Spring ended up hotter and wetter than normal in Minnesota
Well, here we are, wrapping up meteorological spring in Minnesota Saturday. Summer, in our world, begins on Sunday, June 1. It was a warmer than normal May and spring for the state. Precipitation on a spring-wide basis was generally above normal but May was a mixed picture.
Let's look at May first.The warmer than normal conditions were driven largely by that 10 day heat wave we had in the first month. Despite the last 7 to 10 days of below normal temperatures, it couldn't overcome that "temperature surplus."
We averaged anywhere from +1 deg F above normal in the southeast to as much as +6 deg F above normal in northwest Minnesota. Remember Northwest Minnesota bore the brunt of that heat when Hallock hit 100 degrees!Rainfall was highly variable depending on where you were. Central Minnesota saw above normal rainfall thanks to that deluge we had mid-May of up to 4 inches of rain for some. Total May rainfall was 4-5 inches for central and south central Minnesota.
Far southern and far northern Minnesota had a dry May however. Those areas missed the soaking rains of May 19-21. Parts of northern Minnesota were behind by as much as 2 inches, meaning they saw just about one tenth of normal May rainfall in some spots.
BUT, spring on the whole was mostly wet for the vast majority of the state, including many of those areas that didn't fare as well in May.
As for spring temperatures, it was warm statewide just as May was. Spring temperatures averaged +1 to +2 deg F above normal for most of Minnesota which is quite significant when you remember that we're averaging 184 numbers together (92 highs and lows: March 1–May 31).
Spring has been somewhat of an enigma in Minnesota in recent years. While most seasons have been warming rapidly, spring has been nearly flat with some warm seasons (such as this year) but also some unusually cold ones with snowy Aprils.
The summer outlook officially calls for warmer and drier than normal conditions. As I've stated many times, it's a good wager to bet on a warmer than normal summer without looking at anything but climate data, since almost 75% of summers since 2000 have brought above-average heat.
BMTN Note: Weather events in isolation can't always be pinned on climate change, but the broader trend of increasingly severe weather and record-breaking extremes seen in Minnesota and across the globe can be attributed directly to the rapidly warming climate caused by human activity. The IPCC has warned that Earth is "firmly on track toward an unlivable world," and says greenhouse gas emissions must be halved by 2030 in order to limit warming to 1.5C, which would prevent the most catastrophic effects on humankind. You can read more here.
This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on May 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
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