March 2022 Saint Cloud Weather Summary

March 2022 Remarkably...Average

2022 March St. Cloud, MN Weather Summary

After a colder than average meteorological winter, St. Cloud came into March with a deep snow cover (8 inches on the ground on March 1) and got on the cold side of average during March 9 through 12, with 3 lows of zero or colder March 10-12. Then, the meltdown of the persistent snow cover finally happened during the middle of the month, allowing some milder interludes. Still, the temperature pattern continued to show the roller coaster typical of this entire cold season.

When the month was over, March ended up being nearly average in every major weather statistic. The St. Cloud average March temperature was 28.8 degrees (average high: 37.5 deg., avg low 20.2 deg.), just 0.4 degrees below average. The total melted precipitation was 1.52 inches, just 0.05 inch below average. The monthly snowfall was 7.2 inches, within an inch of average.

Besides the cold period early in the month, St. Cloud occasionally saw temperatures more typical of spring during the second half of March, although they were few and far between. The first 50-degree high of the season was set on March 19, which was within a week of the average date. It was also the first 50 degree high since December 15. On March 21, St. Cloud hit 60 degrees for the first time since November 6. That was more than two weeks earlier than the average first 60-degree high in St. Cloud (April 4; see table below) and the 24th earliest 60-degree high on record. The record for earliest 60-degree high was set on March 3, 1905.

Note that the last two rows of the above table are blank. Last year, St. Cloud had its first 80-degree high during the first week of April. This year, we haven't even hit 50 degrees again since the 60-degree high on March 21 (see 30-day St. Cloud temperature graph from MesoWest).

The three additional lows of zero or colder, including a -9 on March 12, ran the total number of zero or colder mornings to 52, nearly 10 days above average. Despite the colder than average winter, this was the only extreme statistic that was below average.

The key to finally getting milder than average air into central Minnesota was the melting of the prolonged snow cover. That finally happened on March 20 after two highs over 50 degrees. The streak of consecutive days of at least one inch of snow cover stretched to 92 days (between December 17 and March 19). The average such streak in a St. Cloud cold season is 86 days. St. Cloud narrowly missed stretching that streak to 104 days, since snow on December 4-5 began a streak that was only broken by spending the entire day on December 15 above freezing.

March precipitation was also very close to average. The St. Cloud Regional Airport picked up 1.52 inches of melted precipitation, 0.05 inch below average. That precipitation only fell on 8 days during the month, but was dominated by 0.92 inch on March 22. That was the largest daily precipitation event in St. Cloud since 1.19 inch on September 13 and was the first day with at least half an inch of precipitation since October 27 and 28. Most of eastern Minnesota picked up at least half an inch of precipitation on March 22. This rain was helpful in easing some of the dry conditions leftover from last spring and summer (see US Drought Monitor).

St. Cloud March snowfall, observed at St. Cloud State University, was, you guessed it, close to average. 7.2 inches of snow fell during the month, 1.0 inches below average. This included 1.5 inches of snow in that heavy precipitation event of March 22 and 0.9 inch of snow on March 30, both after the melting of the persistent snowpack. That reminds us that the melting of the long-term snowpack doesn't end the snow season (April averages 4.7 inches, although there are heavier amounts about 1 in 5 Aprils); it just means that any late season snowfall will melt within a few days of falling, if not sooner.

The heaviest snowfall for the month was 2.2 inches on March 14. There has not been a 5-inch daily snowfall during the entire cold season. There have been 41 days with measurable snowfall this season (see table below), 9 more than average. It's the most snowfall days since 2013-2014 (50 days), but that cold season ended up with 75.5 inches of snowfall, the 5th highest in St. Cloud records. During this snow season, St. Cloud has picked up 47.6 inches of snow through March 31, 4.5 inches above average.