May 2005 Saint Cloud Weather Summary

Not As Cold as You Might Think

Subject: Saint Cloud Weather Summary for May 2005 and Spring 2005

     May 2005 will probably be remembered in Saint Cloud for its large number of cloudy and cool days. However, the statistics from the Saint Cloud Regional Airport do not show an extremely cold May. The average temperature was 54.5°F, 2.0°F colder than normal. However, this only ranks as the 46th coolest May out of the 125 years in Saint Cloud records. In fact, average temperatures were cooler during 7 of the past 15 years, including 2002 and 2004.

All of the cool weather was concentrated in the average high temperature. The average May high temperature of 64.1°F was 5.0°F colder than normal. Still, the average May high temperature only ranks as the 22nd coolest of the 106 years in Saint Cloud record. The average May low temperature was 44.9°F, 0.8°F milder than normal.

The cooler than normal weather was produced by a large number of slow-moving storm systems that stalled or drifted across Minnesota. Due to the ample rainfall (3.30 inches; 0.33 inch above normal), the ground tended to be wet, keeping moisture in the lower atmosphere. These slow-moving storms were also accompanied by pockets of cool air in the middle portion of the atmosphere. The large daytime temperature difference between the cool air at around 18,000 feet above the ground and the sun-heated ground led to many days with a lot of cloud development and at least the threat of a few showers. However, the heaviest rain remained in southern Minnesota, so our rainfall was not far from normal.

   The only unusual aspect of the cool May was the thunderstorm with hail on May 1st. While the hail never covered the ground at Saint Cloud State University, it briefly produced a depth of 0.1 inch at the Saint Cloud Airport. Since hail accumulation counts as snowfall, May 1, 2005, had measurable snow for the first time in Saint Cloud history. May 2005 also had that 0.1 inch, the first recorded May snowfall since 1987 and only the 11th year with measurable May snowfall. While this all sounds odd, May 1 was quite a chilly day. The hail survived to the ground because of the extremely cool temperatures that only produced a high of 45°F.

    Despite the cool May weather, the Saint Cloud temperature statistics from meteorological spring show a warmer than normal season. Average temperature was 44.1°F, 1.2°F warmer than normal. The above normal conditions were produced by an extraordinarily warm late March and first three weeks of April. The weather from early April would have ranked as the second warmest April on record if it had continued for the whole month. In addition, the high temperature of 81°F on April 18th was the warmest temperature of the spring, narrowly beating the May 31st high of 80°F. Last year, an April high (92°F on April 28th) stood as the warmest day of the year until mid-June and was one of only 4 days with a high in the 90's.

     What happens next? There are some signs that summer heat may be trying to build across the southeastern US this week. However, as long as we continue in the pattern of slow-moving storms moving across the US, the weather pattern will continue to be very unpredictable for even 2-3 days down the roads, let alone a month or a season.

    May 2005 Statistics

Spring (Mar. 1-May 31) 2005 Statistics