As we move through the month of June the amount of sunshine we record tends to increase. We are still in early June when cloudy overcasts days are still relatively common, but as we progress through the month those types of days tend to become more frequent. Our sunniest period of the year tends to… Read more Cloudy Periods
Spring is Done
Spring by definition for climate statistics is from March 1 through May 31. This past spring was very wet for some areas, like the northern Red River Valley to pretty average across central North Dakota. The rain from last weekend pushed Fargo into the Top 10 wettest on record. If you look back at history,… Read more Spring is Done
May Precipitation
May. Was it wet or dry? Most of you would yell out wet. The interesting thing is, probably 50 to 60 percent of the region had average or below average rainfall until…. You guessed it, Memorial Day. Memorial Day recorded some significant rain for many parts of eastern North Dakota into Northwestern Minnesota. So wet… Read more May Precipitation
May 2022
May finished very close to average for temperatures. That may surprise you, but I often remind people that we live in a cold climate and it takes some serious cold to get too far below the normal. Plus, of course, the new 30-year averages that came out last year include quite a few cold springs… Read more May 2022
More Rain
Although there was some precipitation yesterday, this week looks like the best week to finally get some planting done, or for some of you, even finishing planting. The one main precipitation maker this week should slide off across southeastern South Dakota, yes, South Dakota into southern Minnesota. This will leave North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota… Read more More Rain
No Forty
If you live in Fargo, we haven’t even hit 40 degrees yet this year officially at the airport. If you look back through the records, there has only been a handful of years that haven’t hit 40 degrees to this point in a year. Our average first 50 degree reading will be occurring soon and… Read more No Forty
Cloudier
During the core of winter, January and February, you often get a lot of sunny days associated with polar or Arctic high-pressure systems overhead or nearby. Once you get into March and April, you tend to have more cloudy days again as the storm track shifts farther north, or this region will be nearby to… Read more Cloudier
Freeze Depth
With all the wind events this winter, the snow has been moved and shifted several times. Many of you may be aware that the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network has soil temperatures probes situated around the region. In turn, you can get an idea of the freeze depth. Because of this shifting of snow, there… Read more Freeze Depth
Cold and Frosty Soils
The first half of December was quite mild, but ever since there has been more colder than average days than above average days. More of the cold is with us again with the next couple of mornings looking brutally cold. Last week in one of my weather presentations the discussion about frost depth came up. … Read more Cold and Frosty Soils
Windathon Continues
This region gets very used to strong wind from the north or northwest this time of year. Many farms are situated with trees to the north and west of the house and buildings to protect themselves from that standard wind direction. Today is an example that you can get a strong south wind in the… Read more Windathon Continues