2013 was a cool and wet year across central and northeast South Dakota as well as west central Minnesota.  Most all locations had their top ten coldest years on record.  The yearly average temperatures were from 2 to 3 degrees below normal which is large for a yearly average. Wheaton Minnesota had their all-time coldest year on record with an average yearly temperature of just 39.9 degrees.  Kennebec came in with their second coldest year on record with 46.5 degrees.  Aberdeen tied for the fourth coldest on record with an average temperature of 40.5 degrees.  Timber Lake and Mobridge both tied for their sixth coldest year on record with 43.8 and 43.2 degrees, respectively.  2013 at Watertown was 40.7 degrees and Pierre was 45.3 degrees or 8th and 10th, respectively, for their coldest years on record. 

2013 was also a wet year for most locations with several locations having one of their top ten wettest years on record.  Total yearly precipitation ranged from just above normal at Aberdeen to ten and a half inches above normal at Timber Lake.  Some of the big events in 2013 were the very snowy April across the region with 20 or more inches of snowfall occurring at many locations; the widespread severe thunderstorm wind damage in northeast South Dakota and west central Minnesota on June 21st; along with the devastating blizzard to hit mainly western South Dakota on October 4th and 5th.

Monthly Summaries:

February Climate Information: February 2013 had a wide range in temperatures and snowfall across central and northeast South Dakota into west central Minnesota.  Average temperatures varied from 3 to 5 degrees below normal across northeast South Dakota and west central Minnesota to 1 to 4 degrees above normal across central and north central South Dakota.  With the help of the February 10 and 11^th Blizzard, the deep snow cover across the east was a big factor in the wide variance in temperatures across the region. The blizzard dropped anywhere from 12 to 24 inches of snowfall across northeast South Dakota into west central Minnesota with 2 to 10 inches of snowfall across central South Dakota. Both Interstates 29 and 90 were closed for a while during and after the storm.   The February 10th and 11^th Blizzard brought monthly snowfall totals above to much above normal. Snowfall amounts ranged from around 4 inches above normal at Pierre and Kennebec to 12 to 15 inches above normal at Sisseton and Wheaton. Mobridge and Timber Lake were from 1 to 6 inches below normal for snowfall.  High temperatures for February ranged from the mid to upper 30s over the deep snow covered areas east  to the upper 40s to the lower 50s over the little to no snow covered areas west in the region. Low temperatures for the month were all below zero across the region ranging from 1 below zero at Pierre to a bitter cold 31 below zero at Aberdeen.   

Record-Breaking Cold March: March 2013 was almost a complete turnaround from March 2012 across the region, and most dramatically across northeast South Dakota and west central Minnesota. This March was in the top ten coldest on record for locations across northeast South Dakota and west central Minnesota. In fact, Sisseton had their coldest March on record with an overall average temperature of 18.2 degrees. Wheaton, Minnesota had their second coldest March with an average of 16.7 degrees. These average temperatures were dramatically different from last March where the average temperature at Sisseton was 42.9 degrees and Wheaton was 41.0 degrees, with both being the all-time record warmest. Aberdeen and Watertown had their 2^nd warmest March on record in 2012 with 43.8 and 43.9 degrees respectively, while March 2013 at Aberdeen and Watertown were the 7^th and 8^th coldest on record with 19.8 and 20.2 degrees, respectively.    The average high for Aberdeen in March 2012 was 57.9 degrees which was over 27 degrees warmer than the 30.5 degree average high for this March. Departures from normal for this March were large, ranging from 9 to 12 degrees below normal for locations across northeast South Dakota and west central Minnesota.  Locations across central and north central South Dakota also had cold temperatures for March, ranging from 4 to 6 degrees below normal. Even more interesting was that March 2011 was one of the top ten coldest on record for several locations across northeast South Dakota and west central Minnesota. For example, Sisseton went from the 4^th coldest in 2011, with 21.4 degrees to the all-time warmest, with 42.9 degrees in 2012, and back to the first coldest to 18.2 degrees in 2013. Along with the predominant Arctic and Canadian air, the deep snow cover across the eastern part of the region played a significant role in the record cold for the month. Snow cover reflects much of the sunlight during the day, along with absorbing energy from the air for melting, while radiating energy well at night. The highest and lowest temperatures for the month demonstrate this well. The snow covered areas of the east had their warmest highs only in the 40s and lower 50s, while the mainly bare ground areas of central and north central South Dakota had highs in the upper 60s to the lower 70s.  The lows for March ranged from 6 below to 10 below in the east with 2 below to 3 above in the west. As for precipitation, March was generally drier than normal across the region, ranging from a tenth of an inch above to over an inch below normal.  Wheaton was the only one with above normal snowfall for March with 10.2 inches. Areas east of James Valley had the brunt of the winter weather for March with an ice storm and blizzard. The March 8^th and 9^th ice storm produced anywhere from a quarter to a half inch of ice across northeast South Dakota and west central Minnesota. Fortunately, temperatures were right around freezing or rose to above freezing during the event, as total precipitation amounts were from a half inch to over an inch for several locations. If the temperatures would have been a few degrees colder with the north winds picking up, things could have been much worse with heavy ice accumulations on trees and power lines. The March 17^th and 18^th blizzard also affected the eastern part of the region with wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph and 1 to 3 inches of new snowfall bringing frequent whiteout conditions.

Above Normal May Rainfall Improves Drought Conditions: May 2013 across central and northeast South Dakota along with west central Minnesota had near to below normal temperatures with above to much above normal rainfall. The monthly average temperatures for May ranged from just a few tenths of a degree below to around two degrees below normal.  The highest temperatures for the month occurred in the middle of May, ranging from 89 to 94 degrees. The coldest temperatures for May occurred early in the month, ranging from 19 to 24 degrees. The above normal rainfall and the diminishing drought conditions were the big story of the month. May rainfall amounts ranged from nearly 3 inches to nearly 7 inches resulting in some flooding across parts of the region. The James River near Columbia rose to above flood stage at the end of the month along with flooding occurring on the Grand River and Oak Creek in north central South Dakota.  The drought conditions disappeared from the beginning to the end of May across much of the eastern part of the region. The drought conditions across central and north central South Dakota went from severe to extreme conditions in early May to mostly moderate drought conditions by the end of May.   Also, not much for severe weather occurred across the region during May.

Near Normal Temperatures for June: June 2013 was a month of near to slightly below normal temperatures across the region. June did not have any overly hot periods with highs for the month in the middle 80s to the lower 90s. Rainfall for June was generally below normal from the James Valley and west and above normal east of the James Valley. Aberdeen, Pierre, Kennebec, Mobridge, and Timber Lake were all below normal for June ranging from around a half inch to nearly 2 inches below normal. Sisseton, Watertown, and Wheaton, Minnesota all had above normal rainfall for the month ranging from around a half of an inch to nearly two inches above normal. These locations received from 4.55 to 5.58 inches during June. As a result, there were several areas of flooding during the month across the eastern part of the region.   The big severe weather event for the month occurred on June 21^st during an unusual time of day. The severe weather began in the mid-morning hours and lasted into the early evening hours. Normally, severe weather starts in the late afternoon out west and moves east through the evening and overnight.  The June 21^st severe weather started out in central South Dakota with intensification and expansion quickly as the storms moved and developed east and northeast.  A widespread damaging wind event along with very large hail and tornadoes moved across northeast South Dakota and west central Minnesota. Hail up to the size of softballs along with winds from 80 to 100 mph occurred with these storms causing the most extensive tree and structure damage across northeast South Dakota and into west central Minnesota.

Cooler Than Normal July: July 2013 was cooler than normal across central and northeast South Dakota along with west central Minnesota. Most locations were near to below normal for rainfall with some locations above to much above normal.  Average temperatures were from a half degree to almost three degrees below normal for the month.  There was some heat and humidity in the middle of the month, especially at Pierre when they topped the 100 degree mark on July 18^th.   Kennebec was the wet spot for the month with just over 5 inches of rainfall.  Aberdeen received most of its rain for July in one shot from thunderstorms late on the 8th and early on the 9^th when they received 2.13 inches of rain.  The area also received a cool down at the end of the month when several record low temperatures were broken across the region.  Most of the low temperatures on the 27^th and 28^th were in the lower to middle 40s.  Aberdeen almost reached the upper 30s when they cooled to 40 degrees on July 28^th.   High temperatures were also fall-like in the upper 60s to middle 70s across central and northeast South Dakota as well as west central Minnesota for several days at the end of July.   With near normal temperatures for June combined with July’s below normal temperatures along with a cooler than normal start to August, the summer may finish out with below normal temperatures across the region.

Climate Round Up For August - Worsening Drought Conditions: August 2013 had below normal temperatures across the region through much of the first part of the month as Canadian high pressure dominated the region.  With very warm to hot conditions towards the end of the month, average temperatures were brought back to near normal.  The average monthly temperatures for August were from near to almost two degrees above normal.  The highest temperatures in August were in the middle 90s to the lower 100s all occurring from August 20th through the 30th. Rainfall across the eastern part of the region was from an inch and a half to almost two and quarter inches below normal.  With this lack of rainfall, drought developed and became moderate across northeast South Dakota and west central Minnesota by the end of August.  Throughout August, central and north central South Dakota had frequent bouts of showers and thunderstorms with the area ranging from a quarter of an inch to two and a quarter inches above normal.   The above normal rainfall brought the area completely out of the drought which had been going on for over a year now   In northeast South Dakota, Aberdeen and Watertown had one of their driest Augusts on record.  Watertown had its third driest August on record while Aberdeen had its fourth driest August on record.

Very Warm September... Drought Improves East: September 2013 was a very warm month across the region with average temperatures ranging from 4 to 6 degrees above normal.  High temperatures for September were mainly in the 90s with 101 degrees at Pierre.  Low temperatures for the month were mainly in the middle 30s to the lower 40s with parts of northeast South Dakota falling into the lower 30s.  Both Aberdeen and Sisseton fell to 33 degrees on the morning of the 21^st with areas of frost forming across the region.  Thus, the region has yet to have a widespread frost or freeze which typically occurs in the October. September was brought to above normal precipitation for much of the area as a large low pressure system moved across the region towards the end of the month.   Rainfall amounts ranged from nearly three-quarters of an inch to nearly two inches from this system which helped the drought situation east in the region.  With the lack of rainfall early in the month, much of Northeast South Dakota went from a moderate drought at the beginning of the month to severe drought by September  17^th.   The drought conditions then improved with the rainfall that occurred at the end of the month.  North central South Dakota was also above normal with rainfall for September as Mobridge was nearly two inches above normal.  Pierre and Kennebec were slightly below normal for the month.

Very Wet and Cool October: October 2013 was a cool and very wet month across all of central and northeast South Dakota as well as west central Minnesota.  Many large storms moved across the region bringing record setting precipitation for several locations across our region.  The devastating early October blizzard that hit western Dakota and the Black Hills brought from 1 to 5 feet of snow along with very strong winds gusting from 50 to 70 mph.  The blizzard resulted in tens of thousands of cattle deaths, countless trees damaged, along with thousands of people without power.  Our region did receive some snowfall along with blizzard conditions west of the Missouri River with this storm.  Some locations west of the Missouri River received 6 to 10 inches of snowfall with Interstate-90 closed.  We also had a tornado occur in far eastern Traverse County on October 11^th downing some trees, and damaging a residence along with destroying a large shed. Rainfall amounts for October ranged from 4 to 6 inches across the region or from 2 to over 4 inches above normal.  All of the locations had one of their top ten wettest Octobers on record.  Mobridge and Timber Lake both had their record wettest October on record with nearly 6 inches of precipitation. Sisseton, Wheaton, Pierre, and Kennebec all had their third wettest October on record.  Aberdeen was the fifth wettest with Watertown placing in eighth.  Looking back at the wettest Octobers on record, Wheaton had 7.04 inches in 2009; Aberdeen had 7.29 inches in 1998; Sisseton had 7.96 inches in 1998; with 8.10 inches at Watertown in 1971. Monthly average temperatures were from 1 to 5 degrees below normal across the region.  All locations were in the top ten coldest Octobers on record except for Watertown.  Mobridge was the third coldest with Sisseton the fifth coldest on record.  The month of October began with warm conditions across the region however, with many highs in the 60s and 70s. In fact, Kennebec reached 88 degrees on October 1^st.  

Very Dry November: November 2013 was a very dry month across central and north central South Dakota along with west central Minnesota with average temperatures near to two degrees below normal.  Precipitation ranged from a trace at Watertown to around a quarter of an inch at Pierre.  Sisseton had one of their top ten driest Novembers on record with Watertown having one of their top five driest Novembers.  December is starting off with some snowfall across the region along with bitter cold Arctic air and strong north winds. 

Bitterly Cold and Snowy December 2013: December 2013 was a bitter cold and snowy month across central and northeast South Dakota along with west central Minnesota. The month was among the top ten coldest at all locations. The monthly average temperatures were from 7 to 9 degrees below normal.  Sisseton had their second coldest December on record with an average temperature of 8.4 degrees. Wheaton tied for the third coldest December on record with an average temperature of 6.9 degrees. Aberdeen and Watertown had their fourth coldest Decembers on record with 6.5 degrees and 7.9 degrees, respectively. Pierre had their fifth coldest December on record with 13.2 degrees. Kennebec, Timber Lake, and Mobridge were all in the top ten coldest Decembers on record. It was also a snowy month across the region with snowfall amounts ranging from 9 to 17 inches or from 2 to 11 inches above normal. The expansive snow cover across our region and to the north played a large factor in the bitter cold temperatures. The snow cover allows for good cooling at night and little heat absorption from the sun during the daytime.