Weather

February 2005 Saint Cloud Weather Summary

This Month's Daily Statistics

Make it 8 Mild Winters Out of the Past 9

Saint Cloud Weather Summary for February 2005 and Winter 2004-2005

   February 2005 ended up being the sixth consecutive milder than normal month. According to the statistics taken at the Saint Cloud Regional Airport, the February average temperature was 22.7°F, 6.5°F warmer than normal. Thus, February 2005 was the 15th mildest February since Saint Cloud records began in 1881 (20 Warmest Februaries/Winters). Since 1990, there have been 7 Februaries that rank among the 20 warmest, including 5 Februaries since 1998. This includes February 1998, the warmest February in Saint Cloud records (average temperature: 29.6°F).

   The irony of the past month is that Saint Cloud had to cool down significantly to place as the 15th warmest winter. The first two weeks of February 2005 had an average temperature of 28.0°F (avg. high 36.9°F, avg. low 19.1°F), more than 14.5°F above normal. In fact, these temperatures were more typical of March 13-16 (March Saint Cloud normals) During Feb. 1-14, 10 daily record warm temperatures were tied or broken, including 9 records in the first five days of February (February Daily Records). Eight of the 14 days had a high of at least 40, while only three days had highs colder than 30. (February 2005 Daily Statistics) There were only three days with a low colder than 11°F and one sub-zero low. If the rest of the month had continued as mild as the first two weeks, it would have ranked as the third warmest February on record.

   However, conditions cooled dramatically during the last two weeks of February. The average temperature of 17.4°F (26.4°F avg. high, 8.4°F avg. low) was near normal for the middle and late portion of February, but 10.6°F colder than the first half of February. Between Feb. 15-28, there was no high milder than 33°F and 7 lows colder than 10°F. The reason for the sudden change was an intensification of two high pressure systems: one along the west coast of North American and the other over Greenland. The strengthening of these highs help to keep northwest flow over the Northern Plains, allowing Canadian air masses to move over the state. These cool air masses lacked the punch of cold air surges in January or December, but still kept us away from the warmest Februaries of all time.

  Overall, the average Saint Cloud meteorological winter (Dec. 1 - Feb. 28) temperature of 17.8°F (avg. high: 26.6°F; avg. low: 8.9°F) was similar to the conditions of the past two weeks. This winter 2004-2005 temperature was 4.6°F milder than normal, no surprise considering that all three winter months had above normal temperatures with December and February dramatically above normal.(Historic Saint Cloud monthly average temperatures) This tied for the 17th mildest winter with 1890-1891 and 1913-1914. Again, 5 of the past 8 winters rank in the 20 warmest winters in Saint Cloud records.(20 Warmest Februaries/Winters)

  As was the case last winter, there were some intensely cold periods during the winter of 2004-2005. The most notable period was during January 13-18, which included 4 consecutive days with the temperature at or below zero (out of 5 for the whole cold season), brought an end to the third longest gap between 4-day below zero streaks. The last time we had four consecutive sub-zero days was January 25-28, 1997. The gap of 7 years, 349 days is the third longest time gap between streaks. The longest streak of consecutive sub-zero days was 7 days, last done in Jan. 13-19, 1994. Despite the intensity of the cold period, Saint Cloud did not stay colder than -10 for a high or -30 for a low. Both were accomplished in January 2004.

Through the morning of March 2, there have been only 26 days with a low of 0°F. At this point, this would be the 11th lowest number of sub-zero lows in a cold season. Again, this would also be the 5th year during our streak of mild winters that would rank in the top 14.

In snowfall, the Saint Cloud Airport had above normal snow for the second straight month. The total of 8.9 inches was more than two inches above normal. At this point in the cold season, the Saint Cloud Airport has received just over 26 inches of snow, which remains 9.4 inches below normal. However, other parts of Saint Cloud have recorded much higher snowfall totals. At Saint Cloud State University, February was the second straight month with double-digit snowfall. The total for February was 11.0 inches and the seasonal snowfall has now reached 36.5 inches. This is more than 10 inches above the airport value and actually an inch higher than normal for the winter thus far.

The amount of liquid locked up in that snowfall was also above normal for the month. The February total was 0.97 inch, about a third of an inch above normal. This brings the winter total melted precipitation at the Saint Cloud Airport to 3.23 inches, more than 1.1 inches above normal and ties the Winter of 1915-1916 as the 15th wettest in Saint Cloud records.

February 2005 Statistics

Temperatures (°F)
Feb 2005
Normal
Average High Temperature (°F)
31.6
25.7
Average Low Temperature (°F)
13.7
6.4
Mean Temperature for February (°F)
22.7
16.2
February Extremes
Temperature(°F)
Date
Warmest High Temperature for Feb 2005 (°F)
49 (broke daily record; see below)
Feb. 5th
Coldest High Temperature for Feb 2005 (°F)
15
Feb. 7th
Warmest Low Temperature for Feb 2005 (°F)
32 (tied daily record; see below)
Feb. 13th
Coldest Low Temperature for Feb 2005 (°F)
-4
Feb. 23rd
Record Temperatures in February 2005
Temperature(°F)
Date
Old Record
Daily Record Warm Low
30
February 1st
28 in 1924
Daily Record Warm Low
27
February 3rd
26 in 1961,1991,1992
Daily Record Warm Low
28 (tied record)
February 5th
tied record set in 1925, 1942
Daily Record Warm Low
32 (tied record)
February 13th
tied record set in 1911, 1984
Daily Record Warm High
48
February 3rd
46 in 1934
Daily Record Warm High
48 (tied record)
February 4th
tied record set in 1991
Daily Record Warm High
49
February 5th
48 in 1991
Daily Record Warm Mean
38
February 3rd
35 in 1991
Daily Record Warm Mean
38 (tied record)
February 4th
tied record set in 1991
Daily Record Warm Mean
39
February 5th
36 in 1991
Temperature Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
February 2005 Days with High Temperatures <= 32°F
17
February 2005 Days with High Temperatures <= 0°F
0
0.8
February 2005 Days with High Temperatures <= -10°F
0
0.5
February 2005 Days with Low Temperatures <= 32°F
28
27.8
February 2005 Days with Low Temperatures <= 0°F
5
12.2
February 2005 Days with Low Temperatures <= -20°F
0
2.9
February 2005 Days with Low Temperatures <= -30°F
0
0.4
Liquid Equivalent Precipitation (in)
Feb 2005
Normal
February 2005 Saint Cloud Airport Melted Precipitation (in)
0.97
0.62
February 2005 SCSU Melted Precipitation (in)
0.84
0.62
February Extremes
Precipitation (in)
Date
Most Daily Precipitation in February 2005
0.40
Feb 13th
Record Precipitation in February 2005
Precipitation (in)
Date
Old Record
No precipitation records set
Precipitation Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
February 2005 Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation
8
5.7
February 2005 Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation
4
2.1
February 2005 Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation
1
0.8
February 2005 Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation
0
0.3
February 2005 Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation
0
0.0
Snowfall (in)
Feb. 2005
Normal
February 2005 Saint Cloud Airport Snowfall (in)
8.9
6.7
February 2005 SCSU Snowfall (in)
11.0
6.7
2004-2005 Seasonal Saint Cloud Airport Snowfall (1 Oct 2004 - 28 Feb 2005)
26.1
35.5
2004-2005 Seasonal SCSU Snowfall (1 Oct 2004 - 28 Feb 2005)
36.5
35.5
Snowfall Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
February 2005 Days with Measurable (>= 0.1 inch) Snowfall
10
8.7
February 2005 Days with >= 1.0 inch Snowfall
5
3.7
February 2005 Days with >= 2.0 inch Snowfall
1
1.7
February 2005 Days with >= 5.0 inch Snowfall
0
0.3
February Extremes
Snowfall (in)
Date
Most Daily Snowfall (in) in February 2005
2.2
Feb 24th
Record Snowfall (in) in February 2005
Snowfall (in)
Date
Old Record
No snowfall records set

Winter (Dec 1-Feb 28) 2004-2005 Statistics

Temperatures (°F)
Winter 2004-2005
Normal
Average High Temperature (°F)
26.6
22.5
Average Low Temperature (°F)
8.9
3.6
Mean Temperature for Winter (°F)
17.8
13.1
Temperature Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
Cold Season 2004-2005
Days with High Temperatures <= 32°F
88
Cold Season 2004-2005
Days with High Temperatures <= 0°F
5
4.3
Cold Season 2004-2005
Days with High Temperatures <= -10°F
0
0.6
Cold Season 2004-2005
Days with Low Temperatures <= 32°F
127
170.4
Cold Season 2004-2005
Days with Low Temperatures <= 0°F
25
42.9
Cold Season 2004-2005
Days with Low Temperatures <= -20°F
6
5.4
Cold Season 2004-2005
Days with Low Temperatures <= -30°F
1
0.6
Liquid Equivalent Precipitation (in)
Winter 2004-2005
Normal
Saint Cloud Airport Winter Melted Precipitation (in)
3.23
2.18
SCSU Winter Melted Precipitation (in)
2.97
2.18
Precipitation Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
Winter 2004-2005
Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation
22
19.4
Winter 2004-2005
Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation
9
6.5
Winter 2004-2005
Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation
0
2.3
Winter 2004-2005
Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation
0
0.6
Winter 2004-2005
Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation
0
0.0
Snowfall (in)
Winter 2004-2005
Normal
Winter 2004-2005 Snowfall (in)
28.1
26.0
Seasonal Snowfall (in) for Cold Season 2004-2005
41.4
33.3

 

Top 20 Warmest Februaries and Winters in Saint Cloud Records

20 Warmest Februaries in Saint Cloud Records

(1881-2005)

20 Warmest Winters (Dec 1 - Feb 28) in Saint Cloud Records

(1881-1882 through 2004-2005)

White background indicates occurrence since 1990
Rank
February Average Temperature (°F)
Year
Rank
Winter Average Temperature (°F)
Year

1

29.6°F

1998

1

23.4°F

2001-2002

2

28.9°F

1987

2

23.2°F

1881-1882

3

27.2°F

1954

3

23.0°F

1997-1998

4

27.0°F

1931

4

22.7°F

1930-1931

5

26.4°F

1882

5

22.2°F

1986-1987

6

25.7°F

1984

6

21.5°F

1920-1921

7

25.2°F

2002

7

20.0°F

1918-1919

8

25.0°F

1999

8

19.9°F

1982-1983

9

24.6°F

1992

9(tie)

19.3°F

1943-1944

10

24.2°F

1915

9(tie)

19.3°F

1989-1990

11

23.8°F

1983

9(tie)

19.3°F

1907-1908

12

23.2°F

1930

12

19.0°F

1931-1932

13

22.9°F

1961

13

18.9°F

1941-1942

14

22.8°F

1935

14

18.6°F

1999-2000

15

22.7°F

2005

15

18.2°F

1998-1999

16(tie)

22.1°F

1976

16

18.1°F

1891-1892

16(tie)

22.1°F

1991

17(tie)

17.8°F

1890-1891

18

22.0°F

2000

17(tie)

17.8°F

1913-1914

19

21.0°F

1921

17(tie)

17.8°F

2004-2005

20

20.9°F

1981

20

17.6°F

1941-1942

Saint Cloud Airport and SCSU Cold Season Snowfall 2004-2005

Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar April May June Total
Airport
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.2
2.0
15.0
8.9
26.1
SCSU
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.4
3.2
21.9
11.0
36.5
30-Year-Normals
(1971-2000)
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.6
8.9
7.8
11.5
6.7
8.5
2.6
0.1
0.0
45.8
Historic Averages
(1899-2004)
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.7
6.2
7.2
9.1
7.2
8.3
2.6
0.1
0.0
41.6

 

Least Lows of 0°F or Colder During a Cold Season in Saint Cloud

Rank
Season
Number of Lows <= 0°F
1
1907-1908
11
2
2001-2002
15
3 (tie)
1920-1921
16
3 (tie)
1930-1931
16
3 (tie)
1997-1998
16
6
1986-1987
17
7
1903-1904
20
8
1900-1901
21
9 (tie)
1918-1919
22
9 (tie)
1941-1942
22
11(tie)
1999-2000
26
11(tie)
2004-2005
(Through March 2)
26
15 (tie)
1998-1999
29
1896-2004
Average
42.9

 

 

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