A climate normal is defined as the average of a variable over a continuous three-decade period. At the end of each decade, a new 30-year average is calculated. The statistic is a measure of the central tendency of the variable. Minnesota's highly variable climate leads to large year-to-year swings above and below this benchmark value.
The National Centers of Environmental Information (NCEI) released the 1991-2020 normals on May 4, 2021. NCEI has Quick Access to the 1991-2020 Normals. For example: Here's 1991-2020 Normal information for the Twin Cities.
Below are comparisons from the 1981-2010 Normal to the 1991-2020 Normal for the Twin Cities
Twin Cities Comparing Temperatures (in degrees F) from 1981-2010 to 1991-2020 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Temp 81-10 15.6 20.8 32.8 47.5 59.1 68.8 73.8 71.2 62.0 48.9 33.7 19.7 46.3 Temp 91-20 16.2 20.6 33.3 47.1 59.5 69.7 74.3 71.8 63.5 49.5 34.8 22.0 46.9 Change +1.4 -0.2 +0.5 -0.4 +0.4 +0.9 +0.5 +0.6 +1.5 +0.6 +1.1 +2.3 +0.6 Comparing Precipitation (in inches) from 1981-2010 to 1991-2020 --------------------------------------------------------------- Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Prec 81-10 0.90 0.77 1.89 2.66 3.36 4.25 4.04 4.30 3.08 2.43 1.77 1.16 30.61 Prec 91-20 0.89 0.87 1.68 2.91 3.91 4.58 4.06 4.34 3.02 2.58 1.61 1.17 31.62 Change -0.01 +0.10 -0.21 +0.25 +0.55 +0.23 +0.02 +0.04 -0.06 +0.15 -0.16 +0.01 +1.01 Change % -1% +13% -11% +9% +16% +5% +<1% +1% -2% +6% -9% +<1% +3.3% Comparing Snowfall (in inches) from 1981-2010 to 1991-2020 ---------------------------------------------------------- Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Snow 81-90 12.2 7.7 10.3 2.4 0 0 0 0 0 0.6 9.3 11.9 54.4 Snow 91-20 11.0 9.5 8.2 3.5 0 0 0 0 0 0.8 6.8 11.4 51.2 Change -1.2 +1.8 -2.1 +1.1 -- -- -- -- -- +0.2 -2.5 -0.5 -3.2 Change % -10% +23% -20% +46% -- -- -- -- -- +33% -19% -4% -5.9%
Last modified: May 6, 2021
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