Weather

Average Temperatures for Minnesota
There’s no doubt that Minnesota has a cool climate, but did you know that it’s actually not the coldest State in the U.S.? In fact, it’s not even the second or third coldest State in the U.S., it’s the fourth according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), for the years 1971-2000. The following chart shows the average monthly temperatures for Minnesota, in relation to the rest of the contiguous U.S. states.

Average Temperature by Month (1971-2000)
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Average
Minnesota	8	15	28	42	56	65	69	67	57	45	28	14	41
U.S. Average *	30	34	42	51	61	69	74	72	65	54	42	33	52
*excluding Alaska and Hawaii

(SOURCE: NOAA – Alaska is not included in the above data, but it actually has the lowest Average Temperature of any State in the U.S., followed by North Dakota, Maine, and then Minnesota)

Average annual precipitation (rain)
Northwest: 19 inches/year
Southeast: 34 inches/year

Average annual snowfall
Northeast: 70 inches/year
Southwest: 35 inches/year

Latest spring freeze
April 29 – metro area
May 27 – far north

Earliest fall freeze
October 5 – metro area
September 16 – far north

Extreme Weather Conditions in Minnesota
What’s less known about Minnesota weather are the extreme weather conditions in the summer months. The following is a chart of Minnesota weather extremes that includes both winter and summer months.

Climate Extremes for Minnesota
Temperature	Record	Date	Location	County
Maximum	114 degrees F.	July 29, 1917 July 6, 1936	Beardsley Moorhead	Big Stone Clay
Minimum	-60 degrees F.	February 2, 1996	near Tower	St. Louis
Maximum 24-hour change	71 degrees F.	April 3, 1982	Lamberton	Redwood
Dewpoint
Highest Dewpoint – Twin Cities	82 degrees F.	July 19, 2011	Minneapolis-St. Paul	Hennepin
Highest Dewpoint – Statewide	88 degrees F.	July 19, 2011	Moorhead, MN	Clay
Heat Index – A measure of how hot it feels to the human body when combining temperature and humidity
Highest Heat Index – Twin Cities	119 degrees F.	July 11, 1966 (tied July 19, 2011)	Minneapolis-St. Paul	Hennepin
Highest Heat Index – Statewide	134 degrees F. (unofficial)	July 19, 2011	Moorhead	Clay
Snow (also see Snow Storms and Blizzards)
Maximum 24-hour snowfall	36.0 inches	January 7, 1994	near Finland	Lake
Maximum single storm snowfall	46.5 inches	January 6-8, 1994	near Finland	Lake
Maximum seasonal snowfall	170.5 inches	1949-1950	near Grand Portage	Cook
Maximum snow cover	75 inches	March 28, 1950	near Grand Portage	Cook
Earliest measurable snowfall	0.3 inches	Sept. 14, 1964	International Falls	Koochiching
Latest measurable snowfall – Statewide	1.5 inches	June 4, 1935	Mizpah	Koochiching
Latest measurable snowfall – Twin Cities	0.1 inches	May 24, 1925	Twin Cities
Rain
Maximum 24-hour total	15.10 inches	August 19, 2007	Hokah	Houston
Maximum monthly total	23.86 inches	August 2007	Hokah	Houston
Maximum annual total	53.52 inches	1991	St. Francis	Anoka
Minimum annual total	6.37 inches	1976	Ortonville	Big Stone
Longest dry spell	79 days	11/9/43 – 1/26/44	Beardsley, Canby, Marshall, Dawson
Wind
Maximum measured gust (1)	121 mph (unofficial)	September 1, 2011	Donaldson, MN	Kittson
	110 mph (tornado)	August 20, 1904	Minneapolis, MN	Hennepin
Barometric Pressure
Maximum	31.11 inches	January 21, 1922	Collegeville	Stearns
Minimum (NWS – Duluth, MN)	28.21 inches	October 26, 2010	Bigfork	Itasca

(1) These are “recorded” wind speeds. Gusts as high as 170 mph have been reported (Wadena, MN 2010), but never verified because most wind speed devices blow away or get damaged in high wind gust situations.
(SOURCE: Most Data from Minnesota Climatology Working Group)

Additional Minnesota Facts and Stats:

• General Facts
• Geography
• State Symbols
• Population