By Kirsti Marohn
St. Cloud Minnesota – Last month was the snowiest December in St. Cloud since 1969 and the coldest since 2000, according to a new report.
It was also the fourth snowiest December on record, St. Cloud State University meteorologist Bob Weisman says in his monthly weather summary.
Twenty-three inches of snow were recorded in St. Cloud last month, more than 14 inches above normal. There were 11 days with measurable snowfall, including 6.1 inches from a major storm on Dec. 30 and snowfalls that set daily records on Dec. 14 and 20.
And there could have been more. A couple snowstorms that hit southeastern Minnesota missed St. Cloud, Weisman notes.
Last month also was significantly colder than normal, according to Weisman. The average temperature in St. Cloud was 8.5 degrees, which is nearly 6 degrees colder than normal. That ranks as the 15th coldest out of the 128 Decembers on record in St. Cloud.
St. Cloud even saw one day — Dec. 15 — when the temperature never climbed above zero, Weisman reported. The following morning, the low temperature dropped to 24 degrees below zero, setting a record for Dec. 16.
The cold and snow are related, according to Weisman.
“Snow can reflect 80-90 percent of the sun’s energy back to space, so having a bright, white snow cover can allow arctic air masses to move into Minnesota without warming very much,” he wrote.
Aftermath News 
