August 2018 Saint Cloud Weather Summary

Humid, Wet August Finishes Summer With Spotty Extremes

Saint Cloud Weather Summary for August 2018 and Summer 2018

Issued: Tuesday, September 4, 2018 2:51 PM

Most of Summer Warmth Experienced Early

August continued the trend of reverting to near average temperatures. The average August temperature was 68.7°F, only 0.9°F above average. In fact, the average high temperature of 79.3°F was about a quarter of a degree below average. The average low temperature was 58.2 degrees, 2.2 degrees higher than average. This reflects the relatively high humidity that dominated much of the month, especially after heavy rains hit much of Minnesota in late July and the first 5 days of August.

There was only 1 90 degree high in August, a high of 90 on August 13. That runs the summer total to 11 days, with 6 of those days happening in the last 8 days of May.

The summer average (June 1-August 31) temperature in St. Cloud was 68.9 degrees, a degree above average. If we factor in the very warm May, then the May through August period of 2018 had an average temperature of 67.5 degrees, 2.4 degrees above average. That only ranks as the 18th warmest May through August in St. Cloud records, but it is only the 5th time in the past 63 years that the four month average was at least 67.5 degrees. The warmest May-Aug since 1955 were 1988 (69.9 degrees, 1st), 2012 (68.4 degrees, 2nd), and a tie between 2006 and 2007 (67.7 degrees).

A Summer of Spotty Heavy Rainfall, But Not at the Airport

It has been a strange summer full of locally heavily rainfall, but that rainfall had often dodged the St. Cloud Airport until August. There were 2 days with at least an inch of rain and a total of 5.73 inches, nearly 2 inches above the August average of 3.79 inches. Since the St. Cloud Airport has often dodged the heaviest rainfall, St. Cloud was actually slightly below average for the summer and for the year going into August. The summer (June 1-August 31) total is 1.87 inches above average and the growing season rainfall (April-August) is within 0.11 inch of average.

However, the rainfall story is completely different fairly close to St. Cloud. The National Weather Service rainfall plot for August shows that parts of east central Minnesota from eastern Stearns and Benton Counties, including portions of St. Cloud, through Foley and to Mora and Hinckley picked up 6-10 inches of rain. On the other hand, much of Wright County had only average rainfall while parts of Minneapolis and the western and southwest Twin Cities had less than 2 inches of rain. The higher rainfall totals included the storms of August 3. These storms produced a short-lived tornado near Grove City. More importantly, the storm produced flooding in the Stearns and Benton County portions of St. Cloud. While the St. Cloud Airport only saw 1.75 inch, SCSU picked up 3.15 inches, the 11th heaviest rainfall event in the 27 years of SCSU weather records. There were more than 4 inches in Kimball.

Heavy Rainfall and Severe Weather in Much of Minnesota

There were periodic storms and heavy rainfall in late August as well. From the 24th through the 28th, there were a series of severe storms. One outbreak on the 25th caused large hail near Braham and Princeton. On the 26th, two tornadoes hit northwestern Minnesota. And, on the 27th, three short-lived tornadoes moved through portions of southeastern Minnesota with straight line winds reaching 82 MPH at the Red Wing Airport. Finally on the 28th, southeastern Minnesota received flooding from a storm that dumped 8-12 inches of rain on adjacent parts of southwestern Wisconsin.

And, on August 31, storms produced large hail and wind damage in the northern Brainerd Lakes area with damage near Pequot Lakes and into Aitkin County, which trapped residents in a rural home and injured one man.

Even though we have moved to September, the pattern that has produced outbreaks of at least uncomfortable humidity has continued through the first weekend, producing more unneeded heavy rain, especially from Iowa and southeastern Minnesota into Wisconsin. Cooler weather is ahead, but we can't say the heat and humidity is over for good yet.

And, Smoke from Canadian Wildfires

The noteworthy feature of August 2018 was the frequent passing of smoke from wildfires in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario. These plumes (like the one noted by NASA on August 17) frequently produced hazy sunshine during the early to middle August dry period. On August 10 and 11, the smoke came closer to the ground, producing enough particles near the ground in parts of northern Minnesota to cause unhealthy breathing for sensitive groups. The Brainerd Lakes area had a period of high particles on August 20.

    August 2018 Statistics

Summer (June 1-August 31) 2018 Statistics