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Morning Edition
Cathy Wurzer and Mark Seeley

Owatonna leads precipitation contest in 2019 with 56 inches and counting

Storm forecast for this weekend could break even more records

Tong Vang, 33, uses a snowblower
Tong Vang, 33, used a snowblower to clear the sidewalk in front of his house in St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood in March.
Caroline Yang for MPR News file

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Minneapolis, St. Paul and many other cities across the state had their wettest years on record in 2019, and a storm forecast for this weekend could break even more records.

A weather observer in Owatonna has recorded 56.5 inches of precipitation so far in 2019, the highest of anywhere in the state. (Hallock in the northwestern corner of Minnesota has recorded the least precipitation so far this year at about 23 inches, which is still 1.5 inches above normal for that location.)

Besides the Twin Cities and Owatonna, cities with more than 50 years of precipitation data that experienced their wettest years on record in 2019 include Rochester, Morris, Faribault, Georgetown, Pipestone, Marshall, Zumbrota, Canby and Minneota.

Increased precipitation is one of the primary signs of climate change in Minnesota, and the trend is expected to continue.

MPR’s Cathy Wurzer spoke with climatologist Mark Seeley about the year in weather. Click the audio player above to hear their conversation.