2012 was a dry and warm year across central and northeast South Dakota as well as west central Minnesota. Due to the dry and warm conditions many record highs were broken along with expanding and worsening drought conditions. Average temperatures for the year were from 3 to 4 degrees above normal.  The average highs were from 4 to 6 degrees above normal for the year.  Pierre and Kennebec both topped at 111 degrees on August 29^th while Mobridge and Timber Lake hit 106 degrees also on August 29^th. None of the locations in the east hit 100 degrees with Sisseton coming close at 99 degrees on July 2^nd. In fact, Aberdeen had its second warmest year on record with Watertown and Sisseton having their third warmest year on record. Mobridge had their fourth warmest year on record while Pierre had its sixth warmest year on record. Bitter cold temperatures also did not occur with yearly lows only falling in the teens below zero.   

The other story outside of the warmth was the extreme dryness resulting in expanding and worsening of drought conditions across the region. Yearly precipitation amounts were from nearly 4 inches to almost 8 and a half inches below normal. Aberdeen had its tenth lowest yearly precipitation while Sisseton recorded its 17th lowest yearly precipitation. At the end of 2012, almost the entire area was covered with severe to exceptional drought conditions.

Monthly Summaries: 

January Climate Information: January 2012 was a warm month across central and northeast South Dakota as well as west central Minnesota.  Monthly average temperatures were anywhere from 6 to 10 degrees above normal.  Most of the locations had one of their top ten warmest Januarys on record.  The month started out with many record high temperatures across the region from January 3^rd through January 6^th.  The record highs during this time ranged from the mid 40s to as much as 70 degrees.  In fact, a couple locations set their all-time record high for January.  The temperature at Aberdeen rose to 63 degrees on January 5^th breaking its old record by 3 degrees.  Kennebec warmed to a spring-like 70 degrees on January 5^th which tied the old record for the all-time January high.  The differences between the highest and lowest temperatures for the month were quite dramatic across the region.  These temperature differences ranged from 67 degrees at Mobridge to as much as 83 degrees at Kennebec.  After a dry fall and December, a couple weather systems during January brought the monthly precipitation amounts close to or slightly above normal for several locations.    

February Climate Information: February 2012 finished out with above normal temperatures and precipitation across central and northeast South Dakota as well as west central Minnesota.   The month was quite warm across northeast South Dakota and west central Minnesota with average temperatures around 6 degrees above normal.  Central and north central South Dakota were around 1 to 2 degrees above normal.  After a string of dry months, February broke the cycle with above normal precipitation.  Monthly precipitation was anywhere from a quarter inch to an inch and a quarter above normal for all locations.  With a large storm system at the end of the month, snowfall amounts for February were above normal ranging from 8 to 17 inches.

Record-Breaking March: March 2012 across central and northeast South Dakota and west central Minnesota was a record breaker for numerous daily and monthly records.  The average monthly temperatures were an astounding 13 to 15 degrees above normal. The average high temperatures were from 16 to almost 20 degrees above normal.  Eighty degree temperatures are a rarity in March across this region but, not for this year. Eighty degrees or higher was reached at all locations throughout March with Pierre reaching 80 degrees or higher five times throughout the month.  The warmest temperature was 88 degrees at Pierre on March 18^th which also broke their all-time March high temperature record.  The 82 degrees at Watertown and Sisseton on March 18th tied their all-time March high temperature record.   Some of the daily records set in March were broken by as much as 15 to 20 degrees. All-time monthly average March temperature records were also broken at all locations except for Aberdeen and Watertown.  Although, Aberdeen and Watertown did have their second warmest March on record.  The monthly records were shattered at several locations by as much as 4 to over 5 degrees.   Finally, the difference between the highest and lowest temperatures in March were anywhere from 71 to as much as 85 degrees across the region. March was also a very dry month across the region with precipitation amounts from a quarter of an inch to just over an inch below normal. Mobridge had its 6^th driest March on record while Pierre had its 8^th driest March on record.  March is normally one of our snowiest months with 6 to 8 inches of snowfall.  For March 2012, snow was almost non-existent throughout the month with amounts ranging from only trace amounts up to 3 inches.  This lack of snow cover was also a big contributor in allowing for the very warm temperatures.   

Warm and Wet April: April 2012 was a very warm month across central and northeast South Dakota as well as west central Minnesota.  Average temperatures were from 3 to 5 degrees above normal for the month.   Record highs of 87 and 91 degrees were set at Mobridge and Pierre on April 1st, respectively.  Also, a record low temperature of 15 degrees was set a Mobridge on April 10^th. As far as precipitation, the drought conditions and fire weather concerns eased some through the month of April, as several beneficial rainfalls occurred across the region.  Rainfall amounts for the month were from 2 to over 4 inches or around three-quarters of an inch to almost 2 inches above normal.  Snowfall was rare to be seen through the month.  In fact, the seasonal snowfall totals for the region finished out far below normal.  The seasonal snowfall amounts ranged from 17 inches at Mobridge to 28 inches at Kennebec.  Aberdeen had the next least with 17.5 inches.

May Climate Information: May 2012 across central and northeast South Dakota as well as west central Minnesota was warmer than normal.  The average temperatures were slightly above to as much as 3 degrees above normal. We reached some very warm to hot temperatures in the middle of the month with highs in the upper 80s to the middle 90s. There was also some frost formation during May with lows in the lower to middle 30s. The precipitation for the month was near to much below normal across the region. Aberdeen was right at 2 inches below normal.  

Warm and Dry June: June 2012 across central and northeast South Dakota as well as west central Minnesota were overall warmer and drier than normal.  Highs for the month were in the 90s to around 100 degrees. The average monthly temperatures were from around 2 to 4 degrees above normal.  The monthly precipitation was anywhere from a third of an inch to almost 2 and a half inches below normal.  Aberdeen was the driest location with only 1.27 inches of precipitation.  Watertown was above normal with over 5 inches of rainfall or 1.51 inches above normal.

Very Hot and Dry July: July 2012 was very hot and dry across central and northeast South Dakota along with west central Minnesota with drought conditions expanding across the region. Average temperatures were from 4 to 6 degrees above normal which is extreme for a summer month.  Many locations had among their top ten warmest Julys on record.   Watertown recorded its third warmest July on record while Pierre, Timber Lake, and Kennebec all had their fourth warmest Julys on record. Mobridge tied for the seventh warmest July on record. The most interesting number for July was the average high temperature of almost 98 degrees at Kennebec. This was Kennebec’s seventh warmest average high temperature on record.  Pierre’s average high of nearly 97 degrees tied for the third warmest on record. It was also dry across the region with rainfall amounts ranging from a third of an inch to over 2 and a third inches below normal. Only Mobridge and Wheaton finished slightly above normal for the month.

August Climate Information: Despite some very warm daily highs in August 2012, average temperatures across central and northeast South Dakota as well as west central Minnesota were near normal to around 2 degrees below normal for the month. The average lows for the month were from 2 to 5 degrees below normal.  In fact, many record lows were set on several days including August 5^th, 13^th, and 17^th at several locations. On August 17^th, Aberdeen cooled to 39 degrees while Kennebec cooled to 38 degrees. Wheaton was the only location with a cooler than normal high for August. August 29^th was a very hot day across the region with high temperatures ranging from 98 degrees at Aberdeen to 111 degrees at Pierre and Kennebec.   August was also another dry month across the region with rainfall deficits from a quarter of an inch at Wheaton, MN to almost an inch and a half at Pierre. 

Record Dry September: A record dry month occurred for several locations across central and northeast South Dakota for September. Aberdeen, Pierre, and Mobridge all recorded their driest Septembers on record. Pierre recorded a trace of precipitation tying the old record of a trace in 1893. Aberdeen recorded 0.01 inches of precipitation breaking the old record of 0.05 inches of precipitation set in 1979. Mobridge recorded 0.05 inches of precipitation for September breaking the old record of 0.06 inches of precipitation set in 1969. Timber Lake and Wheaton both had their third driest Septembers on record with 0.05 inches and 0.12 inches, respectively. Sisseton had their fifth driest September on record with 0.17 inches. Watertown had their sixth driest with 0.29 inches while Kennebec had their 9^th driest September on record with 0.17 inches.   These amounts were from around an inch and a half to nearly three inches below normal. Thus, the drought expanded and worsened during the month of September as a result. The average monthly temperatures for September ranged from near to around 2 degrees above normal across the region. The interesting fact on the temperatures was the wide range between the average highs and lows. The average highs across the region were much above normal ranging from 3 to around 6 degrees above normal for September while the lows were cooler than normal ranging from 1 to around 5 degrees below normal. The differences between the highest and lowest temperatures for the month were from 58 degrees at Wheaton to 76 degrees at Pierre. The reason for this wide range in day and nighttime temperatures is because of the dry soils. During the daytime, the ground warms up quickly due to the lack of moisture and in return radiates/loses heat quickly at night.