Weather

January 2021 Saint Cloud Weather Summary



 

Groundhog Day Seems to Be About November 25 This Winter

January 2021 St. Cloud Weather Summary

The movie, Groundhog Day, is based on the same day happening over and over again. During this cold season in Minnesota, the same relatively mild and cloudy weather has been recurring quite often. This was especially true during the first 18 days of January, when high temperatures were in the 20's and 30's and low temperatures mostly remained above 10 degrees. These are the average conditions for the last week in November or the first week in December, not what is expected in January.

January Ties for 9th Mildest

For the entire month, the average temperature at the St. Cloud Regional Airport was 19.6 degrees in January, 8.0 degrees warmer than average. This January tied January 1906 for the 9th mildest January in St. Cloud records. It was also within two degrees of December 2020, which was 6.0 degrees above average. This makes three straight months with a temperature at least 5 degrees above average. If February merely has an average temperature, the meteorological winter (December 1- February 28) would tie for St. Cloud's 12th mildest on record.

26 of the 31 January days were milder than average with only 3 colder than average days. However, the low temperatures (12.8 degrees, 11.0 degrees above average) were even milder than the high temperatures (26.4 degrees, 5.0 degrees above average). The warmest reading never topped 40 degrees. That was because of the frequency of low clouds, which kept clear nights to a minimum. It also led to several late nights and early morning with rime on trees and branches.

Missing Most Typical Arctic Outbreak Milestones So Far

There were only 3 January days with a low of zero or colder, the fewest since 2006. For the cold season, there have only been 9 days with a low of zero or colder, only the 4th cold season of the past 20 season with so few cold nights through January. The average number of sub-zero lows through January is 26 days. The coldest low so far this season was -9 on December 25 and 29. A typical arctic outbreak in central Minnesota usually produces a low of -20.

There have also been no high temperature of zero or colder so far this cold season. The coldest high so far this season has been +4 on December 24.

The reason for the relatively mild weather continued to be the split branches of the steering winds in North American. For most of the month, the northern branch stayed in southern or central Canada, keeping the polar air that was in northwestern Canada from coming into Minnesota very often.When it did, that cold air wasn't really all cold since the coldest air in the Northern Hemisphere stayed on the Eurasian side of the North Pole. And, the southern branch of the steering winds ran from the southern Rockies to the Mid-Atlantiic states, so major storms were mainly shunted to our south. The closest approach was the slush storm of January 14-15. This system did produce 6-8 inches in southeastern Minnesota, but near or above freezing temperatures kept the snow accumulation down. Other parts of Minnesota had only minor impact.

Near Average Precipitation, Below Average Snowfall (But Season Total Near Average)

The January precipitation was about average. A total of 0.68 inch fell at the St. Cloud Regional Airport, 0.03 inch above average. 0.45 inch fell during January 14-15, but much of it fell as rain. Only 1.5 inches of snow fell on that day with a total of 5.4 inches during January. That total is 3.2 inches below the January average. However, thanks to the major October and November snowstorms, the cold season of 2020-2021 has produced 28.7 inches, 1.3 inches above average.

Colder air finally made it to northern Alaska and northwestern Canada by the last few days of January, so there is the potential for arctic cold at least at times in February.

 

    January 2021 Statistics

Temperatures (°F)
January 2020
Normal
January Average High Temperature (°F)
26.4
21.4
January Average Low Temperature (°F)
12.8
1.8
Mean Temperature for January (°F)
19.6
11.6
   

January Extremes

Temperature(°F)
Date
Warmest High Temperature for January 2021 (°F)
40
January 4,20
Coldest High Temperature for January 2021 (°F)
11
January 27
Warmest Low Temperature for January 2021 (°F)

29

January 14
Coldest Low Temperature for January 2021 (°F)
-4
January 22
Record Temperatures in January 2021
Temperature(°F)
Date
Old Record
No record temperatures set
Temperature Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
January 2021 Days with High Temperatures <= 32°F
23
23.5
Cold-Season 2020-2021 Days with High Temperatures <= 32°F
50
56.7
January 2021 Days with High Temperatures <= 0°F
0
2.6
Cold-Season 2020-2021 Days with High Temperatures <= 0°F
0
4.3
January 2021 Days with Low Temperatures <= 32°F
31
30.9
Cold-Season 2020-2021 Days with Low Temperatures <= 32°F
79
99.7
January 2021 Days with Low Temperatures <= 0°F
3
15.9
Cold-Season 2020-2021 Days with Low Temperatures <= 0°F
9
42.7 (annual)
January 2021 Days with Low Temperatures <= -20°F
0
2.9
Cold-Season 2020-2021 Days with Low Temperatures <= -20°F
0
5.4 (annual)
     
Precipitation (in)
January 2020
Normal
January 2021 Precipitation (in)
0.68
0.65
  Top 10 Driest Januaries
Precipitation Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
January 2021 Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation
5
7.1
January 2021 Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation
3
2.4
January 2021 Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation
1
0.8
January 2021 Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation
0
0.2
January 2021 Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation
0
0.0
January Extremes
Precipitation (in)
Date
Most Daily Precipitation in January 2021
0.31 inch
January 14
Record Precipitation in January 2021
Precipitation (in)
Date
Old Record
No Precipitation Records Set
Snowfall (in)
January 2020
Normal
January 2021 Saint Cloud Snowfall (in)
5.4
8.6
2020-2021 Seasonal Saint Cloud Snowfall (1 Oct 2020 - 31 Jan 2021)
28.7
27.5
Snowfall Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
January 2021 Days with Measurable (>= 0.1 inch) Snowfall
6
8.7
Cold-Season 2020-2021 Days with Measurable Snowfall
21
23.7
January 2021 Days with >= 1.0 inch Snowfall
2
3.7
Cold-Season 2020-2021 Days with >= 1.0 inch Snowfall
6
9.5
January 2021 Days with >= 2.0 inch Snowfall
1
1.7
Cold-Season 2020-2021 Days with >= 2.0 inch Snowfall
5
3.2
January 2021 Days with >= 5.0 inch Snowfall
0
0.3
Cold-Season 2020-2021 Days with >= 5.0 inch Snowfall
2
0.8
January Extremes
Snowfall (in)
Date
Most Daily Snowfall in January 2021
2.9 inches
January 23
Record Snowfall in January 2021
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