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It’s been another record-setting weather year in Minnesota.

January brought the coldest air mass in 26 years. February delivered a record snow blitz and bomb cyclone. July brought extreme heat. And the rain and snow just kept on coming, making 2019 the wettest year on record for several Minnesota locations including the Twin Cities.

Here’s a rundown of Minnesota’s major weather highlights in 2019.

First the snow blitz. Then relentless rainfall. The wet weather hits just kept on coming in 2019.

2019 was the wettest year on record in the Twin Cities, St. Cloud, and Rochester. Many other locations also recorded annual precipitation at or near record levels.

A record 43.17 inches of precipitation (rain and snow) fell at MSP Airport this year. That’s more than the annual average precipitation for St. Louis, Missouri. 

The Twin Cities broke the previous annual precipitation record of 40.32 inches set just in 2016 by nearly 3 inches. Twin Cities precipitation 2019 was an astounding 12.56 inches above average. That extra foot of liquid is roughly an extra 4 months’ worth of rain and snow this year.

Rochester recorded an astounding 55.16 inches of precipitation this year. That’s just about 5 inches shy of the all-time state record of 60.21 inches, set at Harmony in 2018. And 55 inches is about the annual average precipitation for Memphis, Tennessee. 

Minnesota’s January Arctic outbreak was the coldest in 26 years for many Minnesota locations. Cotton, Minnesota plunged to minus 56 on January 28. MSP Airport bottomed out at 28 below zero. 

 from the Minnesota DNR Climate Working Group.

Each December Minnesota DNR Climate Working Group reaches out to local weather professionals to vote on the top weather events of the year. 

Picking the top event can be subjective, but here is this year’s 

, with some honorable mentions including another April blizzard in Minnesota. 

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Paul Huttner

Author

Much of Minnesota saw the coldest air mass in 26 years and the wettest year on record in 2019.

Harry Huie clears snow from the sidewalk in front of his house. 

Christine T. Nguyen | MPR News

Water in cornfield near Stewart, Minnesota

Paul Huttner/MPR News

Icicles form on the face of Kyle Johnson after he finished a run.

Wettest year, extreme cold: Minnesota's top 5 weather events in 2019

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