Weather

May and Spring 2018 Saint Cloud Weather Summary


 

May Reverses the Curse of Chilly April

May and Spring 2018 Saint Cloud Weather Summaries

After St. Cloud tied for the coldest April on record, the weather pattern quickly reversed. Heat built frequently over the Rockies and Plains and built into Minnesota. The net result was a May with 24 of 31 days warmer than average (after 28 of 30 April days being colder than average). The May 2018 average temperature ended up at 63.1 degrees, 6.5 degrees above average. This placed May 2018 as St. Cloud's 6th warmest May on record. The bulk of the heat was concentrated during a record 6-day heat wave (definition of heat wave is at least three straight days with a 90-degree high) from May 24 through May 29. There has never been a longer heat wave during May in St. Cloud records (longest only in May was May 27-29, 2006. There was a 6-day heat wave partly in May in 1934 (May 28 through June 4). It was St. Cloud's longest heat wave since July 23-31, 2016.

The 6 days with a high of at least 90 degrees were the most May 90-degree days in St. Cloud records. The old record was 5 90-degree days, set in May 1900 and May 1934. The 6 90-degree days are more than half the average total of 11.4 days and nearly half of the total of the past 4 summers combined (13 days).

During the heat wave, St. Cloud reached high temperatures of 95 degrees on May 26 ( broke a daily record) and 96 degrees on May 28. The 95-degree high was the first high of 95 degrees since August 26, 2013. The 96-degree high was the hottest St. Cloud temperature since June 7, 2011 (101 degrees). In fact, there have only been 2 days with a temperature of 96 degrees or higher since 2006.

Eventually, the warm weather brought up enough humidity to finally produce a decent amount of rain. Thunderstorms that ended the heat wave produced 1.34 inches between May 28 and 30. That's after going through a very dry period between the last accumulating snow on April 15 and these thunderstorms. During the April 16 through May 27 period, the St. Cloud Airport received only 0.59 inch. The average rainfall during the 6 week period is 3.97 inches. Between April 1 and May 29, most of central Minnesota has had less than half of the average rainfall, according to the weekly precipitation map from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources with less than 10 percent of the average rainfall in western Stearns County and most of Morrison County. Portions of central Minnesota have seen less than 2 inches of rain in the past 30 days. Parts of northern Wisconsin and northern and central Minnesota are showing up as being unusually dry on this week's National Drought Monitor from the National Drought Mitigation Center. Still, most near surface and sub-surface moisture in the last USDA Weekly Minnesota Crop Progress and Condition report from May 29 (index of all reports found here) is average.

The end of May completes the meteorological spring (March 1-May 31), since June, July and August make up meteorological summer (three warmest months of the year). The extremely warm May was on the heels of the record cold tying April 2018, so the average St. Cloud temperature for March 1-May 31 was 41.7 degrees, 1.8 degrees colder than average. The 5.15 inches of precipitation was 1.92 inches less than average. The leftover from the cold season still produced the 6th snowiest spring in St. Cloud records with a total of 30.2 inches. Note that 4 of the 7 snowiest springs have occurred since 2002. The persistent snow and cold led to lake ice out dates between 3 and 4 weeks later than average.

 

     

May 2018 Statistics

Temperatures (°F)
May 2018
Normal
Average High Temperature (°F)
77.1
68.8
Average Low Temperature (°F)
49.0
44.2
Mean Temperature for May (°F)
56.5
Temperature Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
May 2018 Days with High Temperatures =>90°F
6 (record number of May days)
0.04
May 2018 Days with Low Temperatures <= 32°F
0
2.8

Cold-season 2017-2018 Days with Low Temperatures <= 32°F

186
170.4

Cold-season 2017-2018 Days with High Temperatures <= 32°F

89
87.7

 


Spring First/Last High Temperatures
May Extremes
Temperature(°F)
Date
Warmest High Temperature for May 2018 (°F)
96 (hottest since June 7, 2011)
May 28
Coldest High Temperature for May 2018 (°F)
58
May 10
Warmest Low Temperature for May 2018 (°F)
64
May 24, 25, 28
Coldest Low Temperature for May 2018 (°F)
37
May 20
Record Temperatures in May 2018
Temperature(°F)
Date
Old Record
Daily Record Warm High
95°F
May 26
93°F in 1914
93°F
May 29
92°F in 1934,2006
Daily Record Warm Average
78°F (tie)
May 29
tied record set in 2006
Precipitation (in)
May 2018
Normal
May 2018 Precipitation (in)
1.75
2.95
May Extremes
Precipitation (in)
Date
Most Daily Precipitation in May 2018
0.99 inch
May 29
Record Precipitation in May 2018
Precipitation (in)
Date
Old Record
No Records Set
Precipitation Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
May 2018 Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation
12
10.7
May 2018 Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation
8
6.5
May 2018 Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation
7
4.4
May 2018 Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation  
3
2.2
May 2018 Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation  
1
0.7
Complete list of Saint Cloud May Records
Link to 10 Wettest/Driest Mays
Snowfall (in)
May 2018
Normal
May 2018 Snowfall (in)
0.0
0.1
Seasonal Snowfall (in) for Cold Season 2017-2018
62.1
46.1

Spring (Mar 1-May 31) 2018 Statistics

Temperatures (°F)
Spring 2018
Normal
Average High Temperature (°F)
53.0
54.7
Average Low Temperature (°F)
30.3
32.2
Mean Temperature for Spring (°F)
41.7
43.5
 
Temperature Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
Spring 2018
Days with High Temperatures => 90°F
6
0.6
Spring 2018
Days with High Temperatures <= 32°F
15
11.0
Spring 2018
Days with Low Temperatures >= 70°F
0
0.03
Spring 2017
Days with Low Temperatures <= 32°F
57
46.5
Spring 2017
Days with Low Temperatures <= 0°F
1
3.6
Spring 2017
Days with Low Temperatures <= -20°F
0
0.1
Spring 2017
Days with Low Temperatures <= -30°F
0
0.6
Liquid Equivalent Precipitation (in)
Spring 2018
Normal
Spring Melted Precipitation (in)
5.15
7.07
Precipitation Thresholds
Number of Days
Normal
Spring 2018 Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation
24
26.2
Spring 2018 Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation
16
14.7
Spring 2018 Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation
6
9.3
Spring 2018 Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation
2
4.4
Spring 2018 Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation
0
0.7
Snowfall (in)
Spring 2018
Normal
Spring 2018 Snowfall (in)
30.2
11.0
Seasonal Snowfall (in) for Cold Season 2018-2019
62.7
46.1

 

Ten Snowiest Springs

Ten Snowiest Seasons

 
 

 

 

Saint Cloud Hottest Annual Temperatures (1988-2018)
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
96°F
May 28
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