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US Drought Monitor Before and Mid-September (select October 3 and September 19)
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September 2023 Saint Cloud Weather Summary
The end of September meant that St. Cloud just finished a severely warm and dry warm season so far. From May 1 through September 30, St. Cloud rainfall ranked as the 5th driest with 10.52 inches, 7.50 inches below average, and the driest since 1976 (see table below) and as the third warmest with 68.1 degrees, 4.1 degrees above average and the warmest since 1936. September itself was the third warmest with an average temperature of 65.6 degrees, 6.1 degrees above average.
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Least St. Cloud, MN, May-September Rainfall (average: 18.02 in) |
Warmest St. Cloud May-September (avg: 64.0°F) |
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| Rank | Rainfall (in) | Year | Rank | Temp (°F) | Year |
| 1 | 9.27 | 1922 | 1 | 68.3 | 1900 |
| 2 | 9.66 | 1976 | 2 | 68.2 | 1936 |
| 3 | 10.05 | 1893 | 3 | 68.1 | 2023 |
| 4 | 10.33 | 1931 | 4 | 67.9 | 1933 |
| 5 | 10.52 | 2023 | 5 | 67.7 | 1988 |
| 6 | 10.69 | 1992 | 6 | 67.6 | 1921 |
| 7 | 10.81 | 1910 | 7 | 67.2 | 1939 |
| 8 | 10.84 | 1950 | 8 | 67.1 | 1931 |
| 9 | 10.90 | 1996 | 9 | 66.9 | 1894 |
| 10 | 11.11 | 1969 | 10 | 66.6 | 2012 |
And, the rainfall could have been a lot worse. There were 2.55 inches of rain since September 22, part of the huge rains in the eastern half of Minnesota over the past two weeks. Before that rain, St. Cloud would have set the all-time record for May-September rainfall with only 7.97 inches. And, the rains have continued into early October with another 0.81 inch at the St. Cloud Airport. So, the St. Cloud Airport has picked up 3.36 inches in the past 16 days. The rains have been even heavier (red areas on the NWS Minnesota 14-day rainfall map) from Two Harbors through the Twin Cities and in patches of west central Minnesota. The average amount for the entire month of September is 3.01 inches. However, southwestern and northwestern Minnesota continued to be missed. Despite the substantial rainfall lately, we need a lot more. St. Cloud through October 6 was still 7.29 inches behind since May 1 (11.33 inch actual, 18.62 inches average). For the year through October 6, St. Cloud was still nearly 3 inches behind on precipitation (21.30 inches actual, 24.23 inches average).
The rain did ease the drought classification in much of the eastern half of Minnesota, eliminating the most severe drought classification (dark red on the US Drought Monitor two week comparison; set times to October 3 and September 19) and greatly shrinking the extreme category (bright red).
The Sauk River elevation is still only 0.75 feet and the Mississippi River is only at 4.6 feet. Parts of the Mississippi River in central Minnesota and the Minnesota River have well below average streamflow.
And we finished on a high note. Both the record warm low (64) and the record warm average (72, tie) fell on Saturday and we swept all the temperature records on Sunday: new record warm high (91), record warm low (65), and record warm average (78).
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US Drought Monitor Before and Mid-September (select October 3 and September 19)
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Temperatures (°F)
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September 2023
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Normal
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| Average High Temperature (°F) |
76.7
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71.0
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| Average Low Temperature (°F) |
54.5
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48.0
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| Mean Temperature for September (°F) |
65.6 (3rd Warmest Sept; warmest since 1931)
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59.5
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| Mean Temperature May-September (°F) |
68.1 (+4.1 vs average; 3rd warmest May-Sept avg)
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64.0
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Temperature Thresholds
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Number of Days
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Normal
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| September 2023 Days with High Temperatures >= 100°F |
0
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0.02
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2023 Total Days with High Temperature of At Least 100°F |
0
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0.51
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| September 2023 Days with High Temperature of At Least 90°F |
2
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0.99
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| 2023 Total Days with High Temperature of At Least 90°F |
22 (13th most, most since 1988)
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11.58
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| September 2023 Days with Low Temperature of 32°F or lower |
0
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1.70
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September Temperature Extremes
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Temperature(°F)
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Date
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| Warmest High Temperature for September 2023 (°F) |
96 (tied Sept 3 record; see below)
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September 3,4
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| Coldest High Temperature for September 2023 (°F) |
64
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September 25
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| Warmest Low Temperature for September 2023 (°F) |
69
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September 3
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| Coldest Low Temperature for September 2023 (°F) |
35
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September 13
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Record Temperatures in September 2022
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Temperature(°F)
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Date
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Old Record
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| Record Daily Warm High |
96 (tie)
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September 3
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96 set in 1929
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| Record Daily Warm Average |
83 (tie)
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September 3
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83 set in 1898
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72 (tie)
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September 30
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72 set in 2021
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| Record Daily Warm Low |
64
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September 30
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60 set in 2021
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This Year
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Normal
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September 2023 Precipitation (in)
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2.65
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3.01
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| Saint Cloud's Ten Rainiest/Driest Septembers | |||||||||||
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2023 January-April Precipitation (in)
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9.97 (+4.46 from average, 4th highest on record, most since 2001)
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5.61
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2023 May-September Rainfall (in)
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10.52 (-7.50 from average)
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18.02
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2023 Total Precipitation (in) (January 1 - September 30)
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20.40 (-3.23 from average)
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23.63
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Precipitation Thresholds
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Number of Days
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Normal
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| September 2023 Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation |
9
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8.7
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| September 2023 Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation |
4
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5.6
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| September 2023 Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation |
2
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3.5
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| September 2023 Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation |
2
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2.0
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| September 2023 Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation | 1 |
0.8
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September Precipitation Extremes
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Precipitation (in)
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Date
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Most Daily Precipitation in September 2023
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1.36 inch
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September 23
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Record Precipitation in September 2023
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Precipitation (in)
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Date
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Old Record
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No records set
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US Drought Monitor Before and Mid-September (select October 3 and September 19)
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Last Updated: October 7, 2023
