Consistent heat and warm nights drove our hottest summer on record
Twin Cities, Duluth and Brainerd record hottest summer on record
It’s official.
The meteorological summer of 2021 was the hottest on record for the Twin Cities, Brainerd, Duluth and likely International Falls.
The Twin Cities average temperature for meteorological summer (June through August) 2021 was 75.7 degrees. That beat out 1988 as the hottest summer on record in the Twin Cities.
Consistent heat, warm nights
This summer’s record heat was characterized by consistently warm to hot days — and very warm nights.
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The summers of 1988 and 1933 had some notable cool spells. This year produced more consistent heat, even though we recorded fewer 90-degree days than 1988. There were 26 days of 90-degree heat in the Twin Cities this summer, compared with a record 44 days in 1988.
The average daily high this summer in the Twin Cities was 85.6 degrees. That’s good enough for fifth place.
But the average daily minimum temperature in the Twin Cities hovered at 65.7 degrees. So nights this summer were the warmest on record.
Overall temperatures across Minnesota ran between 2 and 4 degrees warmer than average.
The most notable feature this summer is the lack of rainfall. Most of Minnesota ran between 25 and 75 percent of average rainfall this summer. Only southeast Minnesota recorded average rainfall levels.
