Weather

July 2013 Saint Cloud Weather Summary


Seems Like Not Much of A Summer, But...

St. Cloud July 2013 Weather Summary

The summer of 2013 has seemed like the summer of our discontent, since we've had so much trouble getting sunny and hot days. However, what this summer has proven to be is quite fickle. The average July St. Cloud temperature ended up being 70.8°F, within 0.5°F of the July average, but it was the result of a very warm first three weeks and a fall preview over the last 9 days.

First Three Weeks Hot, But Not Extraordinarily So

The hot weather seen early this month, including 4 days with a high of at least 90°F and a heat wave (three days in a row) July 16-18, produced an average July 1-22 temperature of 74.1°F (85.3°F high, 62.9°F low) that would rank as 4.5°F warmer than the July average, but a full degree short of cracking St. Cloud's 10 warmest Julys. The 4 July days at 90 or high is slightly below average for July and doesn't include the warmest day of the year so far: May 14 with a high of 95°F. There have been only 20 days with a high of 97°F or higher in St. Cloud from 1989 on. There have been only 6 total days with a high of 90 or higher this warm season so far; St. Cloud usually averages 8 by the end of July. On the other hand, two of the heat wave days did have a low of 70°F or higher, more than the July average, but still short of the past two Julys.

Then, a change of the steering winds to a stronger flow out of Canada changed temperatures drastically. Over the last 9 days of July, the average temperature was 62.9°F (74.5°F high, 51.2°F low). The coldest of this cold was felt over July 26-28. St. Cloud broke July 26 record cold high with a temperature of 68°F. However, the old record of 69°F, set in 1971 and tied in 1990, is the warmest value of the coldest high of any date in July (tied with July 25). In fact, the high was colder on July 27 (66°F), but that was short of record cold high of 62°F, set in 1991. One record cold low fell on July 28 with a temperature of 43°F, breaking the old record of 44°F, set in 1981. It was also three degrees short of the coldest St. Cloud July low temperature of 40°F, set both on July 1, 1969, and July 7, 1972. Each day of July 26-28 did break or tie daily records for the coldest average temperature. Statewide, the cold on July 27 broke several cold high and low temperatures.

Before the late July weekend, the last time a July record cold high was set was on July 14, 2011 with a high of 68°F. The last July record cold low was also 43°F, set on July 19, 2009. Highs in the upper 60's and lows in the 40's are typical of May 10 or September 22, rather than late July.

The up and down temperature pattern in July matched the pattern seen in June.

Well, Are We Having Way Too Many Cool Days?

Are we seeing an huge amounts of days that don't feel like summer? Not really. Between June and July there have been 29 days with a high cooler than 80°F. However, other years have had many more "cool highs." In 1992, there were 47 days with a high cooler than 80°F. In 1993, there were 41 days with a high cooler than 80°F. In fact, the average number of days over the past 22 years (since 1992) is 25.9. The same can be said of days with a low cooler than 60°F. June and July this year have totalled 37 days, but the average of the past 22 years is 39.3 days with 58 days in 1992. Note that the summer of 1992 is the coldest summer in St. Cloud records.

These sudden switches have continued from June when the first two weeks matched the pace of the fifth coldest June and the last 16 days were on track for the 8th warmest June.

Break in Rainfall Finally

The only consistency about July has been the break in the heavy thunderstorm activity. July 2013 ranks as the 14th driest of the 119 Julys in St. Cloud records with 1.43 inch, nearly 1.9 inches below the July average of 3.31 inches. The dry July has been a marked change from the wet late winter and early spring. Still, for the growing season, which began April 1, the northern portion of Stearns County, plus Benton, Morrison, and Todd Counties have all had precipitation more than 10% higher than average, according to this week's Minnesota State Climatology Office's weekly precipitation map. As of Saturday, 26% of Minnesota had topsoil moisture ranked as being short or very short. Despite the cool weather, the growing degree days since mid-May are within about 5% of normal in central Minnesota. Still, for the growing season (April 1-July 31), St. Cloud has picked up nearly two inches above average (actual: 15.07 inches; average: 13.10 inches). For the calendar year, St. Cloud is more than 3.6 inches above average on precipitation (actual: 19.48 inches; average: 15.79 inches).

This has provided a welcome break from the severe thunderstorms, widespread tree damage and localized flooding seen in late June. Note that the huge rainfall totals on July 13, as well as other dates, have fallen to the south of St. Cloud.

    July 2013 Statistics

Temperatures (°F)
July 2013
1981-2010 Normals
Average High Temperature (°F)
82.2
82.3
Average Low Temperature (°F)
59.5
58.4
Mean Temperature for July (°F)
70.5
70.3
  10 Hottest/Coldest Julys
July Temperature Extremes
Temperature(°F)
Date
Warmest High Temperature for July 2013 (°F)
94°F
July 18
Coldest High Temperature for July 2013 (°F)
66°F
July 27
Warmest Low Temperature for July 2013 (°F)
72°F
July 18
Coldest Low Temperature for July 2013 (°F)
43°F (broke record, see below)
July 28
Record Temperatures in July 2013
Temperature(°F)
Date
Old Record
Daily Record Cold High
68°F
July 26
69°F in 1971, 1990
Daily Record Cold Low
43°F
July 28
44°F in 1981
Daily Record Cold Average
58°F
July 26
59°F in 1971
 
56°F
July 27
58°F in 1981
 
59°F (tie)
July 28
Tied record set in 1952
Temperature Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
July 2013 Days with High Temperatures >= 90°F
4
4.67
2013 Total Days with High Temperature of At Least 90°F
6
11.43
2013 Total Days with High Temperature of At Least 100°F
0
0.51
July 2013 Days with Low Temperatures >= 70°F
2
1.72
July 2013 Days with Low Temperatures >= 75°F
0
1.72
2013 Total Days with Low Temperatures >= 70°F
3
3.00
Precipitation (in)
This Year
1981-2010 Normals
July 2013 Rainfall (in)
1.43
3.31
2013 Growing Season (April 1 through July 31) Rainfall (in)
15.07
13.10
2013 Precipitation (January 1 through July 31) (in)
19.48
15.79
July Precipitation Extremes
Precipitation (in)
Date
Most Daily Precipitation in July 2013
0.64
July 9
Record Precipitation in June 2013
Precipitation (in)
Date
Old Record
No Records Set
Precipitation Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
July 2013 Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation
9
9.3
Jan-July 2013 Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation
72
50.1
July 2013 Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation
5
5.9
Jan-July 2013 Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation
43
26.8
July 2013 Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation
1
4.1
Jan-July 2013 Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation
23
19.9
July 2013 Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation
1
2.5
Jan-July 2013 Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation
13
10.3
July 2013 Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation
0
1.2
Jan-July 2013 Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation
3
3.1

Complete list of Saint Cloud July Records
Link to 10 Wettest/Driest Julys

Saint Cloud Hottest Annual Temperatures (1988-2013)
Year
Hottest High (°F)
Date
Days with High >= 97°F
1988
102°F
June 24, July 31
13
(7 days with >= 100°F)
1989
98°F
August 4
1
1990
101°F
July 3
1
1991
95°F
July 18
0
1992
92°F
June 12, August 9
0
1993
90°F
August 10
0
1994
95°F
June 14
0
1995
97°F
June 17, July 13
2
1996
96°F
June 28
0
1997
95°F
June 23
0
1998
94°F
May 18
0
1999
98°F
July 30
2
2000
94°F
June 9
0
2001
98°F
August 6, 7
4
2002
95°F
June 30, July 6
0
2003
96°F
August 24
0
2004
96°F
June 30
0
2005
98°F
June 23
1
2006
101°F
July 31
5
2007
96°F
August 10
0
2008
91°F
June 6, 11, August 18
0
2009
92°F
May 20
0
2010
94°F
May 24
0
2011
101°F
June 7
1
2012
99°F
July 16
3
2013
95°F
May 14
0

 

Saint Cloud Cool Summer Statistics (1992-2013)
June and July Highs < 80°F
June and July Lows < 60°F
Year
Days
Year
Days
1992
47
1992
58
1993
41
1993
47
1994
30
1994
45
1995
24
1995
36
1996
32
1996
49
1997
27
1997
38
1998
33
1998
40
1999
27
1999
35
2000
34
2000
48
2001
27
2001
36
2002
21
2002
25
2003
31
2003
44
2004
39
2004
46
2005
24
2005
27
2006
14
2006
32
2007
19
2007
32
2008
27
2008
48
2009
35
2009
50
2010
24
2010
38
2011
27
2011
32
2012
11
2012
23
2013
29
2013
37
1992-2013 Average
25.9
1992-2013 Average
39.3

  

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