August 2014 Saint Cloud Weather Summary
No Late Summer Dry Spell in 2014!
Saint Cloud Weather Summary for August 2014 and Summer 2014
Issued: Monday, September 1, 2014 4:39 AM
In five of the previous 6 late summers, wet springs or early summers had given way to major dry spells towards the end of the summer. However, a soggy Labor Day weekend in 2014 (3-5 inches of rain in central Minnesota) ensured that this year wouldn't add to the trend. The St. Cloud Regional Airport picked up 5.59 inches of rain in August, 1.80 inches above the August average. More than half of that rainfall (2.82 inches) fell on Friday, August 29, and Sunday, August 31. That includes 2.03 inches of rain on August 29, enough to break the daily record rainfall by .01 inch. The previous record was set in 1964. The August 29 rain was also St. Cloud's first calendar day rainfall of at least 2 inches since August 13, 2010.
The August total brought the meteorological summer (June 1-August 31) total rainfall to 13.02 inches, 1.75 inches above the average. The growing season (April 1-August 31) rainfall increased to 25.66 inches, the third wettest April-August year in St. Cloud records. That's nearly nine and a half inches wetter than the 16.19 inch average. For the year so far, St. Cloud has picked up 29.37 inches of precipitation, also the third wettest January-August in St. Cloud records. This total is 9.79 inches above average and exceeds the average St. Cloud precipitation for the entire year (27.73 inches) by more than an inch and a half.
The drier conditions in the first two-thirds of August finally allowed a taste of the daytime warmth one would typically expect of summer. The average August temperature was 71.3°F, 3.5°F warmer than average, making August the warmest month of the summer (June: 68.3°F, July 70.2°F). August has been the warmest month of the summer 27 times out of the 133 years in St. Cloud records. The last time August was the warmest month was 2010.
Despite the warmth, there were no 90-degree high temperatures this August and only two so far in 2014. There have been only 6 full years with fewer 90-degree days. The last time there were less than 2 90-degree days in a complete summer was in 1993, which only had 1 90-degree high. Only during 1915 did St. Cloud fail to have even 1 temperature that made it to 90 degrees.
So, why was August warm? The generally humid conditions kept low temperatures quite warm. 20 of the 31 August days had a low temperature of 60 degrees or higher. That's tied for the 5th most among the 133 Augusts on record and led to low temperatures being more than five degrees warmer than average. This was the most 60-degree low days since 2010. The record is 28 days, set in 1900.
The resumption of thunderstorms did produce an EF0 tornado near the Benton-Morrison County line on August 24. That brought the Minnesota tornado total to 23 so far in 2014. For the most part, the biggest severe weather problem has been the heavy rains. The generally wet conditions has produced flooding problems in parts of the state and slowed the progress of agriculture.
|
Temperatures (°F)
|
August 2014
|
Normal
|
|
| August 2014 Average High Temperature (°F) |
81.4
|
79.6
|
|
| August 2014 Average Low Temperature (°F) |
61.3
|
56.0
|
|
| August 2014 Mean Temperature for August (°F) |
71.3
|
67.8
|
|
|
August Extremes
|
Temperature(°F)
|
Date
|
|
| Warmest High Temperature for August 2014 (°F) |
89
|
August 24
|
|
| Coldest High Temperature for August 2014 (°F) |
73
|
August 17
|
|
| Warmest Low Temperature for August 2014 (°F) |
69
|
August 22
|
|
| Coldest Low Temperature for August 2014 (°F) |
51
|
August 25
|
|
|
Record Temperatures in August 2014
|
Temperature(°F)
|
Date
|
Old Record
|
| No Record Temperatures Set | |||
|
Temperature Thresholds
|
Number of Days
|
Normal
|
|
| August 2014 Days with High Temperatures >= 100°F |
0
|
0.06
|
|
|
2014 Total Days with High Temperature of At Least 100°F Last 100°F High: June 7, 2011 (101°F) |
0
|
0.51
|
|
| August 2014 Days with High Temperatures >= 90°F |
0
|
3.13
|
|
| 2014 Total Days with High Temperature of At Least 90°F |
2
|
11.43
|
|
| August 2014 Days with Low Temperatures >= 70°F |
0
|
0.68
|
|
| 2014 Total Days with Days with Low Temperatures >= 70°F |
2
|
3.00
|
|
| August 2014 Days with Low Temperatures >= 75°F |
0
|
0.07
|
|
|
2014 Total Days with Days with Low Temperatures >= 75°F Last 75°F Low: July 4, 2012 (76°F) |
0
|
0.47
|
|
|
Precipitation (in)
|
August 2014
|
Normal
|
|
|
August 2014 Rainfall (in)
|
5.59
|
3.79
|
|
|
August Extremes
|
Precipitation (in)
|
Date
|
|
|
Most Daily Precipitation in August 2014
|
2.03 (set record; see below)
|
August 29
|
|
|
Record Precipitation in August 2014
|
Precipitation (in)
|
Date
|
Old Record
|
|
Daily Record Rainfall
|
2.03
|
August 29
|
2.02 inch set in 1964
|
|
Precipitation Thresholds
|
Number of Days
|
Normal
|
|
| August 2014 Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation |
11
|
9.0
|
|
| August 2014 Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation |
5
|
5.6
|
|
| August 2014 Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation |
4
|
3.9
|
|
| August 2014 Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation |
4
|
2.4
|
|
| August 2014 Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation |
3
|
1.0
|
|
Summer (June 1-August 31) 2014 Statistics
|
Temperatures (°F)
|
Summer 2014
|
Normal
|
| Summer 2014 Average High Temperature (°F) |
80.5
|
79.8
|
| Summer 2014 Average Low Temperature (°F) |
59.4
|
56.0
|
| Summer 2014 Mean Temperature for Summer (°F) |
69.9
|
67.9
|
|
Temperature Thresholds
|
Number of Days
|
Normal
|
| Summer 2014 Days with High Temperatures >= 100°F |
0
|
0.51
|
| Summer 2014 Days with High Temperatures >= 90°F |
2
|
11.27
|
| Warm Season 2014 Days with High Temperatures >= 90°F |
2
|
11.44
|
| Summer 2014 Days with Low Temperatures >= 70°F |
2
|
2.81
|
| Warm Season 2014 Days with Low Temperatures >= 70°F |
2
|
3.02
|
| Summer 2014 Days with Low Temperatures >= 75°F |
0
|
0.47
|
|
|
Link to Table of Top 10 Warmest/Coldest Summers | |
|
Precipitation (in)
|
Summer 2014
|
Normal
|
|
Summer 2014 Rainfall (in)
|
13.02 (+1.75 from average)
|
11.27
|
| July-August 2014 Rainfall (in) |
6.84 (-0.26 from average)
|
7.10
|
|
2014 Growing Season (April 1- August 31) Rainfall (in)
|
25.66 (+9.47 from average)
|
16.19
|
|
2014 Total Precipitation (in) (January 1 - August 31)
|
29.37 (+9.79 from average)
|
19.58
|
|
Precipitation Thresholds
|
Number of Days
|
Normal
|
| Summer 2014 Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation |
35
|
29.1
|
| Total 2014 Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation |
87
|
68.2
(Annual Normal: 97.3) |
| Summer 2014 Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation |
19
|
18.9
|
| Total 2014 Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation |
49
|
38.1
(Annual Normal: 52.9) |
| Summer 2014 Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation |
14
|
13.1
|
| Total 2014 Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation |
30
|
24.0
(Annual Normal: 32.1) |
| Summer 2014 Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation |
7
|
7.8
|
| Total 2014 Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation |
17
|
12.7
(Annual Normal: 16.8) |
| Summer 2014 Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation |
4
|
3.1
|
| Total 2014 Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation |
8
|
4.1
(Annual Normal: 5.5) |
|
Driest July-August in St. Cloud
|
|||||
|
Rank
|
Precipitation
|
Year
|
Rank
|
Precipitation
|
Year
|
|
1
|
0.42 IN
|
1933
|
1
|
1.41 IN
|
1894
|
|
2
|
0.46 IN
|
1950
|
2
|
1.64 IN
|
1920
|
|
3
|
0.60 IN
|
1976
|
3
|
1.92 IN
|
1981
|
|
4
|
0.69 IN
|
2003
|
4
|
2.02 IN
|
1922
|
|
5
|
0.77 IN
|
1946
|
5
|
2.18 IN
|
1950
|
|
6
|
0.85 IN
|
2013
|
6
|
2.28 IN
|
2013
|
|
7
|
0.89 IN
|
1920
|
7
|
2.52 IN
|
1976
|
|
8
|
0.90 IN
|
1894
|
8
|
2.63 IN
|
1946
|
|
9
|
1.00 IN
|
1923
|
9
|
3.14 IN
|
1934
|
|
10
|
1.16 IN
|
1922
|
10
|
3.63 IN
|
1930
|
|
11
|
1.20 IN
|
2000
|
11
|
3.80 IN
|
2011
|
|
12
|
1.22 IN
|
2012
|
12
|
3.92 IN
|
1901
|
|
5.59 IN
|
2014
|
6.84 IN
|
2014
|
||
|
Year
|
Dates
|
Rainfall Departure from Average (inches)
|
| 2008 | June 15 - Sept 10 | -4.00 |
| 2009 | April 1 - Sept 30 | -4.91 |
| 2011 | Aug 21 - Oct 31 | -4.66 |
| 2012 | June 1 - Sept 5 | -4.77 |
| 2013 | July 1- Aug 31 | -4.83 |
| 1987 | Apr 1 - Oct 31 | -6.17 |
| 1988 | Apr-Oct | -7.11 |
| 1989 | Apr 1 - Oct 31 | -5.17 |
|
Rank
|
Days
|
Year
|
|
1
|
28
|
1900
|
|
2
|
27
|
1937
|
|
3 (tie)
|
22
|
1909
|
|
3 (tie)
|
22
|
2010
|
|
5 (tie)
|
20
|
1922
|
|
5 (tie)
|
20
|
1947
|
|
5 (tie)
|
20
|
2014
|
|
8 (tie)
|
19
|
1894
|
|
8 (tie)
|
19
|
1935
|
|
8 (tie)
|
19
|
1938
|
Send comments to: raweisman@stcloudstate.edu