Weather

February 2020 and Winter 2019-2020 St. Cloud Weather Summary



February St. Cloud Records
 
Late Winter Snow Surge? Not This Winter (so far)

February 2020 and Winter 2019-2020 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). No, the groundhog doesn't work in Minnesota.

Low Precipitation February

Saint Cloud was having a much snowier than average cold season through the month of January. At the end of January, the 37.5 inch seasonal snowfall was 10.0 inches above average. However, the snow and overall precipitation suddenly stopped in February. Only 1.8 inches of snow and 0.16 inch of total precipitation fell during February. The precipitation drought covered nearly all of northern and much of central Minnesota with half of the area seeing less than 0.10 inch.

That slowed the seasonal snowfall to 39.3 inches, still 5.1 inches above average.

Drier February Aided Potential Spring Flooding Situation, but Future Weather Holds the Key

The snow slowdown is a big contrast to the past two winters, each of which had more than 46 inches of snow during the February through April period. However, the sharp reduction in snowpack across the southern half of Minnesota has somewhat eased the threat for spring snowmelt flooding. The Red River Valley still has a better than 50-50 chance for major spring flooding due to the current snowpack and the saturated ground from the wet growing season. The St. Croix Valley and Upper Mississippi Valley still have an elevated threat.

The snow pack dropped to less than an inch in St. Cloud on March 9. So, there were 102 consecutive days with at least an inch of snow cover in St. Cloud (since November 27). During the average winter, St. Cloud has 86 straight days with at least an inch of snow cover.

Sunnier February, Which Kept Thawing Gradual

The drier weather allowed sunshine to return to St. Cloud. 28 of the 29 February days had at least some sunshine with 17 days having clear sky. That's in contrast to 16 completely cloudy January days.

The clear skies allowed some colder low temperatures. 19 of the 29 low temperatures were colder than 10 degrees with 7 lows of zero or colder. The cold lows made sure that the milder weather late in the month produced only a slow melting of the snow cover. Only 14 days in January had a low colder than 10 degrees.

February Coldest Month of Winter, Only Below Average Month

The colder conditions made February the coldest month of the winter season with an average temperature of 15.5 degrees, 1.5 degrees colder than average.

Meteorological winter covers the months of December, January, and February. This winter averaged 1.5 degrees warmer than normal. Precipitation was 0.8 inch above average with the Dec-Feb snowfall 2.0 inches above average.

Some Early Cold and Snow, But

Overall, this cold season has been notable for its snowfall and some cold outbreaks. St. Cloud had its 5th earliest measurable snowfall on October 11. There was a record cold high of 16 degrees on November 11 and an early season sub-zero low on November 10. However, the overall extremes have been modest. There have been only 28 days with a low of zero or colder, with no days with low of -20 or colder. The coldest temperature this winter has been -19, set on December 11. There were 2 days that remained below zero all day.

The main aspect that this winter has been above average is in the snowfall. Seasonal snowfall to 39.3 inches, still 5.1 inches above average.

February St. Cloud Records
 

February 2020 Statistics

Temperatures (°F)
Feb 2020
Normal
Average High Temperature (°F)
26.4
26.8
Average Low Temperature (°F)
4.6
7.2
Mean Temperature for February (°F)
15.5
17.0
   
February Extremes
Temperature(°F)
Date
Warmest High Temperature for Feb 2020 (°F)
45
Feb. 2
Coldest High Temperature for Feb 2020 (°F)
-2
Feb. 13
Warmest Low Temperature for Feb 2020 (°F)
27
Feb. 2
Coldest Low Temperature for Feb 2020 (°F)
-18
Feb. 13
Record Temperatures in February 2020
Temperature(°F)
Date
Old Record
Daily Record Cold High
-2
February 13
-1 set in 1922
Temperature Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
February 2020 Days with High Temperatures <= 32°F
20
20.0
February 2020 Days with High Temperatures <= 0°F
1
0.8
February 2020 Days with Low Temperatures <= 32°F
29
27.8
February 2020 Days with Low Temperatures <= 0°F
7
12.2
February 2020 Days with Low Temperatures <= -20°F
0
2.9
Liquid Equivalent Precipitation (in)
Feb 2020
Normal
February 2020 Saint Cloud Airport Melted Precipitation (in)
0.16 inch
0.59
February Extremes
Precipitation (in)
Date
Most Daily Precipitation in February 2020
0.11 inch
Feb 17
Record Precipitation in February 2020
Precipitation (in)
Date
Old Record
No records set
Precipitation Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
February 2020 Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation
2
5.7
February 2020 Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation
1
2.1
February 2020 Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation
0
0.8
February 2020 Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation
0
0.3
February 2020 Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation
0
0.0
Snowfall (in)
Feb. 2020
Normal
February 2020 Saint Cloud Airport Snowfall (in)
1.8
7.0
Snowfall Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
February 2020 Days with Measurable (>= 0.1 inch) Snowfall
2
5.7
February 2020 Days with >= 1.0 inch Snowfall
1
2.6
February 2020 Days with >= 2.0 inch Snowfall
0
1.4
February 2020 Days with >= 5.0 inch Snowfall
0
0.2
February Extremes
Snowfall (in)
Date
Most Daily Snowfall (in) in February 2020
1.0
February 17
Record Snowfall (in) in February 2020
Snowfall (in)
Date
Old Record
No records set
February St. Cloud Records
 

Winter (Dec 1-Feb 29) 2019-2020 Statistics

Temperatures (°F)
Winter 2019-2020
Normal
Average High Temperature (°F)
25.4
24.2
Average Low Temperature (°F)
7.3
5.3
Mean Temperature for Winter (°F)
16.3
14.8
 
Winter Extremes
Temperature
Date
Warmest High Temperature for Winter 2019-2020 (°F)
45
Feb 2, 2020
Coldest High Temperature for Winter 2019-2020 (°F)
-2
Feb 13, 2020
Warmest Low Temperature for Winter 2019-2020 (°F)
33
Dec 29, 2019
Coldest Low Temperature for Winter 2019-2020 (°F)
-19
Dec 11, 2019
Temperature Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal

Cold Season 2019-2020
Days with High Temperatures <= 32°F

79
87.6

Cold Season 2019-2020
Days with High Temperatures <= 0°F

2
4.3

Cold Season 2019-2020
Days with High Temperatures <= -10°F

0
0.6

Cold Season 2019-2020
Days with Low Temperatures <= 32°F

139
170.4

Cold Season 2019-2020
Days with Low Temperatures <= 0°F

28
42.7

Cold Season 2019-2020
Days with Low Temperatures <= -20°F

0
5.4

Cold Season 2019-2020
Days with Low Temperatures <= -30°F

0
0.6
Liquid Equivalent Precipitation (in)
Winter 2019-2020
Normal
Saint Cloud Winter Melted Precipitation (in)
2.93
2.18
Precipitation Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
Winter 2019-2020
Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation
21
19.4
Winter 2019-2020
Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation
11
6.5
Winter 2019-2020
Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation
4
2.3
Winter 2019-2020
Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation
1
0.6
Winter 2019-2020
Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation
0
0.0

 

Snowfall (in)
Winter 2019-2020
Normal
Winter 2019-2020 Snowfall (in)
27.0
25.0
Seasonal Snowfall (in) for Cold Season 2019-2020 (October 1, 2019-February 29, 2020)
39.3
34.2
     
Snowfall Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
Cold-Season 2019-2020 Days with Measurable Snowfall
30
24.8
Cold-Season 2019-2020 Days with >= 1.0 inch Snowfall
12
10.6
Cold-Season 2019-2020 Days with >= 2.0 inch Snowfall
7
5.5
Cold-Season 2019-2020 Days with >= 5.0 inch Snowfall
0
1.0
February St. Cloud Records
 

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