Weather

January 2020 Saint Cloud Weather Summary



Snow Globe Continued in January

January 2020 St. Cloud Weather Summary

The fast start to the snow season continued in January. St. Cloud picked up another 14.0 inches of snow in January, running the seasonal total to 37.5 inches. That total is 10.0 inches higher than the average snowfall through the end of January. There was no large single storm of snowfall, but 11.4 inches fell between January 12 and 20. There was a heavier snowfall in northwestern Minnesota during January 17 and 18. In addition, wind gusts of 45-60 MPH produced a white out across much of the eastern Dakotas and the Red River Valley.

The continued snow continued the snow pack through the month of January with at least 10 inches of snow on the ground through the last 2 weeks of January.

The second most notable part of January weather was the persistent cloudiness, even when snow wasn't falling. Skies were completely cloudy on 16 of the 31 January days, including January 22 through 31. Similar conditions led to the cloudiest January in 57 years at the St. Paul Observatory at the University of Minnesota. The persistent cloudiness was mainly caused by having multiple storm tracks across North America. Each of those tracks produced frequent storms, and the northern one produced the 11 days with measurable snowfall. However, because of the multiple storm tracks, our air was frequently coming from areas that had recent precipitation, so there was a lot of lingering humidity in the air. That led to stubborn low clouds for much of the month.

Average temperatures were 15.9 degrees, 4.3 degrees above average. The month did have two periods of below zero temperatures: January 7-11 with 4 lows below zero, and January 15-20 with 6 lows below zero and one day (January 16) that the temperature didn't top zero. These were surrounded by milder weather. The persistent cloudiness did push the average low to 8.5 degrees, 6.7 degrees milder than average. The average high was only 2.0 degrees milder than average.

    January 2020 Statistics

Temperatures (°F)
January 2020
Normal
January Average High Temperature (°F)
23.4
21.4
January Average Low Temperature (°F)
8.5
1.8
Mean Temperature for January (°F)
15.9
11.6
   

January Extremes

Temperature(°F)
Date
Warmest High Temperature for January 2020 (°F)
35
January 5,22
Coldest High Temperature for January 2020 (°F)
0
January 16
Warmest Low Temperature for January 2020 (°F)

29

January 23
Coldest Low Temperature for January 2020 (°F)
-17
January 16
Record Temperatures in January 2020
Temperature(°F)
Date
Old Record
No record temperatures set
Temperature Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
January 2020 Days with High Temperatures <= 32°F
31
23.5
Cold-Season 2019-2020 Days with High Temperatures <= 32°F
63
56.7
January 2020 Days with High Temperatures <= 0°F
1
2.6
Cold-Season 2019-2020 Days with High Temperatures <= 0°F
2
4.3
January 2020 Days with Low Temperatures <= 32°F
31
30.9
Cold-Season 2019-2020 Days with Low Temperatures <= 32°F
110
99.7
January 2020 Days with Low Temperatures <= 0°F
11
15.9
Cold-Season 2019-2020 Days with Low Temperatures <= 0°F
21
42.7 (annual)
January 2020 Days with Low Temperatures <= -20°F
0
2.9
Cold-Season 2019-2020 Days with Low Temperatures <= -20°F
0
5.4 (annual)
     
Precipitation (in)
January 2020
Normal
January 2020 Precipitation (in)
1.09
0.65
  Top 10 Driest Januaries
Precipitation Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
January 2020 Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation
10
7.1
January 2020 Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation
5
2.4
January 2020 Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation
1
0.8
January 2020 Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation
0
0.2
January 2020 Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation
0
0.0
January Extremes
Precipitation (in)
Date
Most Daily Precipitation in January 2020
0.38 inch
January 17
Record Precipitation in January 2020
Precipitation (in)
Date
Old Record
No Precipitation Records Set
Snowfall (in)
January 2020
Normal
January 2020 Saint Cloud Snowfall (in)
14.3
8.6
2019-2020 Seasonal Saint Cloud Snowfall (1 Oct 2019 - 31 Jan 2020)
37.5
27.5
Snowfall Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
January 2020 Days with Measurable (>= 0.1 inch) Snowfall
11
8.7
Cold-Season 2019-2020 Days with Measurable Snowfall
28
23.7
January 2020 Days with >= 1.0 inch Snowfall
5
3.7
Cold-Season 2019-2020 Days with >= 1.0 inch Snowfall
11
9.5
January 2020 Days with >= 2.0 inch Snowfall
2
1.7
Cold-Season 2019-2020 Days with >= 2.0 inch Snowfall
7
3.2
January 2020 Days with >= 5.0 inch Snowfall
0
0.3
Cold-Season 2019-2020 Days with >= 5.0 inch Snowfall
0
0.8
January Extremes
Snowfall (in)
Date
Most Daily Snowfall in January 2020
4.0 inches
January 17
Record Snowfall in January 2020
Snowfall (in)
Date
Old Record
No records set

 

10 Brownest Januaries

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