NOAA Releases Winter Outlook for Minnesota
UNDATED (WJON News)—Minnesota's mild and dry winter of last year is unlikely to repeat.
NOAA has released its updated Winter Outlook. They say a slowly developing La Nina is favored to influence conditions across much of the country. The outlook is for December 2024 through February 2025.
This winter, NOAA predicts wetter-than-average conditions for the entire northern tier of the continental U.S. including Minnesota. That's good news for our dry conditions. The U.S. Drought Monitor says 72 percent of Minnesota is now in a Moderate Drought, and 28 percent is in a Severe Drought.
St. Cloud has had only a half inch of rain so far this fall, which is nearly 4 1/2 inches below normal.
A La Nina pattern typically leads to a more northerly storm track during the winter months.
St. Cloud Average Snowfall:
December - 7.8"
January - 8.9"
February - 7.6"
NOAA is also predicting colder-than-average temperatures, especially in western Minnesota and the Dakotas.
September was one of the warmest on record in Minnesota and October has also been well above average. Any change to a colder weather pattern doesn't look like it will be happening soon, NOAA says we should continue to see the above-average temperature trend well into November.
St. Cloud's average high temperature at the beginning of December is about 32 degrees, our average high temperature at the beginning of January is about 22 degrees, and our average high temperature at the beginning of February is about 21 degrees.
READ RELATED ARTICLES
- Jake Anderson Running for St. Cloud Mayor
- Mike Conway Running for St. Cloud Mayor
- Nick Sauer Running for Sauk Rapids Mayor
- Jason Ellering Running for Sauk Rapids Mayor
- Anderson Family Donates $20 Million to Bethel University
- Trump Rally in St. Cloud Has Big Price Tag
Melissa Etheridge & Jewel at The Ledge, 2024
More From AM 1240 WJON
