Date
Record Warm High Temperature (3 broken)
61
March 10
70
March 15
83
October 11
Record Warm Average Temperature (5 broken)
46
March 10
61
April 1
65
April 12 (tie)
55
November 4
41
December 10
Record Warm Low Temperature (8 broken)
29
January 29
50
November 4
47
November 16
48
November 17
34
December 5
36
December 10
34
December 11
35
December 12
Record Cold High Temperature (1 broken)
47
May 18
Record Cold Low Temperature (1 broken)
-2
February 22
Precipitation (in)
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
Liquid Precipitation 0.24  0.35 0.38 1.67 6.03 4.66 7.18
Departure from Normal -0.41 -0.24 -1.17 -0.90 +3.08 +0.49 +3.87
Most in 24 hours 1.70 inches on July 12
New Daily Precipitation Records Set
Amount (inches)
Date
Daily Record Precipitation (5 broken)
1.41
May 17
1.55
June 20
1.04
November 17
0.98
November 18
0.37
November 30
Snowfall (in)
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
Snowfall 2.5 4.2 3.3 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Departure from Normal -5.4 -2.9 -4.8 -1.9 - - -
Most in 24 hours 5.0 inches on November 30
New Snowfall Records Set
Amount (inches)
Date
None

 

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(December 2014 Summary)

Precipitation

Temperature

Snowfall

2015 Month-by-Month Summary August-December
Temperature (°F)
Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec 2015
Average High Temperature 78.0 75.7 59.5 46.9 32.0 51.3
Average Low Temperature 56.2 53.8 37.7 29.3 21.0 31.5
Mean Temperature 67.1 64.8 48.6 38.1 26.5 45.1
Departure from Normal -0.7 +6.2 +2.9 +7.7 +10.6 +3.1

 

Precipitation (in)
Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec 2015
Liquid Precipitation 3.10 2.24 3.14 3.10 1.02 33.11
Departure from Normal -0.69 -1.22 +0.65 +1.72 +0.20 +5.38
Snowfall (in)
Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec 2015
Snowfall 0.0 0.0 0.2 5.5 8.2 24.9
Departure from Normal - - -0.5 -3.4 -2.3 -16.8
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(December 2014 Summary)

Precipitation

Temperature

Snowfall

 

St. Cloud September-December Average Temperature (Average: 38.1°F)
Rank
Year
Temperature(°F)
1
1931
45.2
2
2015
44.5
3
1939
43.3
4
1913
43.1
5
2001
42.4
6(tie)
1908
42.3
6(tie)
2011
42.3
8
1900
42.1
9
1918
42.0
10(tie)
1920
41.9
10(tie)
1923
41.9
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(December 2014 Summary)

Precipitation

Temperature

Snowfall

 

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