Record Heat: May 19, 2009

On May 19, the mercury reached 97 degrees at the Twin Cities International Airport. This was the warmest temperature recorded in the Twin Cities for so early in the season. The previous first date of a temperature of 97 degrees or above was May 22, 1925. In fact, there are only three years in which the temperature has been 97 or above in May. Those years are: 1925, 1934 and 2006. The warmest temperature ever recorded at the Twin Cities official observing site in May is 106 degrees on May 31, 1934. Looking at 1890 to 2008 only about half the years reach 97 degrees as the warmest temperature for the year.

Another interesting aspect about the temperatures on May 19 was the extreme range found in the state at the same time. At 4pm it was 34 degrees in Grand Marais with a chilly breeze off Lake Superior and 100 degrees at Granite Falls, a difference of 66 degrees. A temperature range of 40 degrees at the same time in Minnesota happens on occasion, but a range of 60 degrees or more would be quite rare, and a range of 66 degrees may be unique. There was even some freezing rain reported along the north shore. One person who lives near Devil Track Lake in Cook County had ice coating his mailbox on the evening of the 19th.

Below is the hourly round-up for Minnesota from 4pm May 19, 2009 from the National Weather Service.

WEATHER ROUNDUP FOR MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
400 PM CDT TUE MAY 19 2009


NOTE: "FAIR" INDICATES FEW OR NO CLOUDS BELOW 12,000 FEET WITH NO
SIGNIFICANT WEATHER AND/OR OBSTRUCTIONS TO VISIBILITY. N/A MEANS
CURRENT SKY AND/OR WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE NOT AVAILABLE.

   Twin Cities Metro   
  
CITY           SKY/WX    TMP DP  RH WIND       PRES   REMARKS
TWIN CITIES    MOSUNNY   90  54  29 SE12      29.88F                  
ST PAUL        SUNNY     86  57  37 SE13G21   29.89F                  
CRYSTAL        SUNNY     87  58  37 SE9       29.88F                  
BLAINE         MOSUNNY   84  57  39 E16       29.91F                  
EDEN PRAIRIE   SUNNY     89  56  32 SE12      29.86F                  
LAKEVILLE      SUNNY     90  57  33 S10G17    29.87F                  
SOUTH ST PAUL  SUNNY     87  56  34 E10G16    29.89F                  
LAKE ELMO      FAIR      84  57  39 E13       29.92F                  

   Northwest Minnesota   
  
CITY           SKY/WX    TMP DP  RH WIND       PRES   REMARKS
BEMIDJI        CLOUDY    56  39  53 E10       29.97S                  
HALLOCK        MOSUNNY   59  28  31 E20G26    29.95F                  
ROSEAU         MOSUNNY   57  34  41 E17G24    29.99F                  
WARROAD        MOSUNNY   52  32  46 E13G22    30.04F                  
THIEF RVR FALL MOSUNNY   59  36  41 E21G26    29.96F                  
CROOKSTON      MOSUNNY   64  39  39 E16G22    29.90F                  
FOSSTON        PTSUNNY   64  43  45 E13G20    29.89F                  
DETROIT LAKES  PTSUNNY   61  37  41 E12G23    29.89F                  
MOORHEAD       MOSUNNY   68  46  45 SE18G24   29.84F                  
PARK RAPIDS    CLOUDY    58  37  45 SE17      29.93F                  

   North Central Minnesota   
  
CITY           SKY/WX    TMP DP  RH WIND       PRES   REMARKS
BAUDETTE       PTSUNNY   53  29  39 E16       30.05F                  
FLAG ISLAND    DRIZZLE   45  30  57 E6        30.07R                  
INTL FALLS       N/A     49  30  48 SE14G23   30.09R                  
WASKISH        PTSUNNY   54  36  50 E18       30.00F                  
BIG FORK       PTSUNNY   59  32  36 SE14G20   30.07R                  
LONGVILLE      CLOUDY    54  34  47 SE7G17    29.98F                  
GRAND RAPIDS   PTSUNNY   52  28  40 SE10G20   30.07R                  
CRANE LAKE     CLOUDY    48  37  66 CALM      30.13R                  
ORR            CLOUDY    52  34  50 SE8       30.08R                  
COOK           PTSUNNY   52  25  35 E9        30.11R                  

   Northeast Minnesota   
  
CITY           SKY/WX    TMP DP  RH WIND       PRES   REMARKS
DULUTH         CLOUDY    42  21  43 E24G30    30.10F                  
ELY            LGT RAIN  43  25  49 E9        30.14R                  
HIBBING        PTSUNNY   52  22  30 SE20G30   30.04F                  
EVELETH        PTSUNNY   54  23  30 SE22G28   30.06F                  
DULUTH HARBOR  PTSUNNY   37  32  81 NE22G35   30.17F                  
TWO HARBORS    PTSUNNY   41  21  45 E21       30.16F                  
SILVER BAY     PTSUNNY   41  25  52 E13G20    30.17F                  
GRAND MARAIS     N/A     37  31  78 E15G21    30.21F                  
G MARAIS ARPRT CLOUDY    34  27  75 E9        30.15F WCI  26          

   West Central Minnesota   
  
CITY           SKY/WX    TMP DP  RH WIND       PRES   REMARKS
FERGUS FALLS   MOSUNNY   72  52  49 SE20G26   29.81F                  
WHEATON        PTSUNNY   84  52  32 E21G31    29.76F                  
MORRIS         PTSUNNY   81  55  41 E28G37    29.76F                  
ALEXANDRIA     MOSUNNY   69  48  47 E24G35    29.86F                  
ELBOW LAKE     FAIR      72  49  44 SE25G31   29.81F                  
WADENA         CLOUDY    57  41  54 E17G29    29.89F                  
GLENWOOD       MOSUNNY   73  48  40 E24       29.85F                  
APPLETON       MOSUNNY   86  61  42 SE17G24   29.75F                  
BENSON         MOSUNNY   84  57  39 SE17G25   29.78F                  
ORTONVILLE     MOSUNNY   86  55  35 SE20G26   29.74F                  
MADISON        MOSUNNY   91  57  31 SE13G21   29.75F HX  90           
WILLMAR        FAIR      84  59  42 E21       29.83F                  

   Central Minnesota     
  
CITY           SKY/WX    TMP DP  RH WIND       PRES   REMARKS
ST CLOUD       MOSUNNY   72  50  45 E13G21    29.92F                  
PAYNESVILLE    SUNNY     76  54  46 E16G22    29.88F                  
AITKIN         CLOUDY    54  45  71 E12G20    30.01R                  
PINE RIVER     CLOUDY    54  37  54 E15G24    30.00F                  
BRAINERD       CLOUDY    56  38  50 E13G22    29.96F                  
STAPLES        CLOUDY    59  46  63 E12G22    29.92F                  
LONG PRAIRIE   FAIR      71  51  50 E18G25    29.89F                  
LITTLE FALLS   MOSUNNY   64  45  48 E10G20    29.92F                  
LITCHFIELD     SUNNY     81  57  44 E17       29.87F                  
BUFFALO        SUNNY     81  56  41 NE9G18    29.89F                  
MAPLE LAKE     SUNNY     79  56  45 E14G20    29.91F                  
HUTCHINSON     MOSUNNY   84  53  34 SE9G17    29.83F                  

   East Central Minnesota   
  
CITY           SKY/WX    TMP DP  RH WIND       PRES   REMARKS
PRINCETON      MOSUNNY   72  48  43 NE12G18   29.96F                  
MORA           PTSUNNY   61  43  51 E13       30.02S                  
CAMBRIDGE      MOSUNNY   72  46  40 N8G16     29.97S                  
RUSH CITY      PTSUNNY   66  46  48 NE14      29.98F                  
MOOSE LAKE     CLOUDY    46  32  57 E12G20    30.04F                  
CLOQUET        CLOUDY    41  28  60 E22G38    30.05F                  
MCGREGOR       CLOUDY    50  36  57 E18G25    30.03F                  

   Southwest Minnesota   
  
CITY           SKY/WX    TMP DP  RH WIND       PRES   REMARKS
MONTEVIDEO     SUNNY     93  54  26 SE13G18   29.75F HX  91           
GRANITE FALLS  SUNNY    100  45  15 SW22G29   29.78F HX  96           
CANBY          SUNNY     97  51  20 SW17G25   29.76F HX  94           
MARSHALL       SUNNY     97  52  21 S26G33    29.80F HX  94           
REDWOOD FALLS  SUNNY     99  51  19 S26G33    29.78F HX  96           
OLIVIA         SUNNY     98  49  19 SW21G28   29.77F HX  94           
PIPESTONE      SUNNY     95  50  21 SW30G37   29.83F HX  92           
WINDOM         SUNNY     93  52  24 S26G38    29.86F HX  90           
WORTHINGTON    SUNNY     93  48  21 S31G39    29.87F HX  90           
JACKSON        SUNNY     91  50  24 SW25G33   29.90F                  
TRACY          SUNNY     94  45  18 S26G37    29.81F HX  90           
SLAYTON        SUNNY     93  42  16 S29G38    29.86F                  

   South Central Minnesota  
  
CITY           SKY/WX    TMP DP  RH WIND       PRES   REMARKS
MANKATO        SUNNY     97  48  19 SW22G35   29.85F HX  93           
NEW ULM        SUNNY     95  37  13 SW24G31   29.82F HX  90           
ST JAMES       SUNNY     95  45  17 S25G39    29.86F HX  91           
FAIRMONT       SUNNY     93  50  22 S28G36    29.91F HX  90           
GLENCOE        SUNNY     92  53  26 S7G17     29.83F HX  90           
FARIBAULT      SUNNY     97  48  19 S13G25    29.89F HX  93           
OWATONNA       SUNNY     99  46  16 SW26G36   29.90F HX  95           
WASECA         SUNNY     95  52  23 S28G35    29.91F HX  92           
ALBERT LEA     SUNNY     91  41  17 SW14G23   29.93F                  

   Southeast Minnesota   
  
CITY           SKY/WX    TMP DP  RH WIND       PRES   REMARKS
ROCHESTER      SUNNY     93  50  23 S23G31    29.96F HX  90           
RED WING       SUNNY     88  57  35 SE12      29.90F                  
STANTON        SUNNY     93  50  22 S17       29.87F HX  90           
DODGE CENTER   SUNNY     90  54  29 SW22G33   29.94F                  
WINONA         SUNNY     90  55  31 S8G21     29.96F                  
AUSTIN         SUNNY     91  52  25 SW22G35   29.95F                  
PRESTON        SUNNY     87  54  31 S23G30    29.99F                  

ABBREVIATIONS USED IN REMARKS
   TC - TEMPERATURES IN CELSIUS
  WCI - WIND CHILL INDEX
   HX - HEAT INDEX
  VSB - VISIBILITY 

Listed below are record event reports from the National Weather Service regarding the May 19 heat.





RECORD EVENT REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHANHASSEN MN
750 PM CDT TUE MAY 19 2009

...RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET TODAY AT TWIN CITIES MN...

AT 5:06 PM TODAY A NEW RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 97 DEGREES WAS RECORDED AT THE 
MINNEAPOLIS/ST PAUL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IN THE TWIN CITIES. THIS BREAKS THE PREVIOUS 
RECORD OF 89 DEGREES PREVIOUSLY SET IN 1977 AND 1978. 

RECORD EVENT REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHANHASSEN MN
132 AM CDT WED MAY 20 2009

...A NEW RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE WAS SET AT MANKATO MINNESOTA...

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 97 DEGREES WAS SET AT MANKATO MINNESOTA YESTERDAY...
TUESDAY MAY 19 2009. 
THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 94 SET IN 1975.

Last modified: January 6, 2017
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