Mixed bag today; Cool front tonight; Was March warmer than April?

Posted at 8:22 AM on April 25, 2012 by Paul Huttner

.16" rainfall overnight at St. Paul's Holman Field

.11" in Eden Prairie and in much of the metro

.50" near Cold Spring, Mondovi and Durand, WI

Changeable Wednesday - mixed bag of rain, clouds & sun

April temps nearly as cool as March in 2012!

Mixed weather bag today:

Remember that old saying... "If you don't like the weather in Minnesota just wait 15 minutes?" That's it for today.

Welcome to life between a departing low pressure system and a cold front that arrives tonight.

Source: Twin Cities NWS

It will be one of those classic changeable Minnesota days. Rain, some sun, another shower, and mild near 70, scattered thunder...you get the picture.

Be ready for almost anything today when it comes to weather.

-Twin Cities radar loop

We should see enough "pre frontal" clearing and sun to make the 70s this afternoon in southern Minnesota.

Cold Front tonight:

It's a step back to reality tonight and into the weekend in Minnesota.

A cool front pushes through, and that means highs falling back to the 50s for the next few days.

Rumors of patchy weekend frost may be true, especially just north of the metro. Hold off on the garden until mid-May to be sure.

Source: Iowa State University
April barely warmer than March!

It's not your imagination.

Looking at April temps so far, we're running barely above March levels in the metro.

49.6 degrees monthly average temp at at MSP Airport through 24 days in April.

48.3 degrees monthly average temp in March 2012

+1.3 degrees - barely warmer in April so far than in March 2012!

4 number of 70 degree days in April so far

8 number of 70 degree days in March!

Looking back at the data, I can't find any year where March was warmer than April in the metro going back to 1878. In 1945 April was just 4.1 degrees warmer vs. March 1945. So this may be the closest we've ever come to seeing an April that was as cool as March in Minnesota.

With March/April averages of 30.5 and 46.3 degrees... April runs a good 15+ degrees warmer than March in an "average" year.

Remarkable.

PH

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