January 2017 Saint Cloud Weather Summary

January 2017 St. Cloud Weather Summary

A second warve of really cold weather did affect St. Cloud in January, but like the mid-December period, it didn't last long. Between January 3 and January 15, there were 4 days with a single digit high and 2 straight days (January 4 and 5), when the temperature never got above zero. while, in January 2016. 12 of the 13 days had low temperatures of zero or colder, bringing the seasonal total to 20 through the end of January. The average temperature during this 13 day period was 2.5 degrees (high 13.2, low -8.2) period was overall statistics from the St. Cloud Regional Airport showed that January 2016 averaged 13.9°F, 2.3°F milder than the average. 7.6 inches of snow fell during this period and the St. Cloud snow depth got as high as 8 inches.

However, during the rest of the month, the high was never cooler than 25 degrees with 9 days having a high of freezing or warmer. All but 2 of those days had an average temperature at least 10 degrees above normal with the entire period of January 19 through January 23 each at least 20 degrees warmer than average. The result was a January that averaged 17.1 degrees (high 24.5 degrees, low 9.7 degrees), 5.5 degrees above the January average of 11.6 degrees.

St. Cloud did not break any record warm temperatures, but did break a pair of record warm lows. The low temperature of 34 degrees on January 20 and 33 degrees on January 22 each set a record.

After the first inch of snow cover was put down on December 11, the snow melted again by January 25. This period of 45 consecutive days of at least an inch of snow cover would rank among the lowest 15 percent of winters in St. Cloud history. The average length of the consecutive snow cover period is 86 days. Since the first two weeks of February have begun with no prolonged period of snow cover, that 45 day period will be the longest of this winter.

There were 10.0 inches of snowfall in January, 1.4 inches above average. So, the cold season snowfall through February 13 has been 26.4 inches, only 3.8 inches below average, despite having no snow cover for 14 of the past 17 days. So far this season, St. Cloud has had 57 days with at least an inch of snow cover. The average for the entire winter is 101 days. The lack of snow cover extends across southern Minnesota, much of South Dakota and a large chunk of Montana.

Through February 13, St. Cloud has had 22 days with a low temperatures of zero or colder, just halfway to the average total of 43 days. The three days with a high of zero or colder is near the average of 4.3 days. St. Cloud has still had only one low temperature of -20 or colder, the -28 low on December 18.

The relatively mild weather pattern has been due to a split of the upper-air flow pattern. At times, St. Cloud has been caught up in the southwest-to-northeast branch of the flow that has resulted in the large number of rain and snowstorms along the Pacific coast. St. Cloud caught the edge of one of these systems in picking up a total of 7.6 inches from January 8 through 12. At other times, St. Cloud has been in the northwest-to-southeast flow, but after the mother lode of cold air pushed out of Alaska and into southern Canada and the US to the east of the Rockies, any cold air has remained trapped in northern Canada or the Arctic Ocean. So, the northwest flow has brought air that has been pulled down the Canadian Rockies and has been mild and dry.

For the first two weeks of February, we have continued the mild but dry weather pattern. It is still possible for us to get very cold, but there doesn't appear to be any even short period of average cold well into the third week of February. On current pace, the St. Cloud winter season (December 1-February 28) is headed for a finish among the mildest 25 winters in St. Cloud records.