April 2021 Saint Cloud Weather Summary

April Continues Trend of Alternating Extremes

Above Average Rainfall in Northern and Central Minnesota

After having relatively little rainfall, especially in northern, western, and southwestern Minnesota after the snow melted for the year, April provided some important relief. The St. Cloud Regional Airport picked up 3.13 inches of precipitation, a little more than half an inch above average. However, there was even more precipitation in patches near St. Cloud and over 4 inches in patches of west central, north central, and northeastern Minnesota (see April Minnesota precipitation from NWS). Northern and western Minnesota came into April needing the precipitation the most. Note these regions weakening of the drought levels on the comparison of the March 30 and April 27 US Drought Monitor (go to US Drought Monitor comparison slider). The bulk of the precipitation fell between April 5 and 14 (see Minnesota DNR summary of April 5-14). That 10-day period alone produced 5.94 inches north of Sartell, which caused the monthly maximum area just to the north. At St. Cloud Regional Airport, the total was 2.57 inches.

Roller Coaster Temperatures With Warm Start and Finish

The other story of the month was the wild variation of temperatures during the month. The April average ended up being 44.0 degrees, which is 0.5 degree cooler than average. However, there was wild variation during the month. The first 5 days produced a major warm-up, including the first 70-degree temperature (79 degrees) of the season on April 4 and a record high of 84 degrees on April 5. That was the 3rd earliest date of the first 80-degree high, with the record being on April 4. However, that warmth ended producing a series of thunderstorms on April 5 and 6, some of which produced hail. That was followed by the venting of leftover arctic air over the Great Lakes through much of the middle of the month. During the three weeks between April 7 and April 28, the high temperature in St. Cloud only reached 60 degrees twice. 13 of those days had a high temperature cooler than 50 degrees. Note how frequently the top of the blue bar (see NWS graph of April St. Cloud high and low temperatures) failed to reach the top of the green, which is the average high temperature. The only factor that kept the average temperature from ending up further below average was a lot of clouds overnight, which limited the low temperatures.

The coolest of these highs was 33 degrees on April 13. That night, a weak storm spread an inch of snow in St. Cloud. One of the later cool outbreaks produced a low of 21 degrees on April 21, tying the record cold low. While that was the only measurable snow in St. Cloud, there were 5 other days that snow flakes did reach the ground, although they mostly melted on contact with the ground. The last three days of the month featured finally some warm-up with three days with a high in the 60's.

10th Mildest Oct-April in St. Cloud Records

Still, April (slight cooler than average) and February (much colder than average) were the only cooler than average months during the cold season. The average temperature between October 2020 and April 2021 was 29.4 degrees, the 10th mildest cold season of the 121 seasons in St. Cloud history. It was also the 5th cold season that placed in the warmest 10 in the last 9 winters. However, the last 9 seasons have been a series of huge contrasts with the winter of 2013-14 being the 5th coldest and three of the top 10 snowiest seasons in 2012-2013, 2013-2014, and 2018-2019.

This past cool season was intensely cool during a few days in January and two weeks in February. That was enough to produce an above average number of lows of -20 or colder and highs of zero or cold. However, the seasonal snowfall of 45.2 inches will be slightly below average. The 72 consecutive days of at least an inch of snow on the ground was below the average of 84 days, mainly because the streak didn't start until late December. Still, the snowfall and days with at least an inch of snow on the ground was near average due to the two early season snowfalls in October and November. Details are in the table below.

April 2021 Statistics