2024 was the warmest year on record for Minnesota
14 of Minnesota's 20 warmest years have occurred since 2000
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Temperatures in Minnesota in 2024 continued our strong decadeslong warming trend. Last year was the warmest year on record dating back to 1871 for multiple Minnesota locations.
The Twin Cities, Duluth and St. Cloud all recorded the warmest year on record. It was the second-warmest year in International Falls and the third-warmest in Rochester.
The average temperature in 2024 for the Twin Cities was 50.9 degrees. That’s 4 degrees warmer than the 30-year average of 46.9 degrees. It’s also 4.6 degrees warmer than the previous 30-year average temperatures of 45.3 degrees (1980-2010).
It’s important to note that our 30-year averages are rising as Minnesota’s climate warms across decades.
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So this year’s warmth is even more remarkable against a 20th century climate context.
Warmest winter and autumn on record
Last year’s warmth was punctuated by the warmest winter on record and the warmest autumn on record. Last winter, temperatures were around 10 degrees warmer than normal across most of Minnesota.
Remarkable warming trend since 2000
Last year was part of a trend of more frequent warm years in Minnesota this century. 14 of Minnesota’s 20 warmest years on record in the Twin Cities have occurred since 2000. That’s a remarkable number given that records date back to 1871.
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Have you noticed our Minnesota winters are not as extreme as they used to be?
One data point that tells the story of our warmer winters is the coldest temperature recorded each winter. It’s warmed about 12 degrees on average since 1970.
The average coldest temperature of winter in the Twin Cities was about minus 26 degrees in 1970. It’s closer to minus 14 degrees today. So we still get cold in Minnesota in winter, but the frequency of minus 20 degrees in the Twin Cities is dropping dramatically as our overall climate warms.
We’ll still have occasional cold years and winter seasons. They just aren’t occurring as frequently as last century. Expect the frequency of warmer years to continue in the coming decades.