So you’ve heard us yakking on about the cold weather this month – but it hasn’t really been anything out of the ordinary. Even the number of morning lows at or below zero is on track (we’ve seen 12 in Rochester; normal is about 13). We’re behind on precip and snowfall, but temperatures are in the ballpark.

If you didn’t see the full moon – or “Deep Snow Moon” or “Wolf Moon” Friday night, you’ll still be able to see it AND Mars tonight. It won’t look as spectacular, but I’m just sayin’.

More clouds by Sunday afternoon; we’ll see light snow spread into the region by Monday morning. About 1-2″ of snow will be possible by Monday night for most of the area. Bring on February!

Posted under KTTC

This is from Thursday, so rainfall amounts mentioned below aren’t including the rain we’ve been picking up since Thursday night. We’re getting close to securing that #2 spot in wettest Octobers.

So, still not good news for those trying to harvest. But - if there’s any good behind this wet October - these are soaking rains that are hopefully finding their way into our not-yet-frozen grounds and chipping away at the longer-term drought we’ve had.

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
329 AM CDT FRI OCT 23 2009

…THIRD WETTEST OCTOBER IN ROCHESTER MN SO FAR…

THROUGH THE FIRST 22 DAYS OF OCTOBER…5.22 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION
HAS FALLEN AT ROCHESTER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.  THIS IS 3.02 INCHES
GREATER THAN NORMAL FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH OF OCTOBER /2.20 INCHES/.
THIS OCTOBER IS CURRENTLY THE THIRD WETTEST OCTOBER.  THIS OCTOBER
IS THE WETTEST OCTOBER SINCE 1970 WHEN 6.08 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION
FELL.  THE WETTEST OCTOBER OCCURRED BACK IN 1911 WHEN 9.11 INCHES OF
PRECIPITATION FELL.

THE TABLE BELOW PROVIDES THE TEN WETTEST OCTOBERS IN ROCHESTER MN.

        WETTEST STARTS TO AN OCTOBER
               IN ROCHESTER MN
                  1886-2009

               PRECIPITATION
    RANK           TOTAL            YEAR
    —-       ————-        —-
      1          9.11 INCHES        1911
      2          6.08 INCHES        1970
      3          5.22 INCHES        2009+
      4          4.95 INCHES        1979
      5          4.71 INCHES        1998
      6          3.86 INCHES        1966
      7          3.83 INCHES        1941
      8          3.78 INCHES        1984
      9          3.57 INCHES        1986
     10          3.50 INCHES        2002

   + PRECIPITATION TOTAL THROUGH OCTOBER 22
$$

BOYNE

Posted under rainfall

The NWS La Crosse office put together a ranking of the driest stretches in Rochester’s recorded weather history. Here’s a nifty cut-and-paste for your pleasure. Source

First Rain in Rochester MN Since August 25th

AT 1157 AM CDT THIS MORNING...ROCHESTER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
RECEIVED THEIR FIRST RAINFALL SINCE 207 PM CDT ON AUGUST 25TH. THIS
ENDED A STREAK OF 26 CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITH NO PRECIPITATION.

THIS WAS THE SIXTH LONGEST STRETCH OF DAYS WITH NO PRECIPITATION
AND THE LONGEST SINCE A 30 DAY STRETCH IN 1952 /OCTOBER 17 TO
NOVEMBER 15/.  THE LONGEST STRETCH WITH NO PRECIPITATION IS 31 DAYS
/FEBRUARY 2 THROUGH MARCH 3 1912/. THE TABLE BELOW LISTS THE TEN
LONGEST STRETCHES OF DAYS WITH NO PRECIPITATION IN ROCHESTER
MINNESOTA.

           LONGEST OF STRETCHES OF DAYS
              WITH NO PRECIPITATION
                 IN ROCHESTER MN

               CONSECUTIVE
    RANK           DAYS              DATES
    ----       -----------           -----
      1          31 DAYS      FEB  2 - MAR  3 1912
      2          30 DAYS      OCT 17 - NOV 15 1952
                 30 DAYS      JAN  7 - FEB  5 1911
      4          27 DAYS      JAN 26 - FEB 21 1913
                 27 DAYS      MAR  2 - MAR 28 1910
      6          26 DAYS      AUG 26 - SEP 20 2009
      7          25 DAYS      JAN  8 - FEB  1 1919
                 25 DAYS      NOV  2 - NOV 26 1917
                 25 DAYS      MAY 27 - JUN 20 1913
     10          24 DAYS      OCT 26 - NOV 18 1953
                 24 DAYS      JUL 22 - AUG 14 1908

PRECIPITATION RECORDS ARE AVAILABLE FOR THE ROCHESTER AREA
FROM 1886 TO 1920 AND FROM 1929 TO 2009.

Posted under climate, rainfall

Out today – as if you need further proof of the cool summer: not just below normal for Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin, but the coldest July on record for the entire nine-state Midwest region, according to the NOAA Midwestern Regional Climate Center.

Click here for the details from the Midwestern Regional Climate Center.

Posted under climate

Halfway through Meteorological Winter, and we have bookmarked ourselves amongst some of the most notable winters of the past. The folks over at the NWS in La Crosse have dug up where we’re sitting so far during this interesting 2008-2009 winter.

Posted under climate, KTTC, Rochester, weather, winter weather

It sure hasn’t been feeling much like November so far this month.  We’ve set 4 individual daily records in Rochester for highs and for warm lows while our stretch of unbelievable days has also been noteworthy.  Here is a statement from the National Weather Service in La Cosse to summarize the situation:

ROCHESTER
———

1. NEW RECORD HIGH /75 DEGREES/ ON NOVEMBER 3RD. PREVIOUSLY SET IN 1978
2. NEW RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE /74 DEGREES/ ON NOVEMBER 4TH.
   PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 72 DEGREES IN 1975.
3. NEW RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE /55 DEGREES/ ON NOVEMBER 4TH.
   PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 47 DEGREES IN 1981.
4. NEW RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE /53 DEGREES/ ON NOVEMBER 5TH.
   PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 46 DEGREES IN 1948.
5. 2ND WARMEST NOVEMBER DAY /64.5 DEGREES AVG TEMPERATURE/ EVER ON
   NOVEMBER 4TH 2008.
6. 4TH WARMEST NOVEMBER DAY /63.0 DEGREES AVG TEMPERATURE/ EVER ON
   NOVEMBER 3RD 2008.
7. WARMEST 4 DAY STRETCH /59.0 DEGREES AVG TEMPERATURE/ EVER RECORDED
   IN NOVEMBER.

I know there are a few people out there who are hoping for cooler weather and perhaps some snow, so I will mention that both are on the way for the end of the week and for the weekend, so no more record highs for us!  In fact, we’ll be slightly colder than “normal” for the weekend with highs in the 30s.  Look for rain and light snow showers Friday with a minor dusting of grassy accumulation possible Friday night and Saturday.  By the way, if you’re looking for some shovelable snow, you might want to head west to South Dakota where a large portion of the state is in a Blizzard Warning for today through tomorrow morning.  They may end up with half a foot of fresh snow out of this storm system.

Posted under climate, weather