Climate Journal

Provided by the Minnesota State Climatology Office

For decades, the Minnesota State Climatology office has maintained a running account of significant Minnesota weather events and climatological feats to add a narrative component to Minnesota's climate record. Additional, typically older entries can be found on our legacy climate journal. Some of these older journal stories will appear here as we continue to back-fill this page.

December 2025

• Blizzard, December 28-29

• Ground Blizzard, December 18

• Top Five Weather Events of 2025

• White Christmas

• Heavy Snow, Slush, and Wind, December 9-10, 2025

November 2025

• St. Cloud November 2025 Weather Summary

• Winter Storm and Blizzard of November 25-26, 2025

• Thanksgiving Climatology

• Record Warm November 14, 2025

• Armistice Day Storm of Nov 11, 1940

• Deer Opener Weather

October 2025

• Halloween Climatology

• St. Cloud October 2025 Weather Summary

• The Deadly and Destructive Winds of October 10, 1949

• Record-late Spell of Summer Days, September 25-October 5

• Hot October 4th

September 2025

• Rapid September Warming

• Another Warm September

• St. Cloud September 2025 Weather Summary

August 2025

• The Great Minnesota Smokeout of 2025

• St. Cloud August 2025 Weather Summary

• Another Prolonged Heavy Rain Event, August 14-18

• Long-Duration Smoke Outbreak, July 29-August 6

July 2025

• St. Cloud July 2025 Weather Summary

• Wind Damage and Flooding, July 28-29, 2025

• Severe Thunderstorms and Flooding, July 27-28, 2025

• Heavy Rain and High Humidity, July 21-24

• Another Smoke Outbreak, July 11-13

• July 4 Climatology

June 2025

• St. Cloud June 2025 Weather Summary

• La Crosse June 2025 Weather Summary

• More Tornadoes and Heavy Rain, June 28-29

• Heavy Rain and Tornadoes, June 25-26

• June 21-22 Heatwave

• Bemidji Blowdown, June 20-21

• Tornadoes and Severe Thunderstorms, June 16, 2025

• Smoke Outbreak (and Rain!)

May 2025

• St. Cloud May 2025 Weather Summary

• Soaking Rains (And Fire Weather), May 19-21

• Tornadoes and Severe Weather, May 15

• Hot and Fiery Weather, May 10-14

• 60th Anniversary of Worst Tornadoes in Twin Cities History

• Other Noteworthy Minnesota Tornado Outbreaks

April 2025

• St. Cloud April 2025 Weather Summary

• Minnesota Twins Home Opener Weather

• April 28 Tornadoes

• April Fools' Snow and Rain

March 2025

• St. Cloud March 2025 Weather Summary

• The Weekend of (Almost) Everything! (March 28-30 wild weather)

• Spring Phenology

• Intense Storms that Barely Hit Minnesota, March 2025

• March 14 Heat Wave

• Overnight Blizzard, March 4-5, 2025   (Summary from National Weather Service here)

• Lake Ice Out: 2025

February 2025

• St. Cloud February 2025 Weather Summary

• Frost Depth: Winter 24-25

• Twin Cities Snow and Cold Index

• February 8 Snowfall (NWS Summary)

• February 1-2 Snow in Northeast Minnesota

January 2025

• St. Cloud January 2025 Weather Summary

• January 28 and 30 Record Warmth

• January 17-21 Cold Outbreak

• Twin Cities at or Below Zero Streaks

• Twin Cities Winter Misery Index

• January 11-12 Snowfall

December 2024

• St. Cloud December 2024 Weather Summary

• Top Five Weather Events for 2024

• "Super Clipper Jr.," December 19

• Icy Roads, December 14

November 2024

• Record-Warm Autumn 2024

October 2024

• St. Cloud October 2024 Weather Summary

• Halloween Snowfall and Soaker

• Extreme Autumn Warmth and Dryness

• October 29th Warmth

• Halloween Climatology

• The Dueling Dry Spells of 2024

September 2024

• St. Cloud September 2024 Weather Summary

• Mid-September Warm Spell

August 2024

• St. Cloud August and Summer 2024 Weather Summary

• August 26-27 Heat and Stormy Double-Header

• August 5 Tornadoes and Heavy Rain

• August 5 Southern MN Tornado Summary from the Chanhassen National Weather Service

• August 5 Southern MN Tornado Summary from the La Crosse National Weather Service

• August 3 Tornado Wind and Hail Event Summary from the Chanhassen National Weather Service

• 4th of July Weather

July 2024

• July 2024 Saint Cloud Weather Summary

• Severe Thunderstorms and Enormous Hail, July 31

• 4th of July Weather

June 2024

• Massively Wet June 2024

• June 2024 St. Cloud Summary

• An Extremely Wet June 15-22 in Minnesota

• Extreme Rainfall and Flooding in Southern Minnesota, June 20-22

• Extreme Rainfall in Northeastern Minnesota, June 18

• June 2-3 Heavy Rain

May 2024

• Wet & Warm Spring 2024 in Minnesota

• Historical Memorial Weekend Weather

• Severe Weather and Heavy Rain, May 20-21

• Fishing Opener Weather

April 2024

• Spring Phenology

March 2024

• Revenge of the Lost Winter! (March 23-27 Storm)

• Twin Cities Cold and Snow Index

• Central and Southern Minnesota Snow, March 21-22

• Tournament Snowstorm Lore

• Yet Another Heat Wave, March 1-3

February 2024

• Another Major Winter Heat Wave

• Valentine's Day Snow

• Record January Thaw Lasted into Mid-February!

• The Lost Winter of 2023-24

January 2024

• January Recap: Warm, Dry, Snowless, and Cloudy

• January Heat Wave

• January Thaw History

• January Hydroclim

• Extreme Southwest and Southeast MN Heavy Snow, January 7-9, 2024

December 2023

• 2023 Climate Recap

• Top Five Weather Events of 2023

• The Soaking-Wet Holiday Heat Wave of 2023

• Warm and Snowless December

• White Christmas

November 2023

• Thanksgiving Day Climatology

• Warm (and Sometimes Windy) Mid-November

• Early November Hydroclim

• Deer Opener Weather

October 2023

• October 2023 St. Cloud Summary

• Snow and Tricky Travel,  October 30-31, 2023

• Halloween Climatology

• Hail, Rain, Wind, and Snow, October 23-28, 2023

• El Niño and Minnesota's Winter

• Another Much-Needed Soaking, October 12-14, 2023

• Historic Autumn Heat Wave

• Number of 90 F Days in the Twin Cities

September 2023

• September 2023 St. Cloud Summary

• Warm, Wet, and WEIRD September 2023

• Heavy Rains: September 23-25, 2023

• Extreme Labor Day Weekend Heat Wave

• Labor Day Climatology

• History of 100-Degree Days in the Twin Cities

August 2023

• State Fair Weather

• Intense Heat Wave, August 21-23, 2023

• Happy Hour Hail, August 11, 2023 ("Billion-dollar" weather disaster)

July 2023

• Severe Thunderstorms and Heavy Rain, July 25-26, 2023

• Minnesota's Worst Heat Wave

• Severe Thunderstorms, July 13, 2023

• July 4th Climatology

June 2023

• Much-Needed Rain, June 23-25

• Extreme Dryness Since mid-May

• June 14 Smoke Event

May 2023

• Hot Days in May, and the Rest of Summer

• Historical Memorial Weekend Weather

• May 18 Wildfire Smoke Outbreak

• May 10-14 Heavy Rain and Flooding

• 2023 Fishing Opener

April 2023

• April 14-17 Spring Storm

• Mid-April Heat Wave

• April Fools' Day Thunder, Slush, and Damaging Snow

March 2023

• Signs of Spring: Phenology

• Snowy Winter 2022-23

• March 16-17 Winter Storm, 2023

• Super-Duper Clipper, March 11-12, 2023

• Sticky, Wet Snow, March 5-6, 2023

• Heavy Snow, Western and Northern MN, February 28 - March 1, 2023

February 2023

• Wet (and Snowy) Meteorological Winter

• Ice, Slush, and Heavy Rain, February 27, 2023

• Large and Highly Anticipated Winter Storm, February 21-23, 2023

• Valentine's Day Rain

January 2023

• January 2023 St. Cloud Summary

• Dr. King Visits the U of M St. Paul Campus: April 27, 1967

• The Twin Cities Snow and Cold Index

• "Big Mess" Snowstorm, January 2-5, 2023

• Top Snowfalls in the Twin Cities

December 2022

• Top Five Weather Events for 2022

• Accumulating Snow and Arctic ground Blizzard, December 21-24, 2022

• Blizzard, Ice, Slush, and Rain, December 13-16, 2022

• Southern Minnesota Heavy Snow, December 9, 2022

• White Christmas

• Early December Hydroclim

November 2022

• November 29, 2022 Heavy Snow

• Thanksgiving Day Climatology

• Snowy Week, November 14-18, 2022

• Historic November 11 Storms

• Big November Storm, Nov 8-12, 2022

• November Heavy Precipitation Facts

• Record Warm November 2

• Weather of the Firearm Deer Hunting Opener

• Drought of 2022 (ongoing)

October 2022

• October St. Cloud Weather Summary

• Extremely Dry October

• Halloween Climatology

• Dirty Rain: October 24, 2022

• First Widespread Accumulating Snow of Season, October 14, 2022

September 2022

• Heat and Large Hail: September 20, 2022.

August 2022

• August 27, 2022 Tornadoes

• State Fair Weather

• (Mostly) Beneficial Rains for Southern Minnesota, August 6-8, 2022.

• Intense Heat and Humidity, August 2, 2022

July 2022

• Recalling the Twin Cities Superstorm of July 23-24, 1987

• Derecho of July 5, 2022

June 2022

• June 2022 Recap

• More Damaging Thunderstorms, June 24-25, 2022

• Hail and Heavy Rain, June 23-24, 2022

• Deadly Storms, June 20-21, 2022

• Record Heat, June 20, 2022

• Mysterious July 4th Snows of Minnesota

• Heat Burst in Tracy, MN: June 14, 2022

• A History of 100 Degrees in the Twin Cities

May 2022

• May-hem: Frequent Damaging Thunderstorms in May 2022

• Memorial Day 2022 Long-Track Tornadoes and Damaging Winds

• What do Hot Days in May Tell us about Summer?

• Historical Memorial Weekend Weather

• Southern Minnesota Hailstorms, May 19, 2022 ("Billion-dollar" weather disaster)

• Northland Severe Weather, May 18, 2022

• Wet Conditions and Flooding, 2022

• Extreme Thunderstorms, May 12, 2022 ("Billion-dollar" weather disaster)

• 2022 Fishing Opener Weather

• Severe Storms and Heavy Rains, May 11, 2022

• Severe Thunderstorms, May 9, 2022 ("Billion-dollar" weather disaster)

• Lake Ice Out: 2022

April 2022

• Windy, Cold, Cloudy, Wet, and Snowy April 2022

• Gloomy April 2022

• Storms and flooding, April 22-24, 2022

• Another Mid-Week System: April 20, 2022

• Severe Storms, Snow, Rain, and Wind, April 12-14, 2022

• The Slush Storms Keep Coming! April 5-7, 2022

March 2022

• Signs of Spring: Phenology

• Another Wet, Slushy, and Icy Storm, March 29-30, 2022.

• Snowy, Slushy, and Wet Spring Storm: March 21-23, 2022

• Spring Storm with Unusual Snow Burst, March 5-6, 2022

• Early March Hydroclim

• Women in Charge: Harriet Grasse and the Weather Bureau

February 2022

• Yes, it was a gusty winter!

• Cold and Snowy Meteorological Winter

• Snowstorm, February 21-22, 2022

• February has Become Snowier in Recent Years

• Winter of Whiteouts in Northwestern MN

• Another Day, Another Clipper: February 10-11, 2022

• Red River Valley Blizzard, January 31 - Feb 1, 2022

• William Hallett Greene: The Country's First Black Meteorologist

• The Twin Cities Snow and Cold Index

January 2022

• 40th Anniversary of the January 1982 Snowstorms

• The January 14-15, 2022 Super Clipper Snowstorm

• January Thaws

December 2021

• Top Five Weather Events for 2021

• Another Big December Winter Storm, December 26-27, 2021

• Historic Mid-December Severe Weather and Wind Event, December 15-16, 2021

• Heavy Snow in Southern Minnesota, December 10-11, 2021

• Major Winter Storm, December 4-6, 2021

• The Drought of 2021 (ongoing)

• Early December Hydroclim

November 2021

• Minnesota Deer Opener Weather

• Early November Hydroclim

October 2021

• 30th Anniversary of the Halloween Blizzard

• So Many October Tornadoes!

• More Tornadoes in Western Minnesota, October 13, 2021

• Boundary Waters Tornado, October 10, 2021

• Western Minnesota Tornadoes, October 9, 2021

• Early October Hydroclim

September 2021

• September 17 Tornadoes

• Minnesota's Micro-Season of Sensational Early-Fall Weather

• Early September Hydroclim

August 2021

• Summer of Smoke

• Warm August 2021

• Late August Wet Spell

• August 28 Severe Weather and Heavy Rain

• August 26-27 Heavy Rains

• State Fair Weather

• August 6-8 Heavy Rains

• Early August Hydroclim

July 2021

• July 2021 St. Cloud Summary

• Dry July 2021

• Northern Minnesota Severe Thunderstorms, July 26

• Beneficial Rain: July 6-7

• July 4th Climatology

• Early July Hydroclim

June 2021

• Warm & Dry June

• William Hallett Greene: The Country's First Black Meteorologist

• Hail and Heavy Rain in Southeast Minnesota: June 17, 2021

• June 2021 Heat Wave

• Early-Season Heat Waves

• Early June Hydroclim

May 2021

• Memorial Day Weekend Climatology

• Small Tornadoes and Heavy Rains, May 19-20, 2021

• 1991-2020 Twin Cities Normals

• Early May Hydroclim

April 2021

• 2021 Fishing Opener Weather

• 1991-2020 Normal Precipitation Map and Change from 1981-2010

• Wet Period, April 5-14, 2021

• Record Heat, April 5, 2021

• Early April Hydroclim

March 2021

• Hail and Heavy Snow, March 10-11, 2021

• Signs of Spring: Phenology

• The Twin Cities Snow and Cold Index

• Early March Hydroclim

February 2021

• Snow, February 28, 2021

• The February 2021 Cold Outbreak

• At or Below Zero Streaks in the Twin Cities

• The Twin Cities Snow and Cold Index

• Early February Hydroclim

January 2021

• January 2021 St. Cloud Summary

• Warm, Slightly Snowy First Half of Winter

• Slushy Snows, Jan 14-15, 2021

• Early January Hydroclim

December 2020

• December 2020 St. Cloud Summary

• Lake Ice In: 2020

• Top Five Weather Events for 2020

• Statewide Blizzard, December 23, 2020

• Historical Chances of a White Christmas

November 2020

• November 2020 St. Cloud Summary

• Thanksgiving Day Climatology in the Twin Cities

• Winter Storm, November 10, 2020

• Weather of the Firearm Deer Hunting Opener

• Record November Warmth

• Historical Election Day Weather

October 2020

• Snowy and Cold October

• Halloween Climatology

• Winter Storm, October 22, 2020

• Record October Snowstorm, October 20, 2020

• Largest October Snowfalls

• Windy October 11-16, 2020

• Does a Snowy October Foretell a Long Winter?

September 2020

• Smoky Skies: September 13-15, 2020

August 2020

• Tornadoes, Wind Damage and Flooding: August 14, 2020

• Metro Area Hail Storms, August 9-10, 2020

July 2020

• July 25-26 "Mega-Rain" Event

• July 18, 2020 Severe Weather and Tornadoes

• July 11, 2020 Hailstorm

• Severe Thunderstorms and Deadly Tornado, July 8, 2020

• Minnesota's Worst Heat Wave, July 5-18, 1936

• July 4th Climatology

June 2020

• Central Minnesota Extreme Rains, June 29-30, 2020

• Intense Rains, June 28-29, 2020

• 10th Anniversary of Minnesota Largest Tornado Outbreak, June 17, 2010

• Tropical Depression Cristobal, June 9, 2020

• Heat and Storms (Again), June 8, 2020

• More Storms and Heat, June 7, 2020

• HydroClim Minnesota for Early June 2020

• Hot Weather, Severe Storms, June 2, 2020

May 2020

• HydroClim Minnesota for Early May 2020

• First Tornadoes of the Year: May 26, 2020

• Memorial Day Weather in Minnesota

• Southern Minnesota Soaker, May 16-17, 2020

• 2020 Fishing Opener Weather

April 2020

• HydroClim Minnesota for Early April 2020

• 200th Anniversary of First Tornado in Minnesota: April 19, 1820

• Heavy Snow, April 12, 2020

• Snow and Ice, April 1-3, 2020

March 2020

• Spring Storm, March 28-29, 2020

• Lake Ice Out: 2020

• Signs of Spring: Phenology

• HydroClim Minnesota for Early March 2020

February 2020

• Snowstorm, February 9, 2020

• HydroClim Minnesota for Early February 2020

January 2020

• Gloomy January 2020

• January 17-18 Blizzard

• The Twin Cities Snow and Cold Index

• HydroClim Minnesota for Early January 2020