Dryness Moves from BWCA to Central Minnesota
Spring 2007 Ties for 8th Warmest in Saint Cloud Weather Records
May and Spring 2007 Saint Cloud Weather Summaries
While there is hope to relieve these conditions in early June, May weather in Saint Cloud saw the dryness of northeastern Minnesota move into central and east central Minnesota. The St. Cloud Regional Airport rainfall totalled only 1.30 inch, less than half the normal May rainfall of 2.97 inches. This made May 2007 the 13th driest May in Saint Cloud records. The driest period was between April 23 and May 28, when only 0.63 inch fell at the Saint Cloud Airport. The normal rainfall for that five-week period is 3.33 inches. So, St. Cloud picked up only 19% of the normal rainfall from late April to late May.
The combination of the long dry period, mostly warm temperatures, and mainly breezy conditions in Minnesota produced above normal evaporation. Since we were coming off a dry growing season last year, central Minnesota lakes and streams have receded rapidly from the near normal levels after the snow melt to mostly below normal levels. As of May 29, below normal streamflow was observed by the US Geological Survey over most of central Minnesota to the east of Mississippi from Morrison County southward.
Since the start of the growing season on April 1, St. Cloud rainfall has totalled 2.99 inches, more than two inches below the normal amount of 5.10 inches. Through May 29, the growing season rainfall map compiled by the State Climatology Office shows lots of relief from the very dry conditions across north central and northeastern Minnesota (allowing firefighters to get control of the Ham Lake fire), but dry conditions dominate a strip of central and southern Minnesota from Little Falls and Lake Mille Lacs through the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, Hutchinson, and Litchfield through Mankato and Fairmont. The Minnesota State Climatology Office's growing season rainfall table through May 29 shows that Collegeville has recorded a 2.13 inch deficit over the previous four weeks. In addition, Alexandria and Willmar were more than 1 1/2 inches behind, and Fergus Falls and St. Cloud were more than 1 1/4 inches behind. In the last two days of May, the Alexandria area picked up 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches of rain, Morris and parts of the Twin Cities area picked up more than an inch, so conditions are better than the above statistics show. St. Cloud is supposed to get some relief from the slow-moving storm to our west over the weekend, but we remain in the pocket of driest conditions through the end of May.
The Drought Monitor from the National Drought Mitigation Center generally shows the shrinking area of the driest conditions as only the immediate boundary waters area are still considered to be in extreme drought. Severe drought conditions continue in most of the Arrowhead as well as the Wisconsin South Shore of Lake Superior. Central Minnesota does not show up among the driest areas because the central Minnesota climatological district is quite large, so parts of the area are not nearly as short of rain as St. Cloud, Collegeville, and Willmar.
Because of the relatively heavy snowfall in March, the Saint Cloud precipitation statistics for the spring (March 1 - May 31) are much closer to normal. The total melted precipitation was 6.32 inches, 0.28 inch below the normal amount of 6.60 inches. For the same reason, the annual precipitation to date is slightly above normal (7.98 inches observed; 7.95 inches normal).
May 2007 in Saint Cloud was yet another warmer than normal month, increasing the effect of the dry conditions. The average May temperature was 61.1°F, 4.6°F above normal. This made May 2007 the 12th warmest of the 127 Mays in St. Cloud records. The warm, breezy conditions increased moisture loss due to evaporation during the month, forcing plants and water bodies to draw on ground water levels that are lower than normal due to last year's dry growing season. The warmer than normal May contributed to the 8th warmest spring in St. Cloud records. The average March through May temperature was 46.3°F, tying 1889, 1919, and 1988 for 8th place. This was 3.4°F above normal
May had periods of 3-4 days of very hot temperatures, separated from each other by near normal temperatures. The hottest days were May 13 and 14, when high temperatures broke 90°F, including a record high of 93°F on the 13th. The two 90-degree days were fewer than St. Cloud recorded during its hot Memorial Day weekend last year. During May 27-29 of last year, every day had a high in the 90's, including a 98-degree high on May 28th.
Average High Temperature (°F) Average Low Temperature (°F) Mean Temperature for May (°F) May 2007 Days with High Temperatures =>90°F May 2007 Days with High Temperatures <= 32°F May 2007 Days with Low Temperatures <= 32°F Cold-season 2006-2007 Days with Low Temperatures <= 32°F
May 2007 Days with Low Temperatures >= 70°F
Warmest High Temperature for May 2007 (°F) Coldest High Temperature for May 2007 (°F) Warmest Low Temperature for May 2007 (°F) Coldest Low Temperature for May 2007 (°F) May 2007 Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation May 2007 Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation May 2007 Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation May 2007 Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation May 2007 Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation
Average High Temperature (°F) Average Low Temperature (°F) Mean Temperature for Spring (°F) @Tied with 1889, 1918,1998 as 8th warmest spring Spring 2007
Days with High Temperatures => 90°FSpring 2007
Days with High Temperatures <= 32°FSpring 2007
Days with High Temperatures <= 0°FSpring 2007
Days with High Temperatures <= -10°FSpring 2007
Days with Low Temperatures >= 70°FSpring 2007
Days with Low Temperatures <= 32°FSpring 2007
Days with Low Temperatures <= 0°FSpring 2007
Days with Low Temperatures <= -20°FSpring 2007
Days with Low Temperatures <= -30°FSpring 2007 Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation Spring 2007 Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation Spring 2007 Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation Spring 2007 Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation Spring 2007 Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation
