4.7 SR 06-01-2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Sherburne County Multi -Hazard Mitigation Plan, 2020 Minneapolis/St. Paul set three new record low temperatures as well as recording the end coldest day on record on February 2,1996. A mean temperature of -25°F was measured that day with a high of -170F and a low of -320F in the Twin Cities. This was within two degrees of tying the all-time record low temperature set in the Twin Cities and the coldest temperature recorded this century. Many central and southern Minnesota locations set new record low temperatures the morning of the end. The Governor closed all schools that day. In February of 203.4, nearly all of Minnesota was between 10-150F colder than normal (i98i-2010 period) (High Plains Regional Climate Center, 203-4). The winter of 203.3-2014 was the sixth coldest on record in Minnesota (The Weather Channel, 2014), with schools in the Twin Cities canceling five times in January due to dangerous wind chills. It was the coldest winter in the Twin Cities in 35 years, with an average temperature for December -February of 9.70F (MN DNR, 2014). Many areas in the state also experienced higherthan average precipitation through the winter and spring months. Extreme Cold History in Sherburne County January is the coldest month on average in Sherburne County, with an average monthly minimum temperature of o°F (based on data from 3.895-203.8). The coldest month on record for the county was January 3.93.2, with a month -long average minimum temperature of -i6°F (MN DNR, n.d.). The National Centers for Environmental information (NCEI) Storm Events Database has recorded a total of 3.7 cold -weather events since 3.996: nine extreme cold/wind chill events and eight cold/wind chill events. These 17 events occurred in eight of the 23.6 years on record. No deaths or injuries were reported. The most recent record was from January of 203.9, when various weather sources in Sherburne County measured wind chill values below -350F. The St. Cloud Airport recorded a wind chill Of -590F. In December of 2017 wind chill values of -4o0F were recorded over a two-day period. Wind chill values dropped below -350F in December of 2oi6. At sunrise a few locations in the county in open areas reached -450F. Earlier that year, in January, wind chill values of -350F were recorded over the span of a few hours. To determine the probability of future cold and extreme cold events in Sherburne County, all past - observed events and the period in which they occurred were examined. Based on the records in the NCEI Storm Events Database, the relative frequency of cold and extreme cold events in the County is .7 events per year. This relative frequency can be used to inferthe probability of these events occurring in the future. Extreme Cold and Climate Change Although climate research indicatesthat Minnesota's average winter lows are rising rapidly, and our coldest days of winter are now warmerthan we have ever recorded (NCEI, 2o3.8), cold temperatures have always been a part of Minnesota's climate and extreme cold events will continue. An increase in extreme precipitation or storm events such as ice storms as the climate changes could lead to a higher Page169