Warm winter continues. Beautiful late January weather sunshine and widespread mid to upper 40s seen.

 

Downtown Rochester snow less January 31st 2012

Beautiful weather has made its return to the area this week with plenty of sunshine and highs in the mid to upper 40s as the snowpack continued to take a big hit during our winter which has been off an on at best. The raising sun angle and lengthening days seemed to further enhance the snowmelt somewhat. Many were taking advantage of the weather getting outdoors and getting active, some people even braved to wear shorts. I myself was able to take afternoon walks without a coat, which is fairly odd considering its the middle of winter!

Backyard scene January 31st 2012

This being my 1st time living in a large city, I am seeing quite an interesting contrast take place between our yard and Downtown in terms of snowcover, when one gets away from the sheltered, warm and blocking power of all the tall highrises, you find quite a bit more snowcover across the rest of the city more or less like in our yard, but even the snow in our yard has been melting away quite fast in the past 2 days. We started off near 6 inches, now there is probably an increasingly patchy 2-3" left. The snow already melted along the southside of the garage uncovering the spring bulbs, today walking around I some of the Crocus that sprouted in warm ups earlier this month were showing signs of coloring flower buds. Earliest bloom I've seen?, the question is, will break bud before this warm spell is over which is supposed to last into the weekend, only time will tell.

Highs today.

The warmest temperature in the area was in the inner parts of Rochester. All 4 of my thermometers here in West Downtown reported 50.F. Officially at the airport 7 miles and outside of the city it was 44.F. I am doing ongoing research as to why the temperature is so different between my station and the airport, for now I will go with it since I have been for the past few months.  The coolest reading was a balmy 43 at Preston.

Going to feel like Spring this week

Regional weather view.

A very mild and dry week ahead for the Upper Midwest is in store, as a warm front brings in mild air from our west. This warm front will drop some minor snowfall accumulations across Western and Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. Temperatures will range from the low to mid 40s where there fair amount of snow pack in Northern Iowa Northward, to the low 60s in the far south. The snowpack will be taking a hit this week as well and will likely start taking a progression northward.

                                                    Local and Metro view

The feeling of spring will be what is in store for us locally and for the metro area, after we get through some light snow and sleet tonight. Amounts will not cause issues as they should be under an inch. Skies will range from partly cloudy to mostly cloudy as we go through the week, but temperatures will be in the low 40s to as warm as the mid 40s in warm spots and inner city Rochester. Lows each and every day will be in the mid 20s to low 30s. The sunniest days looks to be Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. The thick snowcover that is across our area will likely be taking a big hit this week as a repose to the warm temperatures.








Monday, Nice,  Partly cloudy mild and dry. Highs in the low 40s. Monday Night, Partly cloudy to mostly cloudy skies, lows in the upper 20s to low 30s.

Tuesday, Nice,  Partly sunny mild and dry. Highs in the low to mid 40s. Tuesday Night, Partly cloudy with lows in the upper 20s to low 30s.

Wednesday, Nice, Partly Cloudy mild and dry, Highs in the low to mid 40s. Wednesday Night, Partly cloudy, lows in the mid 20s.

Thursday, Nice,  Mild an dry Partly Cloudy. Highs in the low to mid 40s. Thursday Night, Partly Cloudy, lows in the mid 20s.

Looking Ahead

There is really not a lot of talk about looking ahead, but Friday a brief cool down with a chance of light snows lasting into that weekend. More mild air pushes in from the west for the start of the 1st Week of February, then cold air pushes in dry for Wednesday the the 8th. It remains dry with temps seasonable to mild towards the middle part of February.

A mild, but breezy day Thursday. Snow system developing Friday minor accumulations, then cooling off and clearing out for Sunday.

Regional weather view.

A mild Thursday will give way to a weather system on Friday. This weather system will bring a mixture of rain sleet and snow to Iowa, and all snow in Northern Iowa and southern Minnesota and Wisconsin, where minor snowfall accumulations are likely. Lingering snow showers will be possible on Saturday before this will make way for a cooler and sunny Sunday across the region.

Local and Metro views

Locally its going to be a nice but gusty Thursday ahead of our next weather system which will arrive on Friday giving us minor snow totals, Thursday under partly cloudy skies highs will rise into the middle 30s across the area, can could be a tad higher if we can get into some good sunshine. The sun would be short lived becuase Thursday Night it will cloud up ahead of Fridays system. Friday a lore pressures system will pass to our south in Iowa, and snow will develop Friday around noon or sometimes after. This system will be fairly minor but could cause in convenience travel, as some of the should could be briefly on the moderate side.  Friday's Accumulations, expect accumulations to be on the light to minor side, with a solid and widespread 1-2" of accumulation. The snow will taper down sometimes Friday Night, but clouds will remain Saturday and there may even be a re development of light snow producing another dusting. Highs in the mid 20s Lows will be on the chill side in the single digits. A cold front will sweep through and bring in a weak arctic airmass for Sunday which will make for a clear and chilly day with highs only in the upper 10s, and lows in the mid 10s.

Thursday, Mild and Partly Cloudy with gusty winds. Highs in the mid 30s. Thursday Night Increasing Clouds, Lows in low 20s.

Friday, Cloudy with snow developing in the afternoon, could be moderate at times. Highs in the upper 20s to low 30s. Friday Night, Cloudy with snow, a widespread area wide total accumulation of 1-2" lows in the mid 10s

Saturday, Cloudy with a chance of light snow or flurries, then turning breezy, Little or no accumulations. Highs in the mid 20s. Saturday Night, Chilly, clear skies with lows in the mid single digits.

Sunday, Chilly with Sunny skies, highs in the upper 10s. Sunday Night, Increasing clouds, lows in the mid 10s.

Looking Ahead

The chilly air for Sunday will be very short lived because by Monday were already looking at a much milder airmass, there may be some light snow as this moved in, before the very mild airmass moved in. Highs could be nearing 40 with this airmass. Tuesdays looks questionable in weather, it looks rather cloudy with a chance of light rain or light snow. Wednesday of next week it clears out and becomes a bit cooler and we have fair temps and dry conditions to end the week and start next weekend. By Monday the 4th of February it will be dry, and we will be looking at very mild air to our west. The have been persistent in showing a significant dry warm up arriving by Wednesday the 8th, The models show continued warmth with a questionable chance of rain developing by the 10th. It is too early to say wither or not this will happen, but it appears warmer temperatures may be on the way.

January 22nd freezing drizzle and January 23rd snowfall totals. 2-3" was common

Downtown Rochester January 23rd from Elton Hills neighborhood

To end the weekend and start the work week we had to deal with another weather making system that brought slippery roads and freezing drizzle on Sunday, and minor to moderate snowfall accumulations on Monday. Sunday, a low pressure and frontal system slowly pushed through area from west to east. Warm moist air ahead of this low over a cold snowpack and temperatures in the upper 20s caused freezing drizzle to develop and last through the day. By the afternoon roads and sidewalks were slick and travel impacts started to develop and become an issue. Here in Rochester we had a coating of ice, nothing too significant. Overnight the cold front behind the low pushed in cooler air, at the same time the system started to get its act together, wrap up and started producing an area of precipitation in Iowa, which soon moved northeast and hit the local area in the form of a quick moderate to heavy snow. By 9AM there was already a good coating across most areas, more wrap around moisture continued to bring snow through the morning and afternoon and made for slow going travel. By the time the system was departing, in my yard we had a total of 2.75" of snow with a water content of 0.32" combined with the freezing drizzle.

Elton Hills park January 23rd

With all the minor snowfalls adding over the past couple weeks we have built ourselves quite a nice snowpack, I would estimate we have between 5 and 8 inches of snow on the ground here in Rochester. This is the highest amount of snow we had on the ground at one time so far this season, and its starting to look much more like Southern Minnesota should look in the middle to end of January!

Snowfall Totals

The highest report was 3" reported out of Mantorville, Zumbrota and Spring Vally, everyone seems to have at least gotten 2" in this system, the least was at the 2" mark which was reported at several areas.

Mixed bag of weather and windy tomarrow for Southeast Minnesota all fairly light starting off as freezing drizzle/sleet changing to snow overnight. minor accumulations. Turning pleasent for midweek

Regional weather view.

A weather system will cause quite a mess in the Upper Midwest for the end of this week. It will spread a mix bag of precip and weather ranging from mild and rainy in Illinois, to sleet and freezing rain in parts of Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin to snow in Northern Minnesota. The weather will quiet down into next week when a calmer, sunny and warm pattern will remain in the Midwest.

Local and Metro views.

Note: This forecast replaces my forecast for Sunday

 Travel could become difficult across the region later tonight into tomorrow as a mixed bag of weather moved into our area, this will be a mild and windy weather system which will spread warm air over this snowpack which will result in light freezing drizzle and flurries tomorrow, and sleet towards the evening Winds could gust to 35MPH, and highs will warm to the low to mid 30s. A light icing could occur which would cause travel issues very quickly. Lows will remain in the low to mid 20s overnight, A cold front will sweep in behind this system overnight Sunday light snow and strong winds causing blowing snow will occur Monday, we could get a quick inch or two before its all over Monday night. Tuesday skies will clear out and we will have typical Late January weather with highs in the mid 20s. Wednesday we will have pleasant weather, sunshine with highs in the low to mid 30s and lows in the teens and 20s both nights.





Sunday Cloudy and windy, winds gusting to 35MPH at times, light freezing drizzle and flurries at times. Highs in the lower 30s. Sunday Night, Light Sleet and flurries, with light snow developing, otherwise cloudy with lows in the low 20s

Monday, Colder with light snow and blowing snow. Windy with winds gusting to 30MPH. 1-2" accumulation. Highs in the mid 20s Monday Night, clear a chilly, lows in the upper single digits.

Tuesday, Clearing skies, not as windy. Sunny with highs in the low to mid 20s Tuesday Night, Clear skies, lows in the upper 10s

Wednesday, Sunny and pleasant, highs in the low to mid 30s. Wednesday night, Clear skies lows in the upper 10s to low 20s

Looking Ahead.

 We will end the work week next week on a mild and dry note, then a dry cold front will push through, bringing in colder air just in time for next weekend. Warmer air pushed in for Tuesday the 31st. It remains dry Moisture does pick up in the form of snow for Thursday the 2nd of February, then very cold air pushes in behind this system in time for the weekend of the 4th of February. Towards the end of this model run a warmer drier pattern begins to push east.

Latest blast of winter, Thursdays cold and Fridays snowfall totals, some spots topped 5 inches!

Snowy scene in our neighborhood January 20th 2012

A blast of actual winter hit the region this week and many were feeling it! Thursday we had cold temperatures that barely reached above zero and Friday we had a strong clipper system bring some descent snow to parts of the area. I thought it would be a good idea to put the information from both posts into one big wintery cold post!

 Front yard view January 20th 2012

First I will discuss the snow. A strong clipper system hit the region today bringing moderate snow accumulations and heavy snow to parts of the area. The system its self was not a huge deal becuase compared to what we normally see but becuase its been so long since we had decent snow it was a sight to see, and for some this was the largest snowfall of the season so far. Some parts in the southern part of the area saw accumulations topping 5 inches! Everyone saw at least an inch of snow from this, but there was a fairly sharp cut off from the heaviest to the lighter amounts to the north. This was a very fast moving system becuase when people went to bed Thursday night skies were clear, and by 3pm Friday, skies were clear again! The snow fell when the temperatures were very cold in the single digits, so it was a fine powdery sand grain type snow. Some Snow lovers and warm weather lovers alike I talked to both agree that it is nice to see a little Minnesota winter in our weather for once, as the area is starting to establish a fairly good snowpack for the 1st time this winter season.

Snow totals

The highest accumulations were right along the Iowa boarder Lanesbro hit 5.50" and Preston had 5.0" It's kind of interesting to me that Rochester had lower amounts even when locations west and east of there got at least 3" but just over 2.0" was the rule there. Amounts were closer to 1-2" in the north.

Downtown Rochester,MN January 20th 2012

Thursday was the coldest day of the season so far for the entire area. Lows starting off Thursday morning were well below zero and in the teens below zero for many areas. Under arctic sunshine highs were slow to rise, and when they did they only rose to the single digits. Steam from a Downtown Rochester buliding can be seen very easily in the cold clear day like today was!

Lows Thursday morning and highs Thursday

The coldest temperature area wide was just west of Rochester with a low of -12.F reported at Byron,  The warmest was Winona and inner city Rochester which was -8.F

Fair sized winter system tomarrow, Heavy snow likely across the area, Sigificant totals may possible in southern counties. Warming up afterwards, then more snow possible Sunday. Updated X1

Regional weather view.

A strong clipper system will cause a few issues in the Upper Midwest for the start of the weekend. A low pressure system will slide southeast, and bring heavy snow with it. Significant accumulations are possible in Northeast Iowa, Far southeastern Minnesota, Northern Illinois, and Southern Wisconsin. It clears out Saturday, and even warms up for Sunday just in time for another weather system to move into the region.

Local and Metro views.

Note: This forecast has been updated and amounts in Northern and Central areas have been increased slightly. Amounts in the south have remained the same.

Get ready for snow with in our resent bout of Winter here in Southern Minnesota. This system will become a pretty big story across our area as a strong clipper system will impact the area starting late tonight which has the chance to bring significant accumulations to parts of our area. Snow will develop late tonight lasting into Friday evening, with Heavy snow possible. Winds should not be a huge problem, and the snow type will be light and fluffy. Highs will otherwise be in the mid upper single digits to lower 10s. The snow will end Friday Evening and it will even be clear and sunny for Saturday, with chilly highs in the middle 10s. Sunday, we have yet another chance of snow with a warm up near the 30s for highs. I will not go into details of this one yet, I will see how this one turns out.

Snowfall Accumulations and expected effects

Although this storm will not be huge, its effects could be be felt quite hard to some becuase of the lack of snow we've had so far this winter. Heavy snow is possible across the entire area espesscailly Friday morning to mid morning, but depending upon where you are will mean the difference in what you get. The highest Accumulations, and best chance for significant totals will be highest near the Iowa boarder for communities such as Austin, Preston and Harmony. Here 5+ inches are likely. Slightly north 3 to as much as 5 inches will be the rule, for cities like Dodge Center, the Rochester metro area and Winona. If you go even further north, totals will slack off even more 2-3" is likely  for Cannon Falls and Red Wing areas. Travel impacts will probably be an issue, espesscailly for central and southern areas as heavy snow will be possible very close to if not during the morning rush. Residents in the area, espesscailly in southern and central should prepare for a typical system with heavy snow.

Friday, Snow lasting through the day tapering to flurries late. Heavy snow in the morning. then cloudy with highs in the 10s. Friday Night, Clear skies lows in the mid single digits below zero, Total Accumulation 2-3" north, 3-5" central areas, and around 5" or more southern areas.

Saturday, Chilly, sunny skies, highs in the mid to upper 10s. Saturday Night, Increasing clouds lows in the lower 10s.

Sunday, Warmer, A chance of snow. Minor accumulations possible. Highs in the upper 20s. Sunday Night, A chance of snow, minor accumulations possible. Lows in the mid 20s

Looking Ahead

The models have been pretty consistent on bringing more snow to the local area on Sunday, but there is some disagreement on if there could be some rain mixed in. This is part of the reason why I will not make any guesses at this time. It looks warmer next week then this week has bee, but it will cool off slightly Monday as snow ends with breezy conditions. There will be another chance of light snow with a warm front Wednesday the 25th, as warmer air begins to invade. It's invasion is short lives as another cold front moves Monday the 30th with another chance at light snow. The models increase storm activity towards the start of February, when it looks like we may have a least a chance or two at more snowfall. More on this later.

Arctic air moving in late tomarrow, Flurries with the front. Highs in the single digits Thursday with lows below zero, then more snow Friday Night. Updated X2

Regional weather view.

A more active pattern will continue across the Upper Midwest. The next system will effect Minnesota with some minor snow. One big story will be the very cold arctic air showing it's face for the 1st time across the Upper Midwest. The next system arrives Friday.

 Local and metro views. weather view.

Note; In this forecast, highs and lows for this arctic airmass have been lowered. Also wanted to mention the increasing chance for more snow on Friday Night.

The next big story will be a cold arctic airmass which will be entreched over our area by late Wednesday Thursday, highs will be in the singly digits, and lows will drop below zero several nights, some places falling below zero for the 1st time this season. It will briefly for tomarrow, but it wont feel warmer becuase of strong breezes. Another shot of flurries and light snow will accompany another arctic front passing through Wednesday Night. It will mainly be flurries in our area  probably be under 1 inch. A stronger more sigificant system looks to bring a chance at higher accumulating snows Thursday Night, into Friday. I will not forecast totals for this yet, but it was worth mentioning since the clouds ahead of it should keep us from going below zero.

 Tuesday Night, Cold! Clearing skies with lows dropping on either side of 0.F

Wednesday, Slightly warmer, Partly Sunny and with breezy, cold winds. Highs in the low 20s. Wednesday Night, A chance of snow or flurries. Little if any accumulation under 1 inch. Lows in the mid single digits below zero.

Thursday, Cold! Arctic sunshine with highs in the mid single digits.. Thursday Night, Increasing clouds with light snow possible late. Lows in the single digits below zero.

Looking Ahead

Looking immediately at Friday we have the chance for more accumulating snows here in southeastern Minnesota. It's too early to tell on exactly how much but totals nearing on them more sigificant end appear to be possible. This system will have to be watched becuase it targets Southern Minnesota and Northern Iowa for the highest totals. This snow will be with a warm front. The arctic this Thursday will only be brief because were already looking at a significant warm up in time for next weekend into the following week. Monday the 23rd looks very warm ahead of a storm system. It gets a little interesting around Tuesday the 24th. the models are picking up on a strong storm system lifting into the Upper Midwest, but it comes with very warm air. Under this cause, southeastern Minnesota would be dealing with a good shot at rain and mild temps. while other parts of the Midwest will have a snowstorm.  Behind this storm system cold air pushes south bringing a change to snow here on Wednesday the 25th. It dries out and we have fair temps with a few chances at light snows from the 26th through the 30th of January. Then the models show more mild air pushing in from the west to start off February. The chance in this weeks long range forecast is we appear to have only bursts of winter that last a week before it warms back up. More on this as it becomes available.

A couple of cool new features on my blog + celebrating the 1000th post!

New Feature

There are a couple things new this morning. One of those new things is the starting of a new page here at my blog which I am excited to get going! Some viewers may have noticed a new tab bar has popped above the posts, and just below the header. The tab has listing Weather/forecasting which is the main page,  a Gardening/plant care tab and a blog description tab. As I was testing some features blogspot had I discovered that separate pages were allowed to be made, So I've decided to create a couple new pages here on my blog and I wanted to have one of them just focuses on gardening and plant care. This is an attempt to kinda sort out my passions a bit since I am really gaining alot of knowledge in plants and have my college career based on this, I believe I should have a separate page dedicated to that. I wanted to do this without having to start a separate blog. I highly encourage viewers to take a look at the new page and comment! There is an introduction on there this time. What I will probably do is continue to post about gardening and plant care here among my forecast/weather information, and have links provided to these posts on  garden/plant tab so they are easy to find and all in one place. There is also a blog description tab, which viewers may look at, but it is just has disclaimer information and general information.


1000th post!

I was looking at my blog information last night and happened to noticed the last post I made was the 999th post I've posted, and this post here is literally the 1000th! I believe this is a fairly large accomplishment on my part as I started this blog 4 years ago and it continues today! To be quite honest, I am surprised I could think of 1000 pages worth of stuff to write about, Hopefully there will be many more thousands to go!

Winter finally arrives to southeastern Minnesota. It arrived with cold temps, slick roads, gusty winds, and 2 to as much as 5" of snow!

Winter scene from a Rochester park. January 12th 2012

As odd as this is to say, winter has finally arrive to Southeastern Minnesota in the sense that this is the first time we've had a snowpack lasting more then one day since well before Christmas! two things were really noticed today, and that's the snow and the much colder temperatures. After it was 57.F on Tuesday, Today we had a cold day with highs in the 10s along with snow and blowing snow. To top it off we had gusty northwest winds which was persistent through the day which made wind chills even colder. At my location I had 3.0" of snow and the high was 18.F which was nearly 40 degrees colder then Tuesday! Today had a real wintery look and feel to it for the 1st time in many weeks here in Minnesota. The newly accumulated snow caused quite a few issues on the roads as car accidents were reported across Rochester, and across much of the area.

Haze caused by falling snow January 12th 2012

This snow has a particularly odd sense to it. The snowflakes were very small and frequent, giving the sky a hazy appearance all day. Visibilities were even fairly reduced at times. This snow was easily blown around by wind which made for a fair amount of blowing and drifting. As I talked about above, the snow did cause a few travel issues across the area but most just took it slow and got to there destination without problems. Most of the area got at least some new snow, but the areas that got the most snow was confined to the far east, where over 5" were reported in eastern Winona County! The further west you got the less snow was seen. Actually there is a fairly sharp cut off line from where the heavier amounts occurred compared to the area that got nothing but light amounts. That cutoff line caused lesser amounts to be seen in Western Goodhue, Dodge and Mower counties. The cause of the snow was a storm system that broad very widespread snow to all of the eastern half of the Upper Midwest. Our area was on the Northwestern fridges of the main precip area. It will warm up this weekend, but should stay cool enough to keep most of the snowcover on the ground, and we may in fact add to the snowcover on Saturday! Then it looks much colder after that.

Snowfall Reports

Minnesota City 5.20"
Winona 5.0"
 Rushford 4.0"
Lanesbro 4.0"
Preston 3.90"
Spring Valley 3.70"
Altura 3.40"
Kellong 3.0"
 West Downtown Rochester-(My Sta) 3.0"
Wabasha 2.0"
Byron 1.60"
Elgin 1.50"
Austin 0.70"

Sigificant cooldown with snow and wind tonight and Thursday, Some could be breifly heavy with arctic air settles in Thursday. Updated X1

Regional weather view.

A  significant change is in store for the Upper Midwest. It will go from a very mild pattern to way more winter-like for the middle part of this week. A storm system will impact the region Wednesday and bring snow, and it has the chance to bring significant snowfall to areas shaded in orange along with strong winds. The models show a low pressure system developing remaining stationary and even moving west before moving out. Arctic Air will follow behind this storm system putting everyone in a deep freeze for the end of this week.

Local and Metro views

Note: Changes have been made, I've uped snowfall amounts for central areas and expanded the 2-4" totals west slightly as the model continues to show a westward shift.

Winter is about to make a strong come back to our area as Significantly colder air arrives will start to arrive this evening with snow, some briefly heavy along with strong gusty winds. Snow will start tonight and continue into Thursday as a strong low pressure spreads precip westward. One wave will come with the of the front, which will deliverer around an inch of snow. There may be a brief break in the snow before more snow develops from that stronger system passing to our east.  

Snow Accumulations

Right now it looks like with 2-4" will accumulate for the eastern areas like Winona and Preston which is where the most will fall out of this system. Further west between 1-3" will fall in Rochester and Red Wing. Farthest west 1-2" will fall. There will be some blowing and drifting with this as winds will be strong out of the northwest. One thing sure is significantly colder air will arrive and be settled in by Thursday, highs will struggle to get out of the low 10s for highs and lows will fall into the lower single digits, this real cold weather will last through Friday. Then It will warm up slightly for the weekend

Wednesday, Cooler, Increasing clouds, and increasing winds in the evening. Snow developing towards nightfall, some could briefly be heavy at times.  Highs in the upper 30s Wednesday Night, Windy and cold, Snow, some could be briefly moderate or heavy. with lows in the mid 10s

Thursday, Cold! Windy with cold wind chills and blowing and drifting snow. Light to moderate snow through the day. Total snow accumulations 1-4" entire area. Highs in the mid 10s. Thursday Night, Clear and cold with lows in the mid single digits. 

Friday, Chilly but not as breezy. Cloudy with highs in the mid 10s. Friday Night, Mostly cloudy with lows in the upper single digits.

Looking Ahead

  The big story in the looking ahead forecasting, is the much more seasonable temps with multiple chances at snow systems the model shows coming in starting the 18th lasting through the last week of January. Could this be the start of a much cooler and snowier pattern for the Upper Midwest? Only time will tell.

Record highs today as temps rise into the mid to upper 50s once again.

West Downtown neighborhood January 10th 2012

Another beautifully mild day and sunny with highs in the mid to upper 50s and a low above freezing occurred here in Southeastern Minnesota! Today was a day that felt much like spring and nothing like winter with a high of 57.F at my location! Birds were signing and many were out walking around without coats, and some were in short sleeves! It was nice enough that teachers at my college did classes outside today instead of remaining indoors. Southerly winds, a strengthening sun and lack of snow cover continue to feed what has become an extremely mild start to January. Everyday since the month has started has been above freezing accept 2, in fact only 3 days have even been in the 30s! The rest of the days have been in the 40s or 50s. The average high for this time of year is 24.F and the average low is around 10.F

Crocus sprouts January 10th 2012

The Crocus from last week are progressing along nicely as continued warmth has allowed them! Now they will hopefully be buried under some insulating snowfall, which will keep them dormant until our real spring arrives.

January 10th highs

Record highs were broken again today, this time at Austin, The Rochester Airport, Winona and Preston. The highest temperature in the area occurred in inner city Rochester, which had a high just shy of 60.F. The coolest reading was from Preston with a high of 51.F

Is it January or March? Record warmth today. Highs shattered today as highs rose to near 60.F in some areas. Crocus have begun to leaf out!

Front yard view Rochester,MN January 5th 2011

I left the snowcovered hills of Wisconsin this afternoon and arrived back in Southern Minnesota, and what a stunningly beautiful day to arrive back! As I left, the snow that fell in the New Years system was melting fast as the temperature was 44.F in my Clayton,WI yard. As I went south it became warmer and eventually I drove right out of the area covered in snow just past the Wisconsin boarder. The cause of the extreme warmth across the region was a warm westerly airmass and sunshine combined with snowless ground. This allowed temperatures to rise way above expected. Records were shattered today across the entire Upper Midwest with near 50.F temps seen as far north as Duluth and the earliest 60.F temp was seen in Western Minnesota. Records here in Southern Minnesota were broken by as much as 10 degrees! The highs here were 50 to 55.F, here in our Rochester yard it was 57.F which is way beyond the normal high of 24.F. Officially the Rochester Airport hit 55.F which broke the old record of 45.F set back in 1930.

Sprouting January Crocus

When I arrived back and checked on the gardens I was surprised to see the Crocus had begin leafing out as if it was a week in late March! With weather this mild it is up to impossible to keep the spring bulbs from sprouting. If it were to stay warm for another week or two, these would certainly be blooming by then! This  is the absolute earliest I've seen  Crocus leaf out happen. Hopefully cooler weather will arrive soon to stop their growth and put them back into dormancy before they bloom.

 Highs seen today.

Records were broken at the Rochester Airport, Winona, Preston and Austin today. The warmest area temp was confined to inner city Rochester which had a high of 57.F The coolest station was a super mild 48.F which was seen in Red Wing, where there is still a little snowcover.

Very mild weather weather to end the week, Sunshine and upper 40s for highs Thursday/Friday. It does not get much better then this in January!

Regional weather view.

A very un typical pattern continues to influence the Upper Midwest, instead of arctic airmass's and snow, the region continues to have a mild winter more typical of Southern states! Highs on Thursday will be in the mid 60s in parts of Iowa, to as warm as the upper 40s in Southern Minnesota. Highs will even be in the 40s across Wisconsin. Sunshine will be abundant through the end of the week for most areas.

Local weather view.

After last weeks wind and chilly temps, we can expect a beautiful stretch of weather, which is anything like January like! The end of this week will feature lots of sunshine everyday, and clear warm nights. Temperatures will be way above normal, the lack of snowcover and rising sun angle will allow temperatures as warm as the upper 40s on Thursday, and possibly again on Friday. A couple warm spots and inner city Rochester does have a shot at 50. Otherwise we can expect mid 30s for highs Saturday and Sunday with lows in the low 30s to upper 20s all of rest of the upcoming nights. Enjoy the weather, it seriously does not get much better then this for January.







Thursday, Very warm! sunny and mild with light winds. Highs in the upper 40s. Thursday Night, mild clear skies lows in the low to mid 30s.

Friday,Very warm sunny and mild. Highs in the mid to upper 40s. Friday Night, mild lows in the upper 20s.

Saturday, Sunny and a bit cooler, highs in the mid 30s. Saturday Night, clear skies lows in the mid 20s.

Sunday, Mostly sunny light winds. Highs in the mid 30s. Sunday Night  clear skies lows in the low 20s.

Looking Ahead

Next week will continue to start of mild and pleasant.  Then by midweek the pattern changes significantly. A strong cold front pushes through bringing a shot of snowfall with it. Friday we are in the middle of a arctic airmass, lasting through that weekend. After that we have a couple of shots of snowfall from clipper systems and temperatures will remain much cooler then they have been which will be more seasonable as we pass through January 20th More on this later.

2011 Yearly extreames at Rochester.

2011 was a year of extremes across Southeastern Minnesota. Everything from extreme heat, fairly cold temps, to heavy rain and drought were experienced. This post will take a quick look at yearly extremes at Rochester. Becuase my station is too new, all the data was either gathered by me from an online search, or from NWS La Crosse from the airport.

Overview.

The Winter of 10 into 2011 was cool and snowier then normal, This cool and snowy pattern lead into spring. and a long lasting Winter. The cool pattern finally broke in May. Then it went to a warm and stormy mid summer season, with very heavy rains and waves of severe storms every other week in July. There was also 1 very hot day over 100.F in the month of June then a significant heat wave in July with 4 days in the mid to upper 90s. After about Mid July it dried out significantly, this paved the way for a very mild and dry fall, 60 degree temperatures were still being experienced in November, and 50s were seen as late as mid December. This lead to a brown Christmas and as the year ended on New Years, the ground was still bare.

Weather information recorded Rochester International Airport-7 miles south of the city.

Temperatures

The year over all ended out above average for temperatures  by a little under 1 degree. High Temps: The hottest temperatures reported was 101.F on June 7th, (warmer temps were reported in inner city), The warmest month on average was July with an average high of 84.F which is 5 degrees above normal. Low Temps: The coldest temperature reported was -22.F on January 21st. The coldest month on average was January with an average high of 19.F which is slightly less then 1 degree below normal.

Precipitation

The year ended drier them normal. Rainfall: The total rainfall for the year was 27.76" which is 5.26" below normal. The wettest month of average was June when 5.20" of rain fell which is 1.02" above normal, The driest month was November when 0.38" of rain fell, which is 1.53" below normal.Snowfall: Snowfall for the 2010-2011 season was 70.50" which is 18.0" above normal. The snowiest month was December when 41.30" of snow fell which is 28.0" above normal. The highest snow depth was 29.0" in December.

Wind

The highest wind gust observed was 58MPH from the Northwest in a severe thunderstorm on July 1st 2011, which done damage in the city. 

Thanks for viewing my writeup on the yearly extremes. I look forward to future years when I can compare my station to the airport!

For more yearly extremes and a very good detailed report on weather stories of 2011 visit the La Crosse NWS page located HERE

New Years sigificant wind with storm causing minor damage December 31st- January 1st then info in comparence to the same storm here in Western Wisconsin!

Image from KCCT Skycam showing the lack of snowcover continuing January 2nd

Over the New Years Holiday weekend a strong storm system hit bringing high winds which took down trees and ripped shingles off homes. It also brought much cooler weather nearly 20 degrees cooler then on Friday. The cause of the high wind was from a strong area of low pressure that was gathering strength as it moved into the area of the UP of Michigan. The strong gradient created strong Northwest winds over 45MPH at most stations in the area, in one case at Grand Meadow a significant wind gust of 55MPH was recorded. At the Rochester International airport the highest gust was 49MPH. The winds did cause a few issues taking down some branches, even a few trees. A report of a large tree coming down came in from Austin as a result of the wind. Precip in this storm started off as rain as temps were in the upper 30s, then ended as light snow. Unfortunately precip minimal in the storm system across the entire area coming out to less then one 10th of an inch at most locations. Rochester has 0.02" of rain when the temp was 37.F and just over quarter inch of snow once the temp dropped into the mid 30s, becuase of the lack of snowfall, blowing snow did not cause problems as was at first expected.


Strongest wind gusts observed

 Grand Meadow 55MPH
Canton 50MPH
Rochester Airport 49MPH
Eyota 49MPH
Dexter 49MPH
Preston 49MPH
 Kellogg 48MPH
Austin 48MPH  
Winona 44MPH
Cannon Falls 43MPH
Dodge Center 43MPH

Reports

Austin 8 inch diameter dead tree uprooted

Blowing and drifting snow January 1st 2012 Clayton,WI

Because I am still in my hometown of Clayton, Wisconsin for winter break, I decided to post the storms effects here at my home. The storm was quite a bit different here approximately 115 miles north of Rochester.

 Large snowflakes falling December 31st 2011

Instead of rain changing to snow the temp was around 32.F so it was sleet then it quickly changed to heavy snow. The flakes were very large at times, the largest I've seen in a long time! A 4.0" of snow accumulated. While the winds were calm at first during the time the snow was falling, overnight the winds picked up and were strong through January 1st. We had wind driven moderate snow showers and blowing snow to go along with this. While the winds were not as strong as around Southern Minnesota, my gauge had a gust of 35MPH.