Assistant State Climatologist Pete Boulay says October in Minnesota has been five degrees colder than average, “ranging about four degrees below normal [in] Duluth, up to eight degrees below normal [in places] like Fargo; places farther south about five degrees below normal, in the Twin Cities, Saint Cloud and Rochester; and only about three degrees below normal in LaCrosse.” Boulay says it’s the coldest October in Minnesota since 2009.
Boulay says most places in the state have had measurable snow, with the exception of Saint Cloud. “We do get snow in October,” he says. “A little more unusual was getting it so early in October. Typically we see snow in the second half of the month.”
Boulay says October precipitation has been above normal across the entire state, particularly in the southeast. But he adds we’ve now had about seven days of sunny and dry conditions, which helps out farmers with field work and homeowners with leaf-raking.