Roller Coaster October Produces Some Drought Relief
Saint Cloud October 2021 Weather Summary
The fall months have continued to make up some of the large rain shortfalls accumulated during the late spring and summer. During October 2021, the St. Cloud Regional Airport picked up 2.80 inches, slightly above the October average of 2.61 inches. The slightly wetter than average October means that St. Cloud's rainfall shortfall since May 1 has dropped to under 5 inches (4.62 inches short: 16.01 inches actual; 20.63 inches average). It was more than 7 inches short back in late August. There was even more rainfall in much of northern and western Minnesota with several areas over 5 inches of rain (red on the Minnesota October rainfall map from NWS).
This has helped to ease the drought conditions over Minnesota (see US Drought Monitor for September 26), with only pockets of the Boundary Waters showing extreme drought. Most of the southern half of Minnesota now has either short-term dryness or near average precipitation.
11th Warmest October, Warmest Since 1956
October had a lot of "everything weather" with wild swings between warm and cold. The wildest swing was between a 31 degree low on the 17th, followed by 77 degree high on the 18th, then it cooled dramatically to the 29 degree low on the 21st. When it was warm, temperatures flirted with record warm temperatures, including the record warm low of 62 degrees on October 1. The final numbers on October in St. Cloud featured an average temperature of 51.9 degrees, 6.2 degrees warmer than average. This missed the 10 mildest Octobers by 0.3 degrees, but was the 11th warmest October and the warmest in 65 years, since 1956. That's quite a contrast to 2020, which was the 5th coolest October on record and the snowiest October on record.
When it was warm, it got stormy. Minnesota had three days with tornadoes, October 9, October 10, and October 13. This marked the most October tornadoes since 1950.
| October 9 (western MN) | October 10 (Boundary Waters) | October 13 (W Central MN) | ||
|
Temperatures (°F)
|
October 2021
|
Normal
|
|
| Average High Temperature (°F) |
61.7
|
55.9
|
|
| Average Low Temperature (°F) |
42.1
|
35.5
|
|
| Mean Temperatures for October (°F) |
51.9$
|
45.7
|
|
| $11th warmest October on record | |||
|
Temperature Thresholds
|
Number of Days
|
Normal
|
|
| October 2021 Days with High Temperature of 32°F or lower |
0
|
0.4
|
|
| October 2021 Days with Low Temperature of 32°F or lower |
7
|
11.0
|
|
|
October Temperature Extremes
|
Temperature(°F)
|
Date
|
|
| Warmest High Temperature for October 2021 (°F) |
78
|
October 9
|
|
| Coldest High Temperature for October 2021 (°F) |
46
|
October 31
|
|
| Warmest Low Temperature for October 2021 (°F) |
62 (broke record; see below)
|
October 1
|
|
| Coldest Low Temperature for October 2021 (°F) |
26
|
October 23
|
|
|
Record Temperatures in October 2021
|
Temperature(°F)
|
Date
|
Old Record
|
| Daily Record Warm Low |
62
|
October 1
|
61 set in 1971
|
|
This Year
|
Normal
|
||
|
October 2021 Precipitation (in)
|
2.80
|
2.61
|
|
| 2021 "Dry Late Spring-Summer" (May 1-August 20) |
6.03 (-7.77 from average)
|
13.80
|
|
| 2021 "Wet Late Summer-Fall" (August 21-October 31) |
10.59 (+2.62 from average)
|
7.97
|
|
| Growing Season (April-October) 2021 Precipitation (in) |
19.14 (-4.10 from average)
|
23.24
|
|
|
2021 Total Precipitation (in)
|
22.89 (-2.64 from average)
|
25.53
|
|
|
Precipitation Thresholds
|
Number of Days
|
Normal
|
|
| October 2021 Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation |
8
|
7.4
|
|
| October 2021 Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation |
6
|
4.1
|
|
| October 2021 Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation |
4
|
2.5
|
|
| October 2021 Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation |
2
|
1.2
|
|
| October 2021 Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation |
1
|
0.4
|
|
|
October Precipitation Extremes
|
Precipitation (in)
|
Date
|
|
|
Most Daily Precipitation in October 2021
|
0.81 inch |
October 27
|
|
| Precipitation Records Set | Amount | Date | Old Record |
| No records set | |||
|
Snowfall (in)
|
This Year
|
Normal
|
|
|
October 2021 Snowfall (in)
|
0.0
|
0.7
|
|
|
October Snowfall Extremes
|
Snowfall (in)
|
Date
|
|
|
None
|
|||
| October 9 (western MN) | October 10 (Boundary Waters) | October 13 (W Central MN) | ||
Last Update: 1 November 2021
