July 2013 has had above-normal temperatures in Minnesota in relation to past years, with many stations across Minnesota reporting plus one to two degrees F above average. These departures were knocked down a rung after a chilly air mass moved through Minnesota on July 27th, 2013, this pocket of air snuck right over the shore of Superior and ushered in fall-like conditions for the majority of the state. In the Twin Cities area, the temperature rose to a bone-chilling 64 degrees F on the 27th, which broke the record low-maximum temperature set in 1991 at 65 degrees F. To put this in perspective, the Twin Cities will normally see a high of 64 degrees F during the first week of October. Many other locations, such as Crow Wing and Aitkin counties, also record low-maximum temperatures, with 9 reports of records being broken and 2 reports of records being tied.
In addition to low-maximum temperatures for the day, July 27th 2013 was cool enough to break minimum temperature records as well. Eau Claire tied the record low at 46 degrees F set back in 1981, and St. Cloud broke the record low with 43 degrees F, the previous record was 44 degrees from 1981. There were also 3 other locations that broke records, and 4 locations that tied records. The raw data can be found below.
The coldest low-maximum temperature for the Twin cities in July is 58 degrees, which occurred on July 4th, 1967. Oddly enough, the highest-maximum temperature for the Twin cities in January is also 58 degrees.
At 7 AM Saturday, the temperature was 35.6 degrees F at around 5000 feet (850 mb) above the ground, one of the coldest pools of air we've seen since data has been recorded. The National Weather Service Office in Chanhassen has a story in which they talk about the record breaking 850 mb temperatures, along with the cool conditions across Minnesota.
Below is the data for record low maximums and record low minimums, respectively.
Record Low Maximums for Minnesota on July 27th, 2013
YEAR REC PREV PREV YEAR POR* COUNTY NAME ----- ---- ---- --------- --- ---------- -------------------- 2013 59 64 2005 111 AITKIN SANDY LAKE DAM LIBBY 2013 60 66 1972 48 CARLTON WRIGHT 3 E 2013 60 68 1925 105 MILLE LACS MILACA 2013 62 66 2005 45 AITKIN ISLE 12N 2013 63 67 1971 113 CROW WING PINE RIVER DAM 2013 64 64 1991 51 CROW WING BRAINERD 2013 64 68 1971 95 TODD LONG PRAIRIE 2013 64 64 1971 72 CASS GULL LAKE DAM 2013 65 68 2005 90 WADENA WADENA 3 S 2013 66 68 1971 109 KANABEC MORA 2013 66 72 1971 52 STEARNS MELROSE
Record Low Minimums for Minnesota on July 27th, 2013
YEAR REC PREV PREV YEAR POR* COUNTY NAME ----- ---- ---- --------- --- --------- ----------------- 2013 39 42 1911 110 PIPESTONE PIPESTONE 2013 45 48 2005 41 NOBLES WORTHINGTON 2 NNE 2013 46 46 1971 84 TRAVERSE WHEATON 2013 47 47 1905 110 FARIBAULT WINNEBAGO 2013 48 48 1971 51 STEELE OWATONNA 2013 48 48 2005 54 CHISAGO FOREST LAKE 5NE 2013 49 50 2005 76 LYON MARSHALL *POR= Period of Record