Climate of Minnesota

Minnesota has a humid continental climate, with hot summers and cold winters. The moderating effect of Lake Superior keeps the surrounding area relatively cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. The state averages 27 tornadoes per year, with a peak of 27 in June. The highest temperature in the state is 114°F (45.6°C) in the north.

About Climate of Minnesota in brief

Summary Climate of MinnesotaMinnesota has a humid continental climate, with hot summers and cold winters. The state’s location in the Upper Midwest allows it to experience some of the widest variety of weather in the United States. The moderating effect of Lake Superior keeps the surrounding area relatively cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. 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. Minnesota is far from major sources of moisture and is in the transition zone between the moist East and the semi-arid Great Plains. It is far enough north to experience −60 °F temperatures and blizzards during the winter months, but far enough south to have 114 °F or 45. 6 °C temperatures and tornado outbreaks in theSummer. For example, Marais, Virginia has an average high temperature of 70°, while Minnesota’s Arrowhead Region near the shore of the lake averages 110 days per year with snow cover of an inch or greater. The lake acts as a heat sink, keeping the state’s North Shore area relatively warmer in summer and cooler in winter. While this effect does not reach very far inland, it is marked near the lake, while the climate of those parts of the state near the lakeshore is warmer in winter and colder in summer. The average annual precipitation across the state ranges from around 35 inches in the southeast to 20 inches in the northwest.

Annual snowfall extremes have ranged from over 170 inches or 4. 32 metres in the rugged Superior Highlands of the North Shore to as little as 5 inches or 0. 13 metres in southern Minnesota. Temperatures as low as 0.1°C have occurred during Minnesota winters. It has been recorded that the state averages 110 days of July, with the exception of July and July, when it averages 110 days of June, and 110 July, and July and August, with an average of 110  days of August. The 174 °f or 96. 7°C variation between Minnesota’s highest and lowest temperature is the eleventh largest variation of any U.S. state, and the 3rd largest of any state east of the Rocky Mountains behind North Dakota and South Dakota. The state is nearly 500 miles from any large body of water, and temperatures and precipitation vary widely. Because of its location in North America, Minnesota experiences temperature extremes characteristic of a continentalclimate, with cold winters and mild to hot summers in the south and frigid winters and generally cool summers inThe state averages 27 tornadoes per year, with a peak of 27 in June. The highest temperature in the state is 114°F (45.6°C) in the north, with temperatures as hot as 114 F (46.6 C) possible in the northern part of Minnesota. The most common form of precipitation is snowfall, which is the most common from November through March.