November 2000 Saint Cloud Weather Summary

The November 2000 average temperature at the Saint Cloud Municipal Airport was a shockingly cold 28.6 degrees. What was shocking was NOT that it was far from normal November (only 1.1 degrees below normal). The shock was, for the first time in 3 years, we had close to normal temperatures during November. November 1998 was 5 degrees warmer than this year and had the warmest Thanksgiving on record; November 1999 was more than 8.5 degrees warmer than this year, was the fourth warmest November on record, and broke the record for the warmest November high temperature. On the other hand, November 2000 was more than 6 degrees warmer than November 1996, the 7th coldest November on record, and more than 6 1/2 degrees warmer than November 1991, the 5th coldest November on record.

We did begin the month on the mild side, setting a new record for warmest low for the entire month of November on the first. Also, on that day, Minnesota had its 3rd reported November tornado and North Dakota had its first tornado. We stayed in the warm southwesterly jet stream through the 7th (more on that later), then began a streak of colder than normal high temperatures which lasted most of the rest of the month. There were 18 high temperatures of 32 degrees or colder, nearly double the normal number (last year, we had none).

November 7th also marked the first of 8 days with measurable snow. The wet snowstorm on November 12-14 produced a snow cover which lasted the rest of the month, a far cry from last year when the first persistent snow cover did not occur until January. Daily snowfall records were set on both the 7th and the 13th (although the snow was so wet on the 13th that the snow depth never was more than 2 inches). An unofficial total of 9.1 inches fell in November 2000, more than 2 inches above normal. Even though the total is above normal, there have been 5 years during the decade of 1999-2000 with more than 10 inches of November snow, including the 21.3 inches during November 1991, the 4th snowiest November on record.

The one abnormal part of Saint Cloud's weather in November 2000 was the melted precipitation. The November total was 3.24 inches, the 5th highest total in the 108 years of Saint Cloud records. Two daily rainfall records were set on the 1st (.93 inches) and the 6th (1.09 inches). Most importantly, most of the precipitation fell before the ground froze, helping to ease severely dry soil conditions somewhat. The November melted precipitation was more than 1/2 inch higher than the combined September and October rainfall. This year marked only the 15th time on record that November had the highest precipitation total of the fall months. Five of these years happened during this decade (1992, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2000).

The change from a mild and wet pattern to a cold and snowy pattern was the result of a shift in the jet stream from a southwesterly flow to a northwest flow. This shut off the mild, wet weather of late October and early November, allowing colder air to filter in. With highs often in the 20's or lower 30's and the frequent light snowfalls, the last 2 weeks of November often produced normal January-type weather, a far cry from the early fall weather seen during the past two Novembers.

The wet November brought the fall 2000 (Sep 1-Nov 30) rainfall to within 1/2 inch of normal. Still, after the dry summer, much more rain will be needed to replenish ground water. Overall, the fall temperatures were very close to normal, which was quite a shock to those of us who became used to the extraordinarily warm seasons of the past 3 years.

SUMMARY FOR NOVEMBER 2000               NOV 2000        NORMAL
TEMPERATURE
Average high temperature ( F)            34.9            39.0
Average low temperature ( F)             22.3            20.3
Average temperature ( F)                 28.6            29.7
Number of days with high of 32 or less   18               9.3
Warmest high for this month ( F)         66 on the 1st
Coolest high for this month ( F)         19 on the 20th
Mildest low for this month ( F)          58 on the 1st (broke daily and
                                                        monthly record; see
                                                        below)
Coldest low for this month ( F)          -3 on the 21st (broke record; see
                                                         below)

Monthly record temperatures:
Record mild low:                         58 on the 1st (old record: 55 on
                                                           November 6, 1906)
Daily record temperatures:
Record mild low:                         58 on the 1st (old record: 51 in 1938)
Record cold low:                         -3 on the 21st (old record: -2 in 1929)

PRECIPITATION (in)
November                                 3.24            1.27
Greatest in 24 hours (Nov 2000)          1.09 on the 6th (broke record; see
                                                           below)
Daily record rainfall:                   0.93 in on the 1st (old record:
                                                           0.86 in - 1974)
                                         1.09 in on the 6th (old record:
                                                           0.50 in - 1947)
SNOWFALL (in)
November                                 9.1             6.8
Greatest in 24 hours                     3.0 on the 13th (broke record;
                                                           see below)
Season (2000-2001)                       9.1             7.3
Daily record snowfall:                   2.0 in on the 7th (old record:
                                                           0.7 in - 1968)
                                         3.0 in on the 13th (old record:
                                                           0.6 in - 1948)

SUMMARY FOR FALL (SEPT-NOV) 2000         FALL 2000       NORMAL
Average High Temperature (F)             55.8            55.2
Average Low Temperature (F)              35.9            33.4
Average Temperature (F)                  44.8            45.2
Liquid precipitation (in)                5.77            6.29
Snowfall (in)                            9.1             7.3