December 2015 Saint Cloud Weather Summary
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(December 2015 Summary) |
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Warmest December Since 1939 Finishes 8th Warmest Year
December 2015 St. Cloud Weather Summary
December 2015 finished an incredibly warm fall and start to winter in style. The average temperature at the St. Cloud Regional Airport was 26.5 degrees, 10.6 degrees warmer than the average December. That ranks as the 6th warmest December among the 135 Decembers in St. Cloud records and the warmest December since 1939. Only a stretch of near seasonable days during the last week of the month knocked December 2015 out of first place, even though only 2 days in the last week were colder than average. Overall, there were only 11 days that failed to reach at least 10 degrees warmer than average.
There were 5 record daily record warm temperatures set in December, 4 of them being daily record warm lows and all 4 of them featuring low temperatures above freezing. Since the month tended to be cloudy, however, there weren't any record warm highs threatened since there only 4 days with a high of 40 degrees or warmer.
Only the low temperature on December 28 reached zero. There have been only 3 other Decembers with one low of zero or colder: 1952, 1997, and 2001. There have been 6 Decembers when the temperature stayed above zero all month. The most recent was 1959 (others: 1903, 1912, 1913, 1918, 1954)
There was more than average precipitation in December 2015. The unusual part is how much of it fell as rain. The total precipitation was 1.02 inch, 0.20 inch above average. 0.36 inch fell purely as rain with ground temperatures above freezing. There was 8.2 inches of snow, 2.3 inches below the December average of 10.5 inches. There were some heavy snow events in Minnesota during December, especially in southeastern Minnesota on December 28 and 29, but St. Cloud was completely shut out of that snow. St. Cloud got the bulk of the snow on December 26 with 4.3 inches recorded. There were 14 days that had zero or less than an inch of snow cover in St. Cloud. Compare this with the continuous snow cover in 2013-2014 that began on December 4 and stayed for the next 127 days. In 2012-2013, the snow cover began on December 8 and continued for the following 124 days.
The warm December capped off the last 4 months of the year, three of which placed among the 10 warmest. This also contributed to the 8th warmest year in St. Cloud records (see below).
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(December 2015 Summary) |
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Temperatures (°F)
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December 2015
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Normal
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| December Average High Temperature (°F) |
32.0
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24.7
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| December Average Low Temperature (°F) |
21.0
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7.1
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| Mean Temperature for December (°F) |
26.5$
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15.9
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$6th Warmest December on Record |
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December Extremes |
Temperature(°F)
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Date
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| Warmest High Temperature for December 2015 (°F) |
46
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December 10
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| Coldest High Temperature for December 2015 (°F) |
16
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December 18
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| Warmest Low Temperature for December 2015 (°F) |
36
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December 10 (broke record; see below), 13
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| Coldest Low Temperature for December 2015 (°F) |
0
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December 28
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Record Temperatures in December 2015
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Temperature(°F)
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Date
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Old Record
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| Daily Record Warm Average |
41
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December 10
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38 in 1939
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| Daily Record Warm Low |
34
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December 5
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30 in 1939,1951,1980,2001
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36
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December 10
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31 in 1918,1921
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34
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December 11
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32 in 1921, 1965
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35
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December 12
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34 in 1928, 2011
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Temperature Thresholds
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Number of Days
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Normal
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| December 2015 Days with High Temperatures <= 32°F |
14
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23.5
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| December 2015 Days with High Temperatures <= 0°F |
0
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1.0
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| December 2015 Days with Low Temperatures <= 32°F |
25
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25.7
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| December 2015 Days with Low Temperatures <= 0°F |
1
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9.9
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| December 2015 Days with Low Temperatures <= -20°F |
0
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0.9
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Melted Precipitation (in)
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December 2015
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Normal
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December 2015 Melted Precipitation (in)
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1.02
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0.82
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Precipitation Thresholds
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Number of Days
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Normal
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| December 2015 Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation |
7
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6.6
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| December 2015 Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation |
5
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2.0
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| December 2015 Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation |
1
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0.7
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| December 2015 Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation |
0
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0.1
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| December 2015 Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation |
0
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0.0
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December Extremes
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Precipitation (in)
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Date
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Most Daily Precipitation in December 2015
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0.26 inch
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December 26
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Record Precipitation in December 2015
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Precipitation (in)
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Date
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Old Record
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No records set
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Snowfall (in)
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December 2015
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Normal
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December 2015 Saint Cloud Airport Snowfall (in)
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8.2
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10.5
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| 2015-2016 Seasonal Snowfall (1 Oct 2015 - 31 Dec 2015) |
13.9
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20.1
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Snowfall Thresholds
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Number of Days
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Normal
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| December 2015 Days with Measurable (>= 0.1 inch) Snowfall |
4
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8.3
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| December 2015 Days with >= 1.0 inch Snowfall |
3
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3.2
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| December 2015 Days with >= 2.0 inch Snowfall |
1
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1.6
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| December 2015 Days with >= 5.0 inch Snowfall |
0
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0.2
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December Extremes
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Snowfall (in)
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Date
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Most Daily Snowfall in December 2015
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4.3
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December 26
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Record Snowfall in December 2015
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Snowfall (in)
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Date
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Old Record
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No records set
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(December 2015 Summary) |
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Warm Last Four Months Fuel Top 10 Finish in Temperature
2015 Annual Saint Cloud Weather Summary
2015 8th Warmest in St. Cloud Records
Mainly on the strength of the last four months of the year, St. Cloud's 2015 average temperature finished at 45.1°F, 3.1°F warmer than average. That ranks as the 8th warmest year out of the 135 years in St. Cloud records. The last 4 months of the year featured St. Cloud's 4th warmest September, 6th warmest November, and the 6th warmest December. The last four months of the year combined had a temperature of 44.5 degrees. Only September-December of 1931 had a warmer last four month average (45.2 degrees).
That's in contrast to a near average summer (68.0°F, 0.1°F above average) and a colder than average spring of the year (2.5°F colder than average) and a slightly warmer than average 2014-2015 winter (1.6°F warmer than average). In fact, the summer features many low dew point days and only 2 highs of 90 degrees or higher (average: 11 days), only the 11th summer with 2 or fewer 90-degree days in St. Cloud records (highest: 91 on August 14). Among some measurements, it was one of the most pleasant summers on record. By the same token, there was only 1 day with a low temperature of -20°F on January 13 (average: 5 days).
Note that 2015 will be the 5th year since 1998 that have ranked among the warmest 10 years in St. Cloud records. This has matched our trend of warmer than average winters that have dominated most of the past 20 years. Unlike the past two years, St. Cloud and Minnesota are sharing in the global warmth, since this year is on track to be the warmest year of the 135 years in global temperature. This year, it looks like that eastern Canada and the southern tip of Chile are among the holdouts with colder than average years.
While not being a top 5 rainfall year as in 2014, St. Cloud finished 2015 with 33.11 inches of precipitation, 5.38 inches above average.
Nearly Half the Average Snowfall
However, the total 2015 snowfall was 24.9 inches, 11.2 inches below average. The primary snowstorm in the 2014-2015 winter was the first one on November 10-11, 2014. And, there hasn't been a major snowstorm so far in 2015-2016 (13.9 inches so far, 6.6 inches below average).
There were only 35 consecutive days with snow cover in the winter of 2014-2015. That's a far cry from the 120-plus days recorded in the winters of 2012-2013 and 2013-2014. Both of those winters placed among St. Cloud's top 5 snowiest.
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(December 2015 Summary) |
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Temperatures (°F)
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2015
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Average
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| Average High Temperature (°F) |
55.1
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53.7
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| Average Low Temperature (°F) |
35.0
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32.1
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| Mean Temperature for 2015 (°F) |
45.1#
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42.9
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| #8th warmest year | ||
| 2015 Temperature Thresholds |
2015
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Average
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| Warm Season | ||
| 2015 Days with High Temperatures >= 90°F |
2
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11.4
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| 2015 Days with High Temperature >= 100°F |
0
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0.5
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| 2015 Days with Low Temperatures >= 70°F |
2
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3.0
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| 2015 Days with Low Temperatures >= 75°F |
0
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0.47
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| Growing Season (Consecutive Days with Low Temp>= 32°F) |
153
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137
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| Cold Season | ||
| 2015 Days with High Temperatures <= 32°F |
71
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87.7
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| 2015 Days with High Temperatures <= 0°F |
3
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4.3
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| 2015 Days with Low Temperatures <= 32°F |
152
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170.4
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| 2015 Days with Low Temperatures <= 0°F |
32
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42.5
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| 2015 Days with Low Temperatures <= -20°F |
1
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5.4
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Liquid Equivalent Precipitation (in)
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2015
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1981-2010 Average
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2015 Total Precipitation (in)
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33.11
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27.71
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| Precipitation Thresholds |
2015
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1896-2015 Average
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| 2015 Days with Measurable (>= 0.01 inch) Precipitation |
114
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97.3
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| 2015 Days with >= 0.10 inch Precipitation |
56
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52.9
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| 2015 Days with >= 0.25 inch Precipitation |
36
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32.1
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| 2015 Days with >= 0.50 inch Precipitation |
21
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16.8
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| 2015 Days with >= 1.00 inch Precipitation |
10
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5.5
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Snowfall (in)
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2015
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1981-2010 Average
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2015 Total Snowfall
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24.9
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46.1
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| Precipitation Thresholds |
2015
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1904-2015 Average
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| 2015 Total Days with Measurable (>= 0.1 inch) Snowfall |
24
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32.5
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| 2015 Total Days with >= 1.0 inch Snowfall |
8
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14.0
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| 2015 Total Days with >= 2.0 inch Snowfall |
2
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7.6
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| 2015 Total Days with >= 5.0 inch Snowfall |
1
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1.5
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Temperature (°F)
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Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul |
| Average High Temperature | 24.1 | 18.0 | 43.5 | 58.1 | 66.3 | 77.6 | 82.2 |
| Average Low Temperature | 8.8 | -0.6 | 21.5 | 34.6 | 43.9 | 54.8 | 59,2 |
| Mean Temperature | 16.5 | 8.7 | 32.4 | 46.3 | 55.1 | 66.2 | 70.7 |
| Departure from Normal | +4.9 | -8.3 | +3.0 | +1.8 | -1.4 | +0.6 | +0.4 |
| 2015 Warmest High Temperature |
91°F on August 14 (tied with 2008 as the coolest annual high since 1994) |
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| 2015 Coldest High Temperature | -2°F on February 22 | ||||||
| 2015 Warmest Low Temperature | 72°F on September 5 | ||||||
| 2015 Coldest Low Temperature | -22°F on January 13 | ||||||
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| 2015 Daily Record Temperatures |
Temperature (°F)
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Date
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| Record Warm High Temperature (3 broken) |
61
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March 10
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70
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March 15
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83
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October 11
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| Record Warm Average Temperature (5 broken) |
46
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March 10
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61
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April 1
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65
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April 12 (tie)
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55
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November 4
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41
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December 10
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| Record Warm Low Temperature (8 broken) |
29
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January 29
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50
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November 4
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47
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November 16
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48
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November 17
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34
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December 5
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36
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December 10
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34
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December 11
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35
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December 12
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| Record Cold High Temperature (1 broken) |
47
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May 18
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| Record Cold Low Temperature (1 broken) |
-2
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February 22
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Precipitation (in)
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Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul |
| Liquid Precipitation | 0.24 | 0.35 | 0.38 | 1.67 | 6.03 | 4.66 | 7.18 |
| Departure from Normal | -0.41 | -0.24 | -1.17 | -0.90 | +3.08 | +0.49 | +3.87 |
| Most in 24 hours | 1.70 inches on July 12 | ||||||
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New Daily Precipitation Records Set
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Amount (inches)
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Date
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Daily Record Precipitation (5 broken)
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1.41
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May 17
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1.55
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June 20
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1.04
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November 17
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0.98
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November 18
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0.37
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November 30
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Snowfall (in)
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Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul |
| Snowfall | 2.5 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Departure from Normal | -5.4 | -2.9 | -4.8 | -1.9 | - | - | - |
| Most in 24 hours | 5.0 inches on November 30 | ||||||
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New Snowfall Records Set
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Amount (inches)
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Date
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None
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Top of Page
(December 2014 Summary) |
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Temperature (°F)
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Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec | 2015 |
| Average High Temperature | 78.0 | 75.7 | 59.5 | 46.9 | 32.0 | 51.3 |
| Average Low Temperature | 56.2 | 53.8 | 37.7 | 29.3 | 21.0 | 31.5 |
| Mean Temperature | 67.1 | 64.8 | 48.6 | 38.1 | 26.5 | 45.1 |
| Departure from Normal | -0.7 | +6.2 | +2.9 | +7.7 | +10.6 | +3.1 |
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Precipitation (in)
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Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec | 2015 |
| Liquid Precipitation | 3.10 | 2.24 | 3.14 | 3.10 | 1.02 | 33.11 |
| Departure from Normal | -0.69 | -1.22 | +0.65 | +1.72 | +0.20 | +5.38 |
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Snowfall (in)
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Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec | 2015 |
| Snowfall | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 5.5 | 8.2 | 24.9 |
| Departure from Normal | - | - | -0.5 | -3.4 | -2.3 | -16.8 |
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(December 2014 Summary) |
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Rank
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Top of Page
(December 2014 Summary) |
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Send comments to: raweisman@stcloudstate.edu