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The Minnesota State Climatology Office has compiled a list of the 

Top Five Weather Events for 2023 in Minnesota

I was among the Minnesota meteorologists who voted this year.

The final vote tally has been completed and here are the results as posted by the Climatology Office, along with their narrative for each event and links to more info:

One weather event received honorable mention, but it did not crack the top five:

MPR meteorologist Sven Sundgaard compiled a list of 

Minnesota’s top ten weather and climate stories of 2023

. Sven’s list is in chronological order, not in order of significance.

The average Twin Cities temperature was 34.6 degrees over the first 30 days of December 2023. That’s warmer than the warmest December in Twin Cities weather records, which occurred in 1877 and had an average temp of 33.8 degrees.

The average monthly temperature is the average of all the daily low temps and high temps. The Dec. 31 Twin Cities high and low temps will only decrease the Dec. 2023 average temperature slightly. 

December 2023 will be the warmest December in Twin Cities weather records. 

September 2023 eclipsed September 1897 as the warmest September in Twin Cities weather records.

We aren’t expecting additional snowfall Sunday evening. There could be some leftover slick spots on sidewalks and untreated streets, due to remnants of the snow and freezing drizzle of Saturday night and early Sunday.

You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the MPR News 

Our weather looks drama-free on New Year’s Day 2024. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale Forecast System model shows the lack of  precipitation in Minnesota and western Wisconsin from 4 a.m. Monday to 11 p.m. Monday:

We may start out with plenty of clouds, with some sunshine developing by Monday afternoon.

The average Twin Cties high temperature is 25 degrees on Jan. 1. Monday highs will reach the lower 30s in the metro area and across much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

Some upper 20s are possible in northwestern Minnesota.

Tuesday highs will be in the 20s in roughly the northern third of Minnesota, with 30s elsewhere:

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the mid 30s on Tuesday, then around 30 degrees Wednesday and Thursday followed by lower 30s on Friday.

The mild start to January may be offset by cooler temps the second week of January. The NWS Climate Prediction Center shows that Minnesota has equal chances for above-normal and below-normal temps for the month as a whole:

The official Twin Cities snowfall total at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was 2.7 inches in October 2023. The November 2023 total was 0.5 of an inch. It appears that the final tally for December 2023 will be 2.1 inches. This was a rare year with more snow in October than in November or December!

You can hear my live weather updates on MPR News at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:39 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.  

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Ron Trenda

Author

We have the weather forecast for the beginning of 2024 and we also look back at the most noteworthy Minnesota weather events of 2023.

Top Five Minnesota weather events of 2023; A quiet New Year's Day

Go Deeper.

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