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<document>
<title>Climate of Minnesota</title>
<authors>Wikipedia</authors>
<publisher>wikipedia.org</publisher>
<publishedplace>network</publishedplace>
<publishedyear>2010</publishedyear>
<edition></edition>
<category>Featured articles</category>
<section id="40563" fatherid="0" title="" lv="" priority="-1" level="1">
Winter in Minnesota is characterized by cold (below freezing) temperatures. Snow is the main form of winter precipitation, but freezing rain, ice, sleet, and occasionally rain are all possible during the winter months.  Common storm systems include Alberta clippers or Panhandle hooks; some of which evolve into blizzards.  Annual snowfall extremes have ranged from over  in the rugged Superior Highlands of the North Shore to as little as  in southern Minnesota. Temperatures as low as  have occurred during Minnesota winters.  Spring is a time of major transition in Minnesota. Snowstorms are common early in the spring, but by late-spring as temperatures begin to moderate the state can experience tornado outbreaks; a risk which diminishes but does not cease through the summer and into the fall.
In summer, heat and humidity predominate in the south, while warm and less humid conditions are generally present in the north. These humid conditions help kick off thunderstorm activity 30-40 days per year. Summer high temperatures in Minnesota average in the mid-80s F (30 °C) in the south to the upper-70s F (25 °C) in the north, with temperatures as hot as  possible. The growing season in Minnesota varies from 90 days per year in the Iron Range to 160 days in southeast Minnesota. Tornadoes are possible in Minnesota from March through November, but the peak tornado month is June, followed by July, May, and August.  The state averages 24 tornadoes per year. Minnesota is the driest state in the Midwest. Average annual precipitation across the state ranges from around  in the southeast to  in the northwest.  Autumn weather in Minnesota is largely the reverse of spring weather. The jet stream-which tends to weaken in summer-begins to re-strengthen, leading to a quicker changing of weather patterns and an increased variability of temperatures.  By late October and November these storm systems become strong enough to form major winter storms.  Fall and spring are the windiest times of the year in Minnesota.

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<section id="40564" fatherid="0" title="General climatology" lv="" priority="-2" level="1">
<section id="40565" fatherid="40564" title="" lv="" priority="-1" level="2">
Minnesota is far from major sources of moisture and is in the transition zone between the moist East and the arid Great Plains. Annual average precipitation across the state ranges from around  in the southeast to  in the northwest.   Snow is the main form of precipitation from November through March, while rain is the most common the rest of the year. Annual snowfall extremes have ranged from over  in the rugged Superior Highlands of the North Shore to as little as  in southern Minnesota.   It has snowed in Minnesota during every month with the exception of July, and the state averages 110 days per year with snow cover of an inch (2.5 cm) or greater.
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<section id="40566" fatherid="40564" title="Lake Superior" lv="" priority="2" level="2">
The prevailing northwest winter winds also limit the lake's influence.  Places near the shoreline can receive lake-effect snow, but because the state lies north and west of the lake, snowfall amounts are not nearly as large as they are in locations like Wisconsin and Michigan that lie downwind to the south. Even so, the single largest snowstorm in Minnesota history was a lake effect event.  On January 6, 1994 Finland, Minnesota, received  of lake effect snow in 24 hours, and  over a three day period. Both are Minnesota records. At  per year, the port city of Duluth has the highest average snowfall total of any city in Minnesota.   At , Grand Marais has the lowest average summer temperature of any city in the state. 
The climatological effects of Lake Superior tend to stifle convection, thus limiting the potential for tornadoes. Although Cook and Lake counties are two of the largest counties in the state, they have experienced only 7 tornadoes in the past 56 years.   One of those tornadoes was a large F3 that occurred in the 1969 Minnesota tornado outbreak.

</section>
<section id="40567" fatherid="40564" title="Statistics" lv="" priority="-3" level="2">
<section id="40568" fatherid="40567" title="Temperature" lv="" priority="-1" level="3">
</section>
<section id="40569" fatherid="40567" title="Precipitation" lv="" priority="-2" level="3">
</section>
</section>
</section>
<section id="40570" fatherid="0" title="Winter" lv="" priority="3" level="1">
<section id="40571" fatherid="40570" title="" lv="" priority="-1" level="2">
Even though winter does not officially start until late December, Minnesota usually begins experiencing winter-like conditions in November, sometimes as early as late October. As with many other Midwestern states, winter in Minnesota is characterized by cold (below freezing) temperatures and snowfall.  Weather systems can move in from the north, west, or south, with the majority of the weather being driven in from the north.  A vigorous jet stream brings high and low-pressure systems through in quick succession, which can cause large temperature variations over a short period of time.
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<section id="40572" fatherid="40570" title="Temperature" lv="" priority="2" level="2">
Minnesota occasionally gets breaks from the polar and arctic air when a zonal flow takes hold.  This means that the jet stream will move in a west to east motion-rather than north to south-and warmer air from the western United States is pushed into the region. In Minnesota this pattern commonly leads to a prolonged period of above freezing high temperatures that gives Minnesotans a break from the winter freeze.  Storms that move into Minnesota from a more westerly direction generally do not bring significant amounts of precipitation with them.
</section>
<section id="40573" fatherid="40570" title="Precipitation" lv="" priority="3" level="2">
<section id="40574" fatherid="40573" title="" lv="" priority="-1" level="3">
Winter precipitation comes in a few different forms. Snow is the main form of precipitation, but freezing rain, ice, sleet and sometimes even rain are all possible during the winter months.  Larger storm systems, often Panhandle hooks or other storms that occur with a meridional flow, can bring large amounts of snow and even blizzard conditions.
</section>
<section id="40575" fatherid="40573" title="Alberta Clippers" lv="" priority="-2" level="3">
</section>
<section id="40576" fatherid="40573" title="Panhandle Hooks" lv="" priority="3" level="3">
In terms of their characteristics, Panhandle hooks are nearly the opposite of Alberta clippers.  Instead of forming in the north and dropping south, these low pressure systems form in the southwestern United States and then move northeast.  They get their name from the location where they usually make their turn to the north; near the panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas.  Unlike clippers, these storms usually have a great deal of moisture to work with.  As the storms make their turn to the north, they pull in moist air from the nearby Gulf of Mexico and pull it northward toward Minnesota and other parts of the Midwest.  As these systems move to the northeast, there will usually be a heavy band of snow to the northwest of the low pressure center if there is enough cold air present.  A wintery mix of precipitation, rain, or sometimes even thunderstorms will then often occur to the south of it.  Snowfall over a foot (30 cm) is not uncommon with a panhandle hook, and because of the high moisture content in these systems the snow is usually wet and heavy.  Large panhandle hooks can become powerful enough to draw in arctic air after they pass by the state, leaving bitter cold temperatures and wind chills in their wake.  Panhandle Hooks are responsible for some of the most famous blizzards that have occurred in the Midwest, including the Great Storm of 1975.
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</section>
</section>
<section id="40577" fatherid="0" title="Spring" lv="" priority="4" level="1">
<section id="40578" fatherid="40577" title="" lv="" priority="-1" level="2">
</section>
<section id="40579" fatherid="40577" title="Wind" lv="" priority="2" level="2">
With the exception of areas along the shores of Lake Superior, winds in Minnesota generally prevail from the north and northwest in the winter, and south and southeast in the summer. On average, fall and spring are the windiest times of the year in Minnesota.  October is the windiest month in northwest Minnesota, while April is the windiest over the rest of the state.  Winds generally average between 9-11 mph (14-18 km/h) across the state, with one major exception.  The heaviest winds in the state are found on the Buffalo Ridge, or Coteau des Prairies, a flatiron-shaped area extending from Watertown, South Dakota, diagonally across southwestern Minnesota and into Iowa. Created by two lobes of a glacier parting around a pre-existing plateau during the (Pleistocene) Ice Age, the Buffalo Ridge is ideal for wind power generation, with average wind speeds of 16.1 mph (26.8 km/h).
</section>
<section id="40580" fatherid="40577" title="Floods" lv="" priority="-3" level="2">
Minnesota is also prone to both river flooding and localized flash flooding by extended periods of heavy late-spring and summer rainfall.  The Great Flood of 1993 on the Mississippi River was caused by copious amounts of rain that fell after the spring snow melt.
The 2007 Midwest flooding, which affected the hilly Driftless area of southeast Minnesota was the result of a training pattern of storms mixing warm moist air from Tropical Storm Erin with cooler Canadian air, resulting in record 24-hour rainfall totals of up to .

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</section>
<section id="40581" fatherid="0" title="Summer" lv="" priority="5" level="1">
<section id="40582" fatherid="40581" title="" lv="" priority="-1" level="2">
</section>
<section id="40583" fatherid="40581" title="Temperature" lv="" priority="2" level="2">
July is the hottest month in Minnesota state-wide and is usually the month when the peak heat waves occur.  In July 1936, Minnesota and the rest of the Midwest suffered through its most severe heat wave on record.  Most of the state was engulfed in 100 °F (38 °C) temperatures for several days in a row, and Minnesota's all time record high temperature of  was tied during this stretch.  This heat wave was also responsible for setting the Twin Cities' all time record high of , as well as the all time record high of several other cities across the state. 
The region of Minnesota that experiences the hottest summer temperatures is the west.  Coteau des Prairies can heat cities to the north of it similar to how places in the Rocky Mountains are warmed by Chinook winds.  As southwest winds blow down the slope of Coteau des Prairies, the air compresses and warms.  This makes the already hot air even hotter and often causes places like Beardsley and Moorhead to record the warmest temperature in the state, despite their higher latitudes.

</section>
<section id="40584" fatherid="40581" title="Precipitation" lv="" priority="3" level="2">
<section id="40585" fatherid="40584" title="" lv="" priority="-1" level="3">
Summertime thunderstorms are fueled by dew points that often reach into the 70s °F (21 °C) and sometimes even .  In addition to severe conditions, thunderstorms produce heavy rain and cloud to ground lightning.  Heavy rain brings flash floods to Minnesota an average of three days per year.  With the exception of hail, summer precipitation in Minnesota is almost always in the form of rain.  The lone exception is in far northern Minnesota, where in mid-September, small amounts of snow become a possibility.
</section>
<section id="40586" fatherid="40584" title="Droughts" lv="" priority="2" level="3">
Droughts are an annual summer concern in Minnesota, especially for farmers.  The growing season (which varies from 90 days per year in the Iron Range to 160 days in southeast Minnesota) is when Minnesota averages its highest percentage of annual precipitation, so a lack of rainfall during this time period can be devastating to crops.  The last major drought in Minnesota was in 1988.  During that year, the period of April-July was the 2nd driest in the previous century, and the period of May-August was the hottest on record.  The combination of dry skies and heat caused a severe drought which cost the state approximately 1.2 billion dollars in crop losses. 
Other memorable drought years were 1976 and the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s.  During the dust bowl, inappropriate farming techniques enhanced by years of drought conditions led to dust storms in Minnesota and the other parts of the Midwest.  Drought conditions also have helped spawn forest fires.  In 1894 the Great Hinckley Fire destroyed Hinckley killing an estimated 459 people, and in 1918 a forest fire killed 453 people in the vicinity of Cloquet.  More recently, in 2006, the Cavity Lake Fire burned 31,830 acres (129 km²) in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

</section>
<section id="40587" fatherid="40584" title="Tornadoes" lv="" priority="-3" level="3">
</section>
</section>
</section>
<section id="40588" fatherid="0" title="Fall" lv="" priority="-6" level="1">
</section>
<section id="40589" fatherid="0" title="Image and popular culture" lv="" priority="7" level="1">
"Summer at the lake" is a Minnesota tradition. Water skiing was invented in Minnesota by Ralph Samuelson, and the Minneapolis Aquatennial features a milk carton boat race.  Contestants build boats from milk cartons and float them on Minneapolis area lakes, with recognition based more on colorful and imaginative designs than on actual racing performance.
To many outsiders, Minnesota's winters appear to be cold and inhospitable.  A World War II newscaster, in describing the brutally cold conditions of the Russian front, stated that at least Minnesotans could understand it.  A New York journalist visited St. Paul and declared that the city was "another Siberia, unfit for human habitation."  In response, the city decided to build a huge ice palace in 1886, similar to one that Montreal had built in 1885.  They hired the architects of the Canadian ice palace to design one for St. Paul and built a palace 106 ft (32.3 m) high with ice blocks cut from a nearby lake.  This began the tradition of the Saint Paul Winter Carnival, a ten day festival which celebrates Minnesota's winter season.
Minnesota's winters are the setting of several Hollywood films, including the ice fishing comedies of Grumpy Old Men and Grumpier Old Men, set and filmed in the state.  The 1996 film noir Fargo also features the backdrop of a Minnesota winter, but like most of the characters in the movie, the climate is portrayed as bleak and inhospitable.
Summer resorts on Minnesota's "10,000 lakes" may prefer to emphasize warm-season activities, but from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show's Frostbite Falls, Minnesota to Fargo, long and cold winters seem to be the popular image of the climate of Minnesota.

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<section id="40590" fatherid="0" title="See also" lv="" priority="-8" level="1">
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<section id="40591" fatherid="0" title="References" lv="" priority="-9" level="1">
</section>
<section id="40592" fatherid="0" title="External links" lv="" priority="-10" level="1">
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