March 2012 Saint Cloud Weather Summary

Warmest March in St. Cloud History

It was a spectacularly warm, record-breaking March in St. Cloud. The average temperature was 43.9°F, 14.5°F above average. That tops the record warm March in 1910 by 0.9°F. In fact, the average temperature would have been right about average for April.

24 Daily Record Temperatures Set

Much of the month was warmer than average (only 4 days colder than the average daily temperature), but the most impressive period was March 10 through March 24. There were 24 new record warm temperatures set or tied (see both St. Cloud March records and table below). There were 8 record warm temperatures tied or broken in 10 days (including 6 in a row), 9 straight days with a record warm average temperature tied or broken, including a new warm March average on March 18, which was broken again on March 19, and 7 straight days tying or breaking a record warm low, including a new March record warm low on March 18.

During the March 10-24 period, the average temperature was 54.5°F (high 65.9°F, low 42.1°F), more than 22 degrees warmer than the March 10-24 average (32.1°F: high 42.3°F, low 21.9°F). This would be typical weather for May 5 instead of mid-March. From March 17 through March 23, the low temperature was never as cold as the average high for the day.

St. Cloud had 6 days with a high temperature of 70 or above. Only March 1910 (8 days, including the March record warm high of 81 degrees) has had more.

The Minnesota State Climatology Office notes that we have plenty of company for record setting temperatures and the National Weather Service has these records on a graph..

Warmest Six Months of Cold Season on Record

For the entire cold season so far (October-March), the 2011-2012 cold season ranks as the warmest by far. The average temperature of 33.2°F is ahead of 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 by 3.8°F.

More Statistics Showing A Relatively Easy Cold Season

The end of March means that we have set records or near records for many winter milestones. There were only 49 days with a high temperature of freezing or colder. The odds of getting a high temperature that cold in April are very slim, so 2011-2012 has likely broken the record for fewest freezing or colder highs by 4 over 1918-1919. In an average cold season, there are 88 such days.

St. Cloud has past the season when lows fall to zero or below. Only 10 days were that cold in 2011-2012, breaking the St. Cloud record for fewest zero or colder lows (11), set in 1907-1908.

The coldest low temperature reached this past cold season was only -17°F. That tied 2006-2007 for the third mildest extreme low. Only one cold season, 2001-2002, failed to reach -10. 2011-2012 was also the sixth cold season that St. Cloud never got as cold as -20.

While we can't say that St. Cloud is guaranteed to be done with snow cover, the low snowfall for the cold season is also on the mild side. Only 0.7 inch fell in March. That wasn't low enough to make it into the top 10 lowest March totals, but 2012 joins 2010 and 2000 as Marches with less than an inch. The total 2011-2012 snowfall stands at 27.4 inches. In 2004-2005, there was less snow (27.2 inches), but 2011-2012 (if it stands up through April) and 2004-2005 have the least seasonal snowfall in the past 25 years.

There were 62 days with an inch of snow cover this cold season so far. That's the fewest days since 2002-2003 and less than half of last cold season's 131 days. The average is a bit more than 99 days. The longest streak of consecutive days with a snow cover was 32 days, the least since the 26 days in 2002-2003. The average is 86 days.

After the snow melted, there was some significant rainfall. The St. Cloud Airport got 1.15 inches of rain in March, .35 less than average. It was enough, however, for lawns to green up and trees to bud.

Weak Tornado Confirmed Near Lake Elysian

A damage survey from the National Weather Service in Chanhassen confirmed an EF-0 tornado that moves through Waseca and LeSueur Counties on March 19. The majority of the damage was produced by straight line winds. Winds were estimated at 80-85 MPH.

This is the second earliest Minnesota tornado. The record is March 18, 1968 for a tornado that hit Truman, north of Fairmont.