Winter storm warnings include northeast Twin Cities

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It’s not your imagination, Minnesota. This has been the cloudiest January in your lifetime.

The University of Minnesota St. Paul Campus Observatory has recorded the lowest amount of solar radiation for a January since solar radiation records began in 1963. 

The Twin Cities National Weather Service office calculates this month has been cloudy 72.4 percent of the time through Jan. 27. The 30-year average percentage of possible sunshine in January is 53 percent.

I saw some peeks of sun at the Weather Lab in Victoria, Minn., Sunday afternoon. But it’s been cloudy at the U of M St. Paul Campus Observatory site for seven straight days. 

The last time that happened was in October and November 2018. Believe it or not, there have been even longer cloudy stretches in Minnesota. 

Minnesota DNR Climate Working Group has more

The next real probability for sunshine arrives Saturday afternoon and Sunday. That means our current cloudy streak will likely hit 11 days. Highs near 40 degrees with sunshine Sunday afternoon will be a dramatic change for many Minnesotans. 

It should be noted that milder Pacific air masses in winter often bring more moisture and clouds. Colder arctic air masses are much drier and usually sunnier. So, the trade-off in winter for higher temperatures? 

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Paul Huttner

Author

Solar sensors in the Twin Cities measured the least solar radiation in January since records began in 1963.

Paul Huttner | MPR News 2017

Historical January solar radiation in St. Paul

'Stratus quo': Cloudiest January on record in the Twin Cities

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