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Minnesota WeatherTalk Newsletter for Friday, October 23, 2009
Headlines:
-Wet October Continues
-Weekly Weather Potpourri
-MPR listener question
-Almanac for October 23rd
-Past weather features
-Freezing level
-Outlook
Topic: Wet October Continues....
Measurable precipitation has occurred on over half the days so far this month, including a record 2.60 inches at Buffalo (Wright County) on the 1st and a record 1.57 inches at Rochester on the 21st. As a result of these persistent rains most observers are reporting well above normal precipitation for the month, and several have already accumulated over 5 inches, which is over twice normal for the month. Some locations with very large amounts of precipitation this month include Browns Valley (5.58"), Montevideo (5.95"), Morris (5.28"), Wheaton (5.25"), Melrose (5.41"), Buffalo (5.62"), Willmar (5.93"), Marshall (5.47"), Redwood Falls (5.45"), Waseca (5.94"), Wells (5.55"), Albert Lea (5.27"), La Crescent (5.51"), and Rochester (5.53"). A few observers have reported six or more inches of precipitation which ranks among the wettest Octobers in their history. These include: 6.41 inches at Collegeville which ranks as their 3rd wettest October; 6.13 inches at Winnebago which ranks as the 3rd wettest October; 6.12 inches at Winona Dam which ranks as their wettest October; and 7.29 inches at Grand Meadow which is tied for 2nd wettest October that occurred in 1900. The all-time state record for October precipitation is over 10 inches, and given the forecast some locations may approach this value by the end of the month, as forecast models suggest continued above normal precipitation for the next 10 days. Delays in corn and soybean harvesting activity will undoubtedly continue into the month of November.
Weekly Weather Potpourri:
A recent paper by scientists from Norway, Finland, Estonia, and the United Kingdom published in the Journal Climate of the Past documents a 9000 year reconstruction of northern Europe's temperatures based on sediment derived pollen analysis. It is noteworthy that the scientist cannot find a strong correlation to solar variability, but they do note that temperature variability across the centuries may be related to changes in oceanic and atmospheric circulation patterns. The paper is found online at...
http://www.clim-past.net/5/issue3.html
A recent paper from the Alaska Climate Center (Dr. Martha Shulski et al) shows that over the past six decades the mean annual temperature taken from all of the state's first order stations has increased by 3.1 degrees F. Imbedded in this temperature record they see that the seasonal contribution to this trend has come primarily from warmer winters and springs. This fits well with the temperature analysis from other landscapes that reside at high latitude positions on Earth. You can read a brief account of this at...
http://climate.gi.alaska.edu/ClimTrends/Change/TempChange.html
Meetings held by the Army Corps of Engineers in the Fargo-Moorhead area this week drew large audiences as they presented flood control options for the Red River. The three options proposed included a diversion channel cut along the Minnesota side, a similar diversion channel cut in North Dakota, or construction of higher and stronger levees along the Red River channel. Local community leaders will have a major voice in the decision to pursue federal funding for one of these flood mitigation projects. Area residents were subjected to 61 consecutive days above flood stage during the snow melt of last spring.
Typhoon Lupit pounded parts of the northern Philippines this week with heavy rain, high surf, and strong winds. Winds well over 100 mph were generating sea waves of 30 to 35 feet at one time. Fortunately by Friday, the typhoon was pulling away towards the northeast and weakening.
MPR Listener Question: Has anyone in the state reported a 70 degrees F temperature this month? I see the highest reading in the Minneapolis-St Paul Metro Area so far is only 64 degrees F on the 7th. How often does the Metro Area record an October without a 70 degrees F reading.
Answer: So far this month only Preston (71 F) and Rushford (70 F) have seen temperatures of 70 degrees F or higher and those occurred briefly between 3:00 and 5:00 pm on Monday (Oct 19th) of this week. The month so far is tracking to be among the coldest 8 Octobers in state history. After reviewing the Twin Cities Metro Area records back 139 years to 1871, the only years when October never saw a temperature of 70 degrees F were in chronological order: 1873, 1877, 1890, 1917, 1925, 1981, and so far this year. That amounts to a 5 percent occurrence historically, or about one year in twenty!
Almanac for October 23rd:
The average MSP high temperature for this date is 55 degrees F (plus or minus 11 degrees F standard deviation), while the average low is 37 degrees F (plus or minus 8 degrees F standard deviation).
MSP local Records for October 23rd:
MSP weather records for this date include: highest daily maximum temperature of 82 degrees F in 1899; lowest daily maximum temperature of 34 degrees F in 1981; lowest daily minimum temperature of 17 degrees F in 1936: highest daily minimum temperature of 58 F in 2000. Record precipitation for this date is 1.01 inches in 1995. Record snowfall for this date is 1.4 inches in 1938.
Average dew point for October 23rd is 36 degrees F, with a maximum of 65 degrees F in 1973 and a minimum of 9 degrees F in 1981.
All-time state records for October 23rd:
The all-time state record high temperature for this date is 91 degrees F at Chatfield (Olmsted County) in 1927. The all-time state record low temperature for this date is -10 degrees F at Grand Rapids (Itasca County) in 1917. The all-time state record precipitation for this date is 3.00 inches at Garrison (Crow Wing County) in 1995. The state record snowfall for this date is 10 inches at Duluth in 1933 and 10 inches at Caribou (Kittson County) in 2001.
Past Weather Features:
205 years ago, October 23, 1804 the journal from the Lewis and Clark expeditions notes snowfall from 8:00 to 11:00 am along their journey northwest of Mandan, ND. The snow was of little consequence to them but was some of the first they encountered along their journey across the High Plains.
On October 23, 1943 a German U-boat deployed and activated an automated weather station (perhaps the first of its kind) on the Canadian Island of Killiniq along the Labrador Sea. The station was intended to supply meteorologists with pressure, temperature, wind speed and wind direction that would be useful in forecasting the weather across the North Atlantic, a major supply shipping route for the Allies during WWII. Though it successfully transmitted its data for a couple of days, its transmission frequency was randomly jammed and for the balance of the war no data were received. This automated weather station in the Canadian Arctic was discovered by the Canadian Department of Defence in 1981. The story is documented in the October-November issue of the Canadian magazine Up North.
A snow storm on October 22, 1917 ushered in some of the coldest air ever seen in Minnesota during this month. With a fresh 2 to 5 inches of snow on the ground many observers woke up to some bone-chlling cold on the morning of the 23rd. Fosston, Angus, Itasca State Park, Grand Rapids, Red Lake Falls, Pokegama Dam, and Warren reported low temperatures that were below zero F. That October proved to be the 2nd coldest in Minnesota history, surpassed only by that of 1925.
The most unusual outbreak of October tornadoes in Minnesota history occurred on the 26th of the month in 1996. Fourteen tornadoes were reported across the central part of the state between 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm that day. Eleven injuries were reported with these tornadoes, and fortunately no fatalities.
Snow spread across the northern reaches of the Red River Valley on October 24, 2001. Many observers reported 4 to 10 inches of snowfall out of this storm. The observer at Thief River Falls reported 11 inches of snow, one of the heaviest amounts ever measured in October.
Again on October 20-21, 2002 another early season snow storm passed across central Minnesota counties bringing several inches to many cities. Milaca recorded 8 inches of snow, Long Prairie received 6.5 inches, and Little Falls reported a record 9 inches.
Word of the Week: Freezing level
This is a term used in meteorology to refer to the lowest altitude in the atmosphere over a given location at which the air temperature is 32 degrees F (0 degrees C). In other words, the height of the 32 degree F temperature surface. It is highly variable and changes significantly with the seasons in Minnesota. In summer it might be as high as 10,000 ft, while in winter it comes right down to the ground at times. Average height of the freezing level over the Twin Cities during the first week of November is about 3200 ft, but by the end of the month it is about 1200 ft. This change in average freezing level during the month of November is associated with a number of other changes in climate during the month including: a 1 hour reduction in day length (over 10 hrs to just over 9 hrs); an 18 degrees F decline in daily mean temperature (from 40 degrees F to 22 degrees F); an increase in cloudiness; and an increase in the occurrence of freezing precipitation (freezing rain, sleet, snow). Often times the height of the freezing level dictates whether our precipitation is liquid or frozen.
Outlook:
Chance of rain or snow again on Sunday. Continued cool temperatures. Mostly dry on Monday, then cloudier Tuesday with a chance for rain and snow later in the day. Showers continuing on Wednesday with a respite on Thursday.
Further Information:
For older versions of the "Minnesota WeatherTalk" newsletter go to
http://www.climate.umn.edu/weathertalk/
For access to other information resources go to
http://www.climate.umn.edu/Seeley/
NOTE: News releases were current as of the date of issue. If you have a question on older releases, use the news release search (upper left-hand column of the News main page) or the main Extension search (upper right of this page) to locate more recent information.
