The Climate and Storms that occur in northern Minnesota



The state of Minnesota is located right at the 45th line of latitude; halfway between the North Pole and the Equator. It is positioned right in the center of our continent.

With the exception of the areas surrounding right around Lake Superior, the state experiences the continentality effect; which occurs in regions with an "interior remoteness" from an ocean. With the continentality effect influencing our weather we get extreme fluctuations, our summers are very hot and winters are very cold with an overall average amount of precipitation.

http://www.brainerd.com/falltours/images/fall-foliage-minnesota.jpg.jpg
This is a great illustration of how vibant the fall colors are and also my favorite season.

 



Fall in northern Minnesota...

With the jet stream strengthening itself from the weakened summer one; the nights get cold and frosty which begin the process of the leaves changing color. October temperatures tend to be around the mid-40's and usually some amount of snow will fall in October.

http://www.captureminnesota.com/photos/442063
Fall in Northern Minnesota

Precipitation in Minnesota during the fall...

Storms significantly die down and precipitaion occurs in the form of rain and sometimes snow.

http://www.climate.umn.edu/img/normals/81-10_precip/81-10_precip_norm_06-08.htm
A map of the state showing a normal distribution of precipitation throughout the state during the fall.

Winter in northern Minnesota...

Minnesota is known best for its frigid winters, the jet stream is now much more powerful.  With the different air masses colliding over the state which causes extreme and fast changing weather to occur. Blizzards also occur which bring massive amounts of snow with them. The average temperature is around 20 degrees.

http://images.wildernessinquiry.org/web/58355_web.jpg
Winter in the boundary waters


Precipitation in Minnesota during the winter...

Usually falls in the form of snow but can also can also occur in freezing rain or sleet.



http://www.climate.umn.edu/img/normals/81-10_precip/81-10_precip_norm_12-02.htm
A map of the state showing a normal distibution of precipitation throughout the state during the winter.

Spring in northern Minnesota...

The biggest threat is flooding from the snow and ice melting, which can cause erosion and weathering to the landscape. 

http://packsackcanoetrips.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/DSC00710-21.jpg-no-11.jpg
This is a great example of Spring in the boundary waters, it shows how the snow melt can really affect the water flow of the surrounding rivers.

Precipitation in Minnesota during the spring...

Occurs in the form of rain, snow, sleet or hail.

http://www.climate.umn.edu/img/normals/81-10_precip/81-10_precip_norm_03-05.htm
A map of the state showing a normal distibution of precipitation throughout the state during the spring.

Summer in northern Minnesota...

With the weakening of the jet stream the summers are much more stable than the winters when it comes to the temperature. July is typically the hottest month with averages in the upper 70's but there have been years when heat waves move through the state and bring the temperatures to 100 degrees and higher.

http://epod.usra.edu/.a/6a0105371bb32c970b01310fd248dc970c-750wi
Summer in the boundary waters

Precipitation in Minnesota during the summer...

Falls in the form of rain and hail.

http://www.climate.umn.edu/img/normals/81-10_precip/81-10_precip_norm_06-08.htm
A map of the state showing a normal distribution of precipitation throughout the state during the summer.

During the summer, there is a lot more moisture in the air; due to the fact that warm air is able to hold more moisture than cold air. Thunderstorms are very common since we are at an intersection of a lot of different air masses coming together and the higher amounts of moisture in the air. During the updraft cumulus stage of a thunderstorm there will be huge cumulonimbus clouds that form in the sky.

http://www.travisnovitsky.com/Minnesota-Northwoods/Rivers/i-K9xWPKN/0/M/RIVERS%207335-M.jpg

A great example of cumilonimbus clouds preceeding the mature stage of a thunderstorm over Lake Ely, MN.

During the mature stage of a thunderstorms is where heavy rain, hail, thunder, lightening, strong winds and tornadoes will occur.

http://vortex.accuweather.com/adc2004/pub/includes/columns/newsstory/2012/300x449_07221012_78434229.jpg

This is a great example of forked lightening during the mature stage of a thunderstorm in northern Minnesota.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/news_cut/content_images/hail_jorgenson.jpg

In northern Minnesota this is golf ball sized hail fell during the mature stage of a thunderstom.

http://www.nationalgeographicstock.com/comp/04/021/1089698.jpg

This is a funnel cloud approaching Gull Lake, MN.

 

 

References:

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/climate/faqs.html

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/young_naturalists/weather/index.html

http://climate.umn.edu/doc/online_resources.htm

http://climate.umn.edu/pdf/climate_of_minnesota/comV.pdf.

htp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Minnesota#Autumn

http://clasfaculty.ucdenver.edu/callen/1202/Climate/Weather/Weather.html

http://clasfaculty.ucdenver.edu/callen/1202/Climate/Cyclones/FrontsCyclones.html