1995-04-27_AgendaPacket - Laserfiche WebLink

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Vi/AT~R TALK inter 1 5 ` ~,Q Minnesota entered the Winter of 1994-1995 on the he21s of rather ordinary Water Year preclpftatlon totals. in contrast to recent years, 1994 Water Year (October 1993 through September 1994) precipitation was near the long-term average (normal) over much of Minnesota (Figure 1). Scattered areas of the state reported above normal precipitation, most notably in the Northwest. Portions of West Central Minnesota fell more than four inches below the norm for the period. Despite this return to "normalcy,' mony hydrologic systems in Minnesota remain above average due to the unusually heavy precipitation that occurred during the ~ at@C @8P P@Ciplfc9tlO17 early 1990'x. F:^~ ~•~ ~ The state experienced a mild late fall and early winter. Temperatures for November, December, and January were well above historical averages. Many maximum temperature records were broken in northern Minnesota in m(d to late December. Above normal December temperatures slowed the creation of lake ice, leading to warnings of unsafe ice as far north as Internationals Falls. Heating degree days, a measure of temperature used to estimate residential and commercial heating requirements, are 15 percent below the average as of this writing. The first significant snowfall of the season came on November 18 in Northern Minnesota and November 27 for the remainder of the state. These dates roughly match the historical average occurrence of the first measurobie snowfall and contrast with the late- October and early- November first-snows experienced earlier in the 1990'x. Through mid-January, snowfall was generally light. Snow depths on January 18 ranged from less thou two inches fn Southern Minnesota to over 12 inches in the Northeast (Figure 2). Snow depths over much of Minnesota rank far below the median when compared with historical snow depth data (Figure 3). Below-median snow depths, combined with mild temperatures that grodualfy released water normally held in ice and snow, hove reduced the potential for significant spring flooding thus far.