September stands out as one of Minnesota’s fastest warming months in recent decades and this year was no exception.
Despite several chilly days early in the month, temperatures began to rise and the month ended with the vast majority of days ending up warmer than normal.
Only 6 of the 30 days of the month were cooler than normal. The rest were warmer than normal, and many days significantly so.
The average September temperature was +4.1 deg F above normal, which ties us for the 8th warmest September in 152 years of records in the Twin Cities.
You’ll note that half of the top 10 spots are all since 2004!
Minnesota is experiencing among the the fastest warming autumns in the lower 48 states. In the past five decades, average temperatures have warmed by 3 to 4 deg F, a remarkable pace.
As for precipitation, the month was mixed. The Twin Cities officially was right on target for normal precipitation but most of the state was a little drier than normal and south central Minnesota was behind by 2 to 3 inches.
Zooming out, we can see that southern Minnesota was on the northern edge of overall very dry September weather. Parts of Iowa, southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois saw just 5 to 10 percent of their normal September precipitation.
October is almost certain to be another warmer than normal month. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center has very high odds (70%) that most of Minnesota will experience above normal October temperatures and equal chances of wetter or drier conditions.
Already these first days of October are near-record setting in terms of temperatures…