MINNEAPOLIS— It’s been a weather year of extremes in Minnesota, with a warm winter, floods and drought to end the summer. There have been nice days in between, of course, but Minnesota has seen plenty of record-breaking weather this year.
Let’s take a look back at the top weather stories of 2024, in chronological order.
Warmest meteorological winter
Minnesota started the year by breaking a record. It was the warmest meteorological winter – which is composed of the months of December, January and February – had seen the state in more than a century.
Eighty-five percent of days in that three-month period saw above-average temperatures, for a combined average of 29.9 degrees. That is more than 10 degrees above average and a full degree warmer than the previous record, which dates from 1877 and 1878.
WCCO
The warm temperatures also contributed to a lack of snow; the Twin Cities area saw just 14.3 inches during the three months. Experts say El Niño has contributed to the heat and climate change.
However, during that time, Minnesota also experienced one extreme temperature swings, as an arctic air mass took over much of the United States. High temperatures in mid-January reached the single digits below zero in the metropolitan area.
Spring snowstorm
The warm, dry winter quickly turned around in late March, when a snowstorm dropped more than 12 inches of snow in the Twin Cities, and more than two feet near Duluth.
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The snowstorm in two phases affected between March 23 and March 27. Most of the metro saw between 6 and 10 inches. The snow was heavy and wet, and the snow was plowing struggled to clear the roads.
Northern Lights Shows
Spectacular displays of northern lights danced across the Minnesota skies more often than usual this year.
A huge geomagnetic storm brought the Northern Lights over the United States, Europe and China in May due to what was the strongest solar storm the planet has seen in two decades. That meant the lights were visible as far south as the Twin Cities.
Mattison Meillier
On May 10, the geomagnetic storm reached what is known as G-5 – the highest on the scale – for the first time since 2003. raced to the best spots to catch the Northern Lights and returned beautiful photos. The lights have appeared in Minnesota a few times since then, most recently in October.
Flooding in southern Minnesota
Minnesota quickly went from extreme drought to extreme flooding this year as the state experienced above-average rainfall in April, May and June.
By the end of June, nearly half of Minnesota was underwater “unprecedented” floodingwhen more than two dozen river levels in the Upper Midwest reached major flood stage. Water levels in the Minnesota, Mississippi and Missouri rivers reached their highest levels in at least a decade.
Flooding on the Blue Earth River near Mankato caused a Rapidan Dam abutment to partially fail, forcing the family that owns the Rapidan Dam Store to evacuate their home. Later, the iconic house collapsed into the river.
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Gov. Tim Walz activated the Minnesota National Guard to assist with the flooding Watervillewhere parts of the city were flooded due to 14 to 18 inches of cumulative rainfall. Floodwaters were knee-deep to hip-deep and residents rode canoes through flooded streets.
Heavy storms during State Fair
Storms raged through the Twin Cities one evening in late August, leaving tens of thousands of people without power. Excessive heat exceeding 90 degrees preceded the storm, and within minutes temperatures dropped nearly 20 degrees in Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
Weather sirens sounded at the Minnesota State Fair in the evening, canceling the grandstand performance and the Mighty Midway and Kidway attractions closed early for the night.
The next morning, officials announced the fair was closed due to crew members estimated damage and the rubble cleared away. It was the first time the opening of the fair had ever been postponed.
Driest September ever recorded
Even after the extreme flooding in June, the lack of rain in September turned the gardens brown and the plants struggled to survive.
MSP Airport saw only 0.06 inches of rain during the month. Climatologists say it is the driest September ever recordedpartly thanks to the jet stream. Storms missed Minnesota to the north and south, meaning there wasn’t much moisture in the air.
Strange ‘folds’ of ice on the Mississippi River
In December, passersby were captivated by multiple layers and swirls atop the Mississippi River between Third and Hennepin Avenues in downtown Minneapolis. You could say it’s the “icing on the cake” of the first snowstorm of the winter seasonthat brings joy and curiosity to Minneapolis.
Those layers and swirls are called technical “fragile ice.” Local residents say they have never seen such a spectacle.
Martha Amundsen
