Weather

February 2016 and Winter 2015-2016 St. Cloud Weather Summary




10 Warmest Winters
"Hot Town, Winter on the Prairie" (with apologies to the Lovin' Spoonful)

Mild February Finishes 8th Warmest Winter in St. Cloud Records

February 2016 and Winter 2015-2016 Saint Cloud, MN, Weather Summary

Note: This is a summary of meteorological winter, which is defined as the three coldest months of the year (1 December through 29 February). Astronomical winter ends on the spring equinox , which will be on March 19 this year. That's the day when we get back to 12 hours of daylight. Also, note that the cold season can be used to refer to the part of the year when Minnesota can get snow (typically Oct-Apr, but can be longer) or the heating season (July 1-June 30).

Mild February

Despite the coldest air in North America making one swoop over Minnesota and another shot just missing, February continued the mainly mild conditions seen throughout the winter. The average February temperature at the St. Cloud Regional Airport was 22.3°F, 5.3°F warmer than the February average. The warmest of the warm days was February 27, which set a new record for warmest February high temperature in St. Cloud history. The high of 59 degrees broke both the daily and the monthly high temperature record, both set on February 27, 1932. That was one of two February days that were at least 20 degrees milder than average and 12 days at least 10 degrees warmer than average. Only 8 out of the 29 February days were colder than average, with seven of those days in a row between February 8 and 14. This was the time that the coldest air in North America passed over Minnesota and Wisconsin on its way to southeastern Canada, the Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic states.

Despite persistent steering wind patterns from central and southern Canada into Minnesota and the Great Lakes, most of February was spent under the influence of milder air being pulled down the eastern slope of the Rockies.

8th Warmest Winter

The mild February, combined with a mild January and the 6th warmest December on record, pushed the St. Cloud winter (December 1-February 29) temperature to 20.9°F, 6.1°F above average and the 8th mildest winter in St. Cloud records. Many of the 20 mildest winters in St. Cloud records (9 out of the 23) have occurred since 1997, including 2001-2002 and 2011-2012, which are tied for the warmest winters on record.

February continued the trend of frequent, but light snow events. There were 8 days with measurable snowfall in February, bringing the total for the winter to 26 days. However, only 9 of these days have produced an inch, and 4 days of these days with at least 2 inches. Two of the 4 days took place in February with a very fluffy 2.0 inches on February 2 and an even fluffier 2.2 inches on February 11. The snow-to-liquid ratio on February 11 was more than 70-to-1, much more typical of a lake effect snow than one from a typical storm.

The total February snowfall was 7.2 inches, right at the average. The seasonal snowfall through the end of February was 25.7 inches, 10.2 inches below average.

St. Cloud managed to dodge the biggest snowstorm of the month and one of the biggest ones of the winter on February 2 and 3. The Twin Cities had a direct hit from the storm, that produced widespread snow accumulation of 8-12 inches, paralyzing travel for most of the afternoon on Feb. 2. However, the sharp northern edge to the storm produced only a couple of hours of light to moderate snowfall in St. Cloud, where only 2.2 inches accumulated.

The main storms experienced during February was the blizzard in southern and western Minnesota on February 7-8. Less than an inch of new snow fell, but wind gusts were 50 MPH and higher, causing severe travel problems in southern and southwestern Minnesota.

The February melted precipitation was 0.63 inches, just a few hundredths less than average. More than half of it (0.33 inch) fell as pure rain on February 19. For the most part, the continued northwest steering winds kept large amounts of moisture from getting involved in St. Cloud area storms, leaving us with typical light precipitation for February. The winter total equivalent precipitation has been 1.96 inches, within 0.2 inch of average.

The persistent warmth in the second half of the month produced high temperatures below freezing on only 3 of the final 15 days of the month.

10 Warmest Winters

February 2016 Statistics

Temperatures (°F)
Feb 2016
Normal
Average High Temperature (°F)
30.3
26.8
Average Low Temperature (°F)
14.3
7.2
Mean Temperature for February (°F)
22.3
17.0
   
February Extremes
Temperature(°F)
Date
Warmest High Temperature for Feb 2016 (°F)
59 ( set record for Feb; see below )
Feb. 27
Coldest High Temperature for Feb 2016 (°F)
9
Feb. 13
Warmest Low Temperature for Feb 2016 (°F)
34
Feb. 19
Coldest Low Temperature for Feb 2016 (°F)
-14
Feb. 13
Record Temperatures in February 2016
Temperature(°F)
Date
Old Record
February Record Warm High Temperature
59°F
February 27
58°F set on Feb 27, 1932
Daily Record Warm High Temperature
59°F
February 27
58°F set in 1932
Daily Record Warm Average Temperature
45°F (tie)
February 27
tied record set in 1932
Temperature Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
February 2016 Days with High Temperatures <= 32°F
16
20.0
February 2016 Days with High Temperatures <= 0°F
0
0.8
February 2016 Days with Low Temperatures <= 32°F
28
27.8
February 2016 Days with Low Temperatures <= 0°F
4
12.2
February 2016 Days with Low Temperatures <= -20°F
0
2.9
Liquid Equivalent Precipitation (in)
Feb 2016
Normal
February 2016 Saint Cloud Airport Melted Precipitation (in)
0.63 inch
0.59
February Extremes
Precipitation (in)
Date
Most Daily Precipitation in February 2016
0.33 inch (rain)
Feb 19
Record Precipitation in February 2016
Precipitation (in)
Date
Old Record
No records set
Precipitation Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
February 2016 Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation
9
5.7
February 2016 Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation
1
2.1
February 2016 Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation
1
0.8
February 2016 Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation
0
0.3
February 2016 Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation
0
0.0
Snowfall (in)
Feb. 2016
Normal
February 2016 Saint Cloud Airport Snowfall (in)
7.2
7.2
Snowfall Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
February 2016 Days with Measurable (>= 0.1 inch) Snowfall
8
5.7
February 2016 Days with >= 1.0 inch Snowfall
3
2.6
February 2016 Days with >= 2.0 inch Snowfall
2
1.4
February 2016 Days with >= 5.0 inch Snowfall
0
0.2
February Extremes
Snowfall (in)
Date
Most Daily Snowfall (in) in February 2016
2.2
February 11
Record Snowfall (in) in February 2016
Snowfall (in)
Date
Old Record
No records set      
10 Brownest Winters

Winter (Dec 1-Feb 29) 2015-2016 Statistics

Temperatures (°F)
Winter 2015-2016
Normal
Average High Temperature (°F)
28.1
24.2
Average Low Temperature (°F)
13.7
5.3
Mean Temperature for Winter (°F)
20.9
14.8
 
Winter Extremes
Temperature
Date
Warmest High Temperature for Winter 2015-2016 (°F)
59 (set record)
Feb 27, 2016
Coldest High Temperature for Winter 2015-2016 (°F)
-4
Jan 17, 2016
Warmest Low Temperature for Winter 2014-2015 (°F)
36
Dec 10 and 13, 2015
Coldest Low Temperature for Winter 2014-2015 (°F)
-18
Jan 11 and 17, 2016
Temperature Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal

Cold Season 2015-2016
Days with High Temperatures <= 32°F

60
87.6

Cold Season 2015-2016
Days with High Temperatures <= 0°F

2
4.3

Cold Season 2015-2016
Days with High Temperatures <= -10°F

0
0.6

Cold Season 2015-2016
Days with Low Temperatures <= 32°F

106
170.4

Cold Season 2015-2016
Days with Low Temperatures <= 0°F

14
42.7

Cold Season 2015-2016
Days with Low Temperatures <= -20°F

0
5.4

Cold Season 2015-2016
Days with Low Temperatures <= -30°F

None since January 16, 2009

0
0.6
Liquid Equivalent Precipitation (in)
Winter 2015-2016
Normal
Saint Cloud Airport Winter Melted Precipitation (in)
1.96
2.18
Precipitation Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
Winter 2015-2016
Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation
24
19.4
Winter 2015-2016
Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation
6
6.5
Winter 2015-2016
Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation
2
2.3
Winter 2015-2016
Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation
0
0.6
Winter 2015-2016
Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation
0
0.0

 

Snowfall (in)
Winter 2015-2016
Normal
Winter 2015-2016 Snowfall (in)
20.0
25.5
Seasonal Snowfall (in) for Cold Season 2015-2016 (October 1, 2015-February 29, 2016)
25.7
35.9
     
Snowfall Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
Cold-Season 2015-2016 Days with Measurable Snowfall
26
24.8
Cold-Season 2015-2016 Days with >= 1.0 inch Snowfall
9
10.6
Cold-Season 2015-2016 Days with >= 2.0 inch Snowfall
4
5.5
Cold-Season 2015-2016 Days with >= 5.0 inch Snowfall
1
1.0
10 Brownest Winters

 

Top 20 Warmest Winters in Saint Cloud Records

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

(1881-1882 through 2015-2016)

White background indicates occurrence since 1996
Rank
Winter Average Temperature (°F)
Year

1 (tie)

23.4°F

2001-2002

1 (tie)

23.4°F

2011-2012

3

23.2°F

1881-1882

4

23.0°F

1997-1998

5

22.7°F

1930-1931

6

22.2°F

1986-1987

7

21.5°F

1920-1921

8

20.9°F

2015-2016

9

20.0°F

1918-1919

10

19.9°F

1982-1983

11 (tie)

19.33°F

1907-1908

11 (tie)

19.33°F

1943-1944

11 (tie)

19.33°F

2005-2006

14

19.26°F

1989-1990

15

19.0°F

1931-1932

16

18.9°F

1941-1942

17

18.6°F

1999-2000

18

18.2°F

1998-1999

19

18.1°F

1891-1892

20(tie)

17.8°F

1890-1891

20(tie)

17.8°F

1913-1914

20(tie)

17.8°F

2004-2005

20(tie)

17.8°F

2006-2007

 

St. Cloud Warm Winter (Dec-Feb) Highs
Most Winter Highs >=40°F
Most Winter Highs >=45°F
Most Winter Highs >=50°F
Rank Cold-Season Number of Days Rank Cold-Season Number of Days Rank Cold-Season Number of Days
1
2001-2002
24
1
1980-1981
15
1
1939-1940
9
2
1923-1924
22
2
2001-2002
14
2 (tie)
1941-1942
6
3 (tie)
1913-1914
21
3
1930-1931
13
2 (tie)
1980-1981
6
3 (tie)
1930-1931
21
4
1939-1940
12
4 (tie)
1930-1931
5
3 (tie)
1980-1981
21
5
1990-1991
11
4 (tie)
1999-2000
5
3 (tie)
1986-1987
21
6 (tie)
1941-1942
10
6 (tie)
1907-1908
4
7
1998-1999
18
6 (tie)
1960-1961
10
6 (tie)
1929-1930
4
8 (tie)
1941-1942
17
8 (tie)
1899-1900
9
8 (tie)
1904-1905
3
8 (tie)
1960-1961
17
8 (tie)
1999-2000
9
8 (tie)
1913-1914
3
8 (tie)
1999-2000
17
10 (tie)
1923-1924
8
8 (tie)
1920-1921
3
11 (tie)
1943-1944
16
10 (tie)
1986-1987
8
8 (tie)
1931-1932
3
11 (tie)
1957-1958
16
12 (tie)
1901-1902
7
8 (tie)
1957-1958
3
11 (tie)
2011-2012
16
12 (tie)
1913-1914
7
8 (tie)
1960-1961
3
11 (tie)
2015-2016
16
12 (tie)
1916-1917
7
8 (tie)
1962-1963
3
12 (tie)
1917-1918
7
8 (tie)
1990-1991
3
12 (tie)
1931-1932
7
8 (tie)
1997-1998
3
12 (tie)
1957-1958
7
8 (tie)
2001-2002
3
18 (tie)
1904-1905
6
8 (tie)
2002-2003
3
18 (tie)
1905-1906
6
18 (tie)
1923-1924
2
18 (tie)
1920-1921
6
18 (tie)
1943-1944
2
18 (tie)
1929-1930
6
18 (tie)
1975-1976
2
18 (tie)
1989-1990
6
18 (tie)
1986-1987
2
18 (tie)
2004-2005
6
18 (tie)
1989-1990
2
18 (tie)
2011-2012
6
18 (tie)
1998-1999
2
18 (tie)
2011-2012
2

St. Cloud Mildest Extreme Low of the Cold Season

Rank
Winter

Coldest Low Temperature of Season (°F)

1
2001-2002
-9
2
1982-1983
-16
3 (tie)
2005-2006
-17
3 (tie)
2011-2012
-17
5 (tie)
1900-1901
-18
5 (tie)
2015-2016
-18
7
1897-1898
-19
8 (tie)
1956-1957
-20
8 (tie)
1986-1987
-20
10
1931-1932
-21
8 tied with -22, including 2006-2007, 2014-2015
   
2007-2008
-24
2008-2009
-36
2009-2010
-27
 
2010-2011
-29
2013-2014
-25

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