Weather

July 2020 Saint Cloud Weather Summary



Sporadic Rains Become More Widespread and Frequent in July

July 2020 St. Cloud Weather Summary

More Rain in July Than Feb-June Combined

Since the snows stopped coming at the start of February, much of Minnesota had been dry. In St. Cloud, only 4.35 inches fell between February and June (4.68 inches below average). However, the pattern turned around with much more frequent rainfall in July. The St. Cloud Municipal Airport picked up 5.39 inches, 2.08 inches above average.

Most Areas With Short-Term Rain Shortages in West Central and Northeastern Minnesota Eased

Given that thunderstorms were primarily responsible for the rainfall, the amounts varied widely with a good chunk of Stearns County and points north having more than 6 inches (red on the July Minnesota rainfall map from NWS). Some of the heaviest rain fell in west central and northeastern Minnesota which had the largest rainfall deficit through June (see comparison of July 28 and June 30 on the US Drought Monitor). Still, both the near ground and sub-ground moisture was rated as being adequate or surplus in 90 percent of Minnesota on the weekly Minnesota Crop Condition Report from June 27 ( new one will be available soon).

Severe Weather Accounted for One Deadly Tornado, Hail and Strong Winds Plus the Rain

The rainfall in July was, at times, too much. On July 25-26, between 5 and 8 inches of rain fell in the Minnesota River Valley (see July 25-26 Extreme Southern Minnesota Rainfall ). Other storm outbreaks ( July 8-EF4 tornado in west central Minnesota that killed one person in a farm building; July 17-18 large hail and widespread wind damage) produced damaging storms across much of the state. The storms merely produced heavy rainfall in St. Cloud with 1.64 inch on July 8, just short of the 1.77 inch daily record, 1.48 inch on July 18, and 0.91 inch on July 26.

Frequently Above 90, But Only a Bit Warmer Than Average

The warmer than average temperature trend that began in June continued in July. The average temperature in St. Cloud was 72.0 degrees, 1.7 degrees above average. It was the warmest July since 2012 and featured 6 days with a high of at least 90 degrees. Still, there weren't many extremely warm days, so a cool period in late July, featuring the only high cooler than 75 (22nd) and the only 2 lows cooler than 55 (22nd and 23rd) pulled the average closer to the long term average. Minnesota was frequently not far away from the real heat that dominated the central and southern Rockies and much of the High Plains (Billings had 11 days with a high of at least 90, while Omaha had 16 such warm days), but either clouds from thunderstorms or occasional Canadian air masses kept the heat down to some degree.

Thus far, the summer of 2020 is consistent with the summers seen in the 2005, 2006, and 2010 through 2013 with warmer than average readings and double digit amounts of days with a high of 90 or higher. The main departure in recent years is how few really hot days there have been. And, the overall Northern Hemisphere Summer has been brutal with heat waves from the Sahara stretching across eastern Europe and Siberia, plus the persistent high heat across the Southern US.

The night of July 25 had a low of 73 degrees, the second low of 70 or higher in St. Cloud this summer. During an average summer, there are 3 such days, but the summers from 2014 through 2019 only had 6 of these days combined. Such warm nights when lows do not drop below 70 are most difficult for people susceptible to the heat who do not have air conditioning.

The beginning of August has featured the coolest air seen since mid-June (first high cooler than 75 and first low cooler than 50 since June), but the hot and humid air isn't that far away.

     July 2020 Statistics

Temperatures (°F)
July 2020
1981-2010 Normals
Average High Temperature (°F)
83.7
82.3
Average Low Temperature (°F)
60.4
58.4
Mean Temperature for July (°F)
72.0
70.3
Daily St. Cloud July Records 10 Hottest/Coldest Julys
July Temperature Extremes
Temperature(°F)
Date
Warmest High Temperature for July 2020 (°F)
91
July 2,5,17
Coldest High Temperature for July 2020 (°F)
68
July 22
Warmest Low Temperature for July 2020 (°F)
73
July 25
Coldest Low Temperature for July 2020 (°F)
50
July 23
Record Temperatures in July 2020
Temperature (°F)
Date
Old Record
No daily temperature records set
Temperature Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
July 2020 Days with High Temperatures >= 90°F
6
4.67
2020 Total Days with High Temperature of At Least 90°F
10
11.43
2020 Total Days with High Temperature of At Least 100°F
0 (Last: June 7, 2011)
0.51
July 2020 Days with Low Temperatures >= 70°F
1
1.72
July 2020 Days with Low Temperatures >= 75°F
0 (Last: July 4, 2012)
0.26
2020 Total Days with Low Temperatures >= 70°F
2
3.00
Precipitation (in)
This Year
1981-2010 Normals
July 2020 Rainfall (in)
5.39
3.31
2020 Growing Season (April 1 through July 31) Rainfall (in)
10.38
13.00
2020 Year to Date (January 1 through July 31)
13.63
15.79
     
July Precipitation Extremes
Precipitation (in)
Date
Most Daily Precipitation in July 2020
1.64 inch
July 8
Record Precipitation in July 2020
Precipitation (in)
Date
Old Record
No daily precipitation records set
Precipitation Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
July 2020 Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation
11
9.3
Jan-July 2020 Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation
58
50.1
July 2020 Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation
7
5.9
Jan-July 2020 Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation
42
26.8
July 2020 Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation
5
4.1
Jan-July 2020 Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation
15
19.9
July 2020 Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation
5
2.5
Jan-July 2020 Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation
8
10.3
July 2020 Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation
2
1.2
Jan-July 2020 Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation
4
3.1

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

 

Saint Cloud Hottest Annual Temperatures (1988-2020)
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
94°F
May 18
0
2013
95°F
May 14, Aug 26
0
2014
94°F
July 21
0
2015
91°F
August 14
0
2016
93°F
June 25, July 22
0
2017
92°F
June 10, July 17
0
2018
97°F
June 29
1
2019
92°F
July 15
0
2020
96°F
June 8
0

 

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