November 2006 Saint Cloud Weather Summary

Saint Cloud Weather Summary for November 2006 and Fall 2006

    November 2006 in Saint Cloud was on track to become the seventh driest November on record and a significantly warm November as well. Then, the last three days of the month happened.

    Saint Cloud's November 2006 rainfall totalled 0.72 inches, less than half of the normal November rainfall (1.54 inch). However, nearly all of the rain (0.62 inch) happened during showers and thunderstorms on the morning of November 28. Before the late month rain, the Saint Cloud Airport had only received 0.10 inch of rain between October 19 and November 27. This dry period was well short of the normal 40-day rainfall of 2.24 inches. The November part of this dry weather would have ranked as the 7th driest fall in the 114 years of Saint Cloud precipitation records.

  There were only three days with measurable precipitation in November (normal is 6.6 days). The last year with only three days of measurable rainfall was 1984.

   While we have had drier periods this year (mostly notably the 6+ inch rainfall deficit from mid-May through late August), the late fall dry spell hurt because more rain goes directly into ground water recharge than at any other time of the year. The total meteorological fall (Sept 1- Nov 30) rainfall in Saint Cloud was 6.95 inches, thanks mainly to a wet September and early October. This total was actually within a quarter inch of normal fall rainfall. Still, the 2006 total rainfall is merely 22.70 inches, nearly four inches below normal. Over the past 15 years, only three years (1992, 1996, 2000) have had less than 22 inches of rain for the year. The driest of these years was 1992 when Saint Cloud only picked up 18.31 inches, the 5th driest year in Saint Cloud records. The continued dry weather added to the drought conditions that have been plaguing northern Minnesota for most of the warm half of the season. The final drought update from the Minnesota State Climatology Office shows the continued extreme drought conditions in the north central part of the state and abnormally dry conditions covering most of the state.

     Temperature-wise, Saint Cloud was on track for a November average temperature that was more than 5 degrees warmer than normal. Then, the last two days of the month happened. The final November 2006 average temperature was 33.1°F, 4.3°F above normal (average high 43.5°F, average low 22.6°F). Among recent Novembers, however, both 1999 and 2001 (warmest November in Saint Cloud records) were considerably warmer than 2006. Even the warmth over Thanksgiving week this year (4 straight daily highs in the 50's; 1 daily record high) was surpassed by the Thanksgiving week of 1998 (6 straight days with a high of at least 50 degrees; 2 record highs in the upper 50's).

    The fall average temperature in Saint Cloud was 44.2°F, 0.4°F above normal. The warm weather through the bulk of November balanced the colder than normal September and October.

    The combination of the general lack of rain and the mild temperatures resulted in a November 2006 snowfall total that was well below normal. Only 0.3 inch of snow fell at the Saint Cloud Reformatory. The wet snow fell at the tail end of a storm on November 12. Saint Cloud did miss a major snowstorm on November 10 that dropped 10-13 inches of snow in south central and southeastern Minnesota between Austin and Rochester and 16 inches just over the Wisconsin border. See a summary of this storm from the Minnesota State Climatology Office.

   While the official National Weather Service winter forecasts continue to look for a warmer than normal winter in the Northern Plains, the recent cold air outbreak won't be in any hurry to leave. As you can note in my latest forecast, temperatures will be more representative of January rather than the first week of December, at least through the next 4-6 days.