April 2024 Saint Cloud Weather Summary

April Rainfall More Frequent and Continued Heavy

Quite a while ago, most of Minnesota suffered through a very dry May through September that produced drought conditions in much of Minnesota (compare April 30, 2024 to September 26, 2023 on the US Drought Monitor 2-week comparison). However, cold season heavy precipitation began in December (most December melted precipitation in St. Cloud records) and continued through the winter. In April, that wetness became heavier and more frequent.

6th Wettest April

The April total rainfall at the St. Cloud Regional Airport was 5.51 inches, far above the 2.61 inch April average. This ranks as St. Cloud's 6th wettest April out of 134 Aprils on record. That was also just 0.04 inch short of 1986, the 5th place April. The April rainfall was produced by a series of relatively slow-moving storms: 0.99 inch on April 7 and 8, 1.98 inch on April 16 and 17, and three storms dumping 2.42 inches total on April 26-30. St. Cloud didn't set any precipitation records, although the 1.71 inch on April 16 would have set a daily precipitation record had it occurred on any other of the first 20 days in April.

Statewide, central Minnesota from Little Falls through Mankato to the western fringe of the Twin Cities got more than 5 inches in April (red or dark red, more than 6 inches on the NWS Minnesota April rainfall map). The last period of rain finally involved portions of northern and western Minnesota that have missed much of the spring rains (see NWS Minnesota April rainfall map). These areas saw at least 1 inch (dark green) to 2 inches (yellow on the NWS Minnesota 7-day rainfall map). Still, drought conditions have remained about the same in the northern third of Minnesota (compare April 30 to March 26 on the US Drought Monitor 2-week comparison).

All of this rain is producing minor flooding along the Minnesota River near Morton. More significant rainfall would produce more problems, especially over the red area noted above.from the that central Minnesota from

The rainfall was a lot more frequent than the January through March precipitation. As noted in the table below, there were 12 April days with measurable precipitation, compared to 11 days (out of 91) in January through March. While few winter days had precipitation, there was a lot of precipitation on those days. The number of Jan-Mar days with heavier precipitation was nearly the same as in April (6 of 11 days with at least a quarter-inch).

All Types of Precipitation in April, But Missed Severe Weather

The heavier April precipitation was produced by storms that were strong enough to tap Gulf of Mexico moisture. They also intensified close to Minnesota, so they moved slowly. Central Minnesota was able to receive showers and thunderstorms before and during the storm passing, and a lot of instability clouds behind each storm with showery weather. The precipitation was in all types with some snowflakes on 4 days. There were also snow pellets or graupel in the early morning of April 19 and a thunderstorm producing brief pea-sized and smaller hail near St. Cloud on April 23. However, Minnesota missed the major severe weather outbreaks that hit much of the central and southern Plains in April, often as close to us as Iowa or Nebraska.

Third Wettest December-April

The wet April pushed St. Cloud's December through April total to 11.77 inches, the third wettest December through April period in St. Cloud records. It was only 0.10 inch behind 2022-2023 (11.87 inches), and less than four-tenths behind 2000-2001 (12.16 inches). Note that this year's wetness is different from the other top 4 years. Those other seasons had a great deal of snowfall producing a good chunk of the precipitation. Both last year (1st) and 2013-2014 (tied for 6th) placed in the 10 heaviest snow seasons and 2000-2001 had above average snowfall (56.6 inches). Of the 4 wettest December through Mays, only this cold season has seen less snowfall (31.9 inches) than the average (47.9 inches).

Note also that these wet winter and early springs were mainly either since 2000 (5 of the top 10) or early in the record period (4 years before 1920, 3 of them in the 1890's).

April Warmth Not Quite as Newsworthy as Winter Months

April 2024 continued the warm trend in Minnesota, although it wasn't as extreme as during the winter months. The St. Cloud Regional Airport average April temperature was 47.4 degrees (high: 57.8 degrees; low: 37.0 degrees), 4.1 degrees above average. Unlike the December through March period (28 warm temperature records tied or broken), April had no records set. However, the April 13 high of 85 degrees would have set a record if not for the 86 degrees reached last April 13. On the other hand, the air masses between the wet periods carried dry air from central Canada. This produced an incredible 52 degree range on April 13 (see plot of April St. Cloud temperatures from MesoWest) with scattered frost. This frost as well as the sub-freezing temperatures on the 19th through the 21st ended up causing issues with plants that had produced early buds from the early season warmth. Still, the average date of the last frost is May 10.

Last 12 Months Set Another Warmth Record

The warm April completed 12 consecutive months of above average temperatures. Of those 12 month periods on record, 2023-2024 was the warmest with an average temperature of 49.1 degrees, beating 2011-2012 by 1.5 degrees.

The last months that were colder than average in St. Cloud were March and April of 2023, when we had abnormally high snow cover from the tail end of the record-setting cold season. Since a lot of the sun's energy is either reflected back to space by the snow cover or used to melt the snow, there is less heat available to warm the air.

During the May 2023 through April 2024 period, every month except July was at least three degrees above average. June did place in the top five, but the summer months (June through August), in general, were warm, but not as extreme (17th warmest) as some of the fall, winter, and spring months. Four of these months ranked in the 10 warmest, including December and February, both more than 14 degrees above average. That's because of the lack of snow cover, allowing more warming of the air.

The warmer than average temperatures, especially during the cold season, were expected since the Northern Plains and Rockies tend to have mild cold seasons during an El Nino year in the tropical Pacific. However, some of the warmth can be attributed to the very warm worldwide temperatures that have been occurring, especially the warm ocean temperatures. It is much harder to change the temperature of the water than the air (you know this by how long it takes to boil water), so the ocean warmth would tend to keep air temperatures milder. Since water temperatures remain very warm, this summer is likely to be quite hot in many areas.

Wild Variation Weather over the Last 12 Cold Seasons

I began to include this chart in my April summaries 4 years ago, noting the wild swings from year to year in snowfall. Now that we've gone from the snowiest season on record in 2022-2023 to a below average and very warm season this year, the contrast is still there. Among this cold season's warm markers are:

• Fewest lows of freezing or colder (140, but more could happen in May)
• Fewest highs of freezing or colder (43)
• Fewest lows of zero or cold (10, tied with 2011-2012)
• 5th fewest days with at least 1 inch of snow on ground (40)
• 5th fewest consecutive days with at least 1 inch of snow on ground (21)
• Earliest first 60-degree high (tie) and 70-degree high (new record)

In contrast, there have been colder than average Octobers through April with 2013-2014 the 5th coldest on record. Still, the warm seasons have placed in the top 10, while the cold ones mostly haven't. The swings in snow season have been more extreme with 4 of the 10 snowiest seasons during the past 12 cold seasons, but 5 below average years. Again, the snowy years have tended to place as the most extreme while the snowless years haven't (the closest to extreme was 2011-2012).

April 2024 Statistics