SUBJECT: Another mild and dry month in the hopper
	 St. Cloud April 1998 Weather Summary

April 1998 was yet another mild and dry month in Saint Cloud according to
the statistics kept at the St. Cloud airport. The average temperature of
48.7 degrees was more than 5 degrees above normal. This was mainly fueled by 
the average high temperature of 61.6 degrees, more than 6.5 degrees above 
normal. This made April 1998 the mildest April since 1987.

Rainfall was scarce in April. Only 1.14 inches were recorded, about half
of the normal amount. The second half of the month was extremely dry,
with only .03 inches falling since April 12. However, this was more rain 
than St. Cloud received in either 1996 ( .67 inches) or 1997 ( .69 inches).

The April snowfall of 1.5 inches, which all fell on April 1, amounted
to a near normal snowfall for the month and brought the seasonal
snowfall total to 44.9 inches, within an inch of normal for the year.
This marked the second straight April with less than 2 inches of snow,
a far cry from the rest of the decade. During the years 1990-1996, St.
Cloud averaged 5.5 inches of snow during April. There has not been
a measurable May snowfall since 1979, so both the statistics and
the current weather pattern indicate that the snow season of 1997-98 is
probably over (cross your fingers!)

MONTHLY STATISTICS              APR 1998        NORMAL

TEMPERATURE (DEG F)
Average high temp                61.6            55.0

Average low temp                 35.7            32.0
Overall average                  48.7            43.5
Warmest high temperature         78 on the 24th
Coolest high temperature         39 on the 1st
Mildest low temperature          54 on the 12th
Coldest low temperature          27 on the 10th

Records set:                     none

PRECIPITATION
Total melted precip (in)         1.14            2.36
Most in 24 hours                  .57 on the 7th 
SNOWFALL (in)                     1.5             2.7
Most in 24 hours                  1.5 on the 1st
Seasonal snowfall (Oct-Apr)      44.9            45.6

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All climate data provided courtesy of NOAA/NWS

and Minnesota Climatology Working Group, including the Minnesota State Climatologist's Office, University of Minnesota-Saint Paul Campus.

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