National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

 Meteorological Summer Climate Data (June-August)

Summer 2012 will be remembered as one of the hottest on record.  Much of the region saw temperatures well above normal throughout much of the summer, especially in July.  The summer was also dry across most of the area, as drought conditions persisted in many locations.  The historic flood in northeast Minnesota that occurred in June skewed the summer data for that area, which did end up seeing above normal precipitation of the season, not surprisingly.

For the Twin Cities, it was the 3rd warmest summer on record.  July 2012 was the 2nd warmest month on record in the Twin Cities, so even with a nearly average August and moderately above normal June, the month of July pushed summer 2012 into the top 3 warmest on record.

June-August 2012	Average Temperature	Departure From Normal	Precipitation	Departure From Normal
Eau Claire, WI	71.8°	2.5°	7.39 in.	-5.09 in.
Minneapolis, MN	74.8°	3.5°	9.87 in.	-2.72 in.
St. Cloud, MN	71.1°	3.0°	7.17 in.	-4.10 in.

June-August 2012	Average Temperature	Rank
Eau Claire, WI	71.8°	5
Minneapolis, MN	74.8°	3
St. Cloud, MN	71.1°	T8

Meteorlogical Summer (June-August)
Temperature - Departure from Normal	Precipitation

Avereage maximum temperatures were in the 80s across much of the region.	The daily high temperatures during the Summer were above normal across the area.

Average low temperatures throughout the summer ranged from the 50s to the low 60s.	Average night time low temperatures were generally 1-3 degrees above normal.

The average temperature generally ranged between 65 and 75 degrees across the region.	Not surprisingly, the average temperature for the period generally ranged from 2 to 4 degrees above normal across the area.

 

Much of the state received a healthy dose of rainfall early in the summer, but dry conditions have been common over the latter half of the summer.  Note the signal from the historic flood in June near Duluth, MN.	The departure from mean map really shows how dry it has been across the state, with the exception of the northeast.  Again, the above average signal near Duluth is heavily influenced by the historic flood in June.	Similar to the departure from mean map, the percent of mean map shows southern Minnesota as the driest, while the flood stricken northeast as the wettest areas compared to normal during the Summer of 2012.

 

Year-To-Date Statistics    

All three major climate sites (Minneaplolis, St. Cloud, and Eau Claire) in the NWS Twin Cities Forecast Area are expereincing their warmest year-to-dates on record through August 31st of this year.  Below are a few tables showing the top five warmest year-to-dates through Augutst 31st at Minneapolis, St. Cloud, and Eau Claire.

Twin Cities
Rank	Avg. Temp.	Year
1	55.0	2012
2	53.5	1987
3	52.9	2006
4	52.5	1878
5	52.2	1931

St. Cloud
Rank	Avg. Temp.	Year
1	51.5	2012
2	50.2	1987
T3	49.4	1931, 2006
5	48.7	1998

Eau Claire
Rank	Avg. Temp.	Year
1	52.6	2012
2	51.4	2006
3	51.3	1987
4	49.7	2010
5	49.0	1991

 

 Below is a graph showing temperature and precipitation from the beginning of the year until the end of August for Minneapolis/St. Paul.  Note the record temperatures in March, the large jump in cumulative rainfall totals in May, and the very hot July.

 

 

August Climate Data

For Minneapolis, after many months in a row of above average temperatures across the area, it was looking like August was going to finally break the streak.  However, some very warm days near the end of the month pushed August slightly above normal.  Minneapolis has now seen 15 consecutive months of above normal temperautres.  St. Cloud finished exactly normal for the month of August, while Eau Claire was barely below normal.  As for precipitation, all three sites were well below normal for the month of August.  The worst drought conditions in the NWS Twin Cities Forecast Area are currently in the far southwest. 

 Monthly Climate Summaries:   Minneapolis   St. Cloud   Eau Claire   Chanhassen

	MSP	STC	EAU
Temperature

August 2012	Average Temperature	Departure From Normal	Precipitation	Departure From Normal
Eau Claire, WI	69.1°	-0.2°	2.06 in.	-2.41 in.
Minneapolis, MN	72.0°	0.8°	1.38 in.	-2.92 in.
St. Cloud, MN	67.8°	0.0°	1.22 in.	-2.57 in.

August 2012
Temperature - Departure from Normal	Precipitation

The average temperature generally ranged between 65 and 70 degrees.	Temperatures during the month of August was very near normal across most of the area.

Very little precipitation was seen across the area during the month of August.  2 inches or less was common.	The departure from mean map shows it was a particularly dry month across the area.	Much of the area saw less than 50% of their normal rainfall, as highlighted in orange.

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