LAMBERTON, Minn. — 2019 was a year of high precipitation and snowfall at the University of Minnesota Southwest Research and Outreach Center near Lamberton. Most notably, the 82″ of snow recorded during the 2019 winter (Oct. 1, 2018-April 30, 2019) set a new snowfall record for the site. The previous record of 77.8” was set in 1984.
A cold and snowy month of February contributed significantly to the record-breaking snowfall total. Snow was recorded on 17 days out of the month, bringing February’s monthly total snowfall to 31.9”. Air temperatures averaged a high of 14ºF and a low of -4ºF in February, significantly lower than the historic average high and low of 28ºF and 8ºF.
January 31st was the coldest day of 2019; air temperatures reached a high of -13ºF and a low of -30ºF. June 8th was the hottest day of the year, with high air temperatures peaking at 93ºF. Total annual precipitation for 2019 was 39.77”, well above the annual historic average of 27.37” at the SWROC. The year’s largest single-day rain event occurred on September 12th when 3.11” of was recorded.
The SWROC has recorded 16.6” of snow so far in the winter of 2020. Warm air temperatures on December 28-29, allowed 1.02” of precipitation to fall as rain rather than snow.
2019 was cooler and wetter than average throughout southwest Minnesota, which created challenges for many area growers. In April and May, 5.91” and 4.80” of precipitation were recorded, respectively, and high air temperatures averaged 54ºF and 63ºF, respectively. These cold temperatures and rainy weather delayed spring planting and prevented some growers from getting fields planted.
During the May-September growing season, 22.52” of precipitation were recorded, making 2019 the sixth consecutive growing season with above-average precipitation in southwest Minnesota. July and September were high precipitation months with precipitation totals of 6.86” and 6.02”, respectively.
A warm end to September allowed late-planted crops to finish growing and increased the SWROC 2019 growing degree day (GDD) total to 2450, just behind the historic average GDD of 2540. October was cooler and wetter than average, with 4” of precipitation (historic average 2.15”) and high temps averaging 54ºF (historic average 61ºF), which created harvest challenges for many farmers.
SWROC monthly weather summaries:
AIR TEMPERATURES | ||||
Month | 2019 Monthly Average | Historic Monthly Average | ||
Max | Min | Max | Min | |
January | 20 | 2 | 23 | 3 |
February | 14 | -4 | 28 | 8 |
March | 33 | 15 | 40 | 21 |
April | 54 | 34 | 57 | 34 |
May | 63 | 44 | 71 | 46 |
June | 80 | 58 | 80 | 57 |
July | 82 | 63 | 84 | 61 |
August | 78 | 57 | 81 | 58 |
September | 74 | 54 | 74 | 48 |
October | 54 | 35 | 61 | 36 |
November | 37 | 21 | 43 | 23 |
December | 28 | 13 | 27 | 9 |
Air temperatures are in degrees Fahrenheit. |
MONTHLY PRECIPITATION | ||
Month | 2019 | Historic Avg |
January | 0.47 | 0.59 |
February | 1.79 | 0.57 |
March | 2.70 | 1.45 |
April | 5.91 | 2.78 |
May | 4.80 | 3.55 |
June | 2.35 | 4.15 |
July | 6.86 | 3.73 |
August | 2.22 | 3.20 |
September | 6.02 | 3.22 |
October | 4.00 | 2.15 |
November | 1.12 | 1.23 |
December | 1.53 | 0.75 |
Annual Total | 39.77 | 27.37 |
Precipitation totals are in inches. |
— University of Minnesota
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