Upper MIssissippi River Valley Climate Summary for Meteorological Spring

During the meteorological spring of 2022 (March 1 through May 31), temperature anomalies ranged from 2°F below normal to near normal across the Upper Mississippi River Valley. Average temperatures ranged from 39.5°F at Medford, WI (COOP) to 47.7°F at Boscobel, WI (ASOS). The coldest temperature was -8°F at Medford (COOP) on March 12 and the hottest temperature was 97°F at Boscobel Airport, WI (ASOS) on May 12. This is a 105°F difference.

Precipitation anomalies ranged from 3" drier-than-normal to 4" wetter-than-normal across the Upper Mississippi River Valley. Precipitation totals ranged from 6.65” near Oelwein, IA (COOP) to 14.18” near Rochester, MN (CoCoRaHS). The wettest 1-day precipitation was 4.50" at St. Ansgar, IA (COOP). This precipitation fell from 7 AM on April 12 to 7 AM on April 13.

Snowfall anomalies ranged from 15" below-normal to 5" above-normal. Snowfall totals ranged from 0" at Minnesota City Dam 5, Rushford, and Winona Dam 5 in southeast Minnesota to 12.8" at Medford, WI. The snowiest day was 6.6" near Prairie du Chien, WI (CoCoRaHS) from 7 AM on March 6 to 7 AM on March 7.

Below are the climate summaries for the 2022 meteorological spring in La Crosse, WI and Rochester, MN

La Crosse, WI

 Meteorological Spring 2022 Summary for La Crosse WI 

The meteorological spring of 2021 was slightly cooler (1.3°F cooler-than-normal) and drier-than-normal (0.84" drier-than-normal) at La Crosse Regional Airport. More details on these statistics can be found below. Temperatures - Cooler than Normal From March 1st through May 31st, La Crosse Regional Airport had an average temperature of 47.3°F.  This was 1.3°F cooler than the 1991-2020 normal of 48.6°F. This was the coolest spring since 2019 (45.4°F).  The table below contains the monthly temperatures and their departures from normal for the spring of 2022.

      Spring 2022 Temperatures
          in La Crosse WI 

             Average     Departure
   Month   Temperature  from Normal
   -----   -----------  -----------
   March      35.2°F      -0.6°F
   April      44.5°F      -4.5°F
   May        62.4°F      +1.4°F 
 
   Spring     47.3°F      -1.7°F

• The average high temperature was 56.5°F. This was 2.6°F colder than the 1991-2020 normal of 59.1°F.
• The average low temperature was 38.1°F. This was 0.1°F cooler than the 1991-2020 normal of 38.2°F.
   
• The warmest high temperature was 96°F on May 12.
• The coldest high temperature was 22°F on March 11.
   
• The warmest low temperature was 75°F on May 12. This was tied with May 29, 2006 for the warmest spring low temperature. 
• The coldest low temperature was 2°F on March 12.
   
• Maximum Temperature <= 32 on 5 Days
• Maximum Temperature >= 90 on 3 Days 
• Minimum Temperature <= 32 on 33 Days
• Minimum Temperature <=  0 on  0 Days

Precipitation - Slightly Drier than Normal

From March 1st through May 31st, La Crosse Regional Airport received 9.28" of precipitation.  This was 0.84" drier than the 1991-2020 spring normal of 10.12". The table below contains the monthly precipitation totals and their departures from normal for the spring of 2022.

        Spring 2022 Precipitation
             in La Crosse WI 

           Precipitation   Departure
   Month       Total      from Normal
   -----   -------------  -----------
   March    1.81 inches   -0.23 inches
   April    3.27 inches   -0.48 inches
   May      4.20 inches   -0.13 inches
 
   Spring   9.28 inches   -0.84 inches

• The wettest day occurred on May 19 when 1.41 inches of rain fell.
• Measurable precipitation fell on 37 days (40.2%) and trace amounts on another 16 days (17.4%).

Snowfall - Tied for 10th Least

From March 1st through May 31st, the snow observer near La Crosse Regional Airport recorded 1.3". This was 8.9" less than the 1991-2020 normal of 10.2".  This was tied for 10th least with 1916. 4 out of the 11 springs with little snow have occurred since 2009. The table below contains the monthly snowfall totals and their departures from normal for the spring of 2022.

          Spring 2022 Snowfall
             in La Crosse WI 

             Snowfall      Departure
   Month       Total      from Normal
   -----   -------------  -----------
   March     0.3 inches   -7.0 inches 
             Tied for 8th least in a March with 1990
   April     1.0 inch     -1.9 inches
   May       0.0 inches    0.0 inches
 
   Spring    1.3 inches   -8.9 inches
             Tied for 10th Least with 1916

• The snowiest day occurred on April 7 when 0.5" of snow fell.
• Measurable snow fell on 4 days (4.3%) and trace amounts on another 13 days (14.1%).

Winds - Windiest Spring since 2002

• From March 1st through May 31st, the average wind speed was 9.8 mph. This was 0.3 mph higher than the 1948-2022 average of 9.5 mph.  This was the highest average since 2002 (10.18 mph).  The windiest spring was back in 1964 when the average was 13.1 mph.   
• There were 12 days when the daily average wind speed was 15 mph or greater. This was tied with 1960 for the 2nd most in the spring. The most ever in spring was 16 days in 1964.

Rochester, MN  
 

Meteorological Spring 2022 Summary for Rochester MN
 

The meteorological spring of 2022 was cooler (0.9°F cooler-than-normal), windier, and wetter-than-normal (3.43" wetter-than-normal) at Rochester International Airport. This was the 7th wettest spring and 7th least snow for a spring.  There were 16 days when the daily average wind speed was 20 mph or greater. This was the 6th most in a spring.  More details on these statistics can be found below. Temperatures - Coolest Spring since 2019 From March 1st through May 31st, Rochester International Airport had an average temperature of 43.9°F.  This was 0.9°F cooler than the 1991-2020 normal of 44.8°F.  This was the coolest spring since 2019 (45.1°F).

The table below contains the monthly temperatures and their departures from normal for the spring of 2022.

      Spring 2022 Temperatures
          in Rochester MN 

             Average     Departure
   Month   Temperature  from Normal
   -----   -----------  -----------
   March      32.3°F      +0.6°F
   April      40.3°F      -4.9°F 
          Tied for 12th Coldest April
   May        59.3°F      +1.7°F 
 
   Spring     43.9°F      -0.9°F

• The average high temperature was 52.7°F.  This was 1.7°F cooler than the 1991-2020 normal of 54.4°F.
• The average low temperature was 35.2°F.  This was normal. 
   
• The warmest high temperature was 94°F on May 12.
• The coldest high temperature was 19°F on March 11.
   
• The warmest low temperature was 65°F on May 12.
• The coldest low temperature was 0°F on March 12.
   
• Maximum Temperature <= 32 on 10 Days
• Maximum Temperature >= 90 on 1 Day 
• Minimum Temperature <= 32 on 45 Days
• Minimum Temperature <=  0 on  1 Days

Precipitation - 7th Wettest and Wettest since 2019

From March 1st through May 31st, Rochester International Airport received 13.32" of precipitation.  This was 3.43" wetter than the 1991-2020 normal of 9.89".  This was the 7th wettest spring. 11 out of the 17 wettest springs have occurred since 1990.  This was the wettest spring since 2019 (14.82" - 5th wettest).  The wettest spring occurred in 2013 when 21.90" of precipitation fell. The table below contains the monthly precipitation totals and their departures from normal for the spring of 2022.

        Spring 2022 Precipitation
             in Rochester MN 

           Precipitation   Departure
   Month       Total      from Normal
   -----   -------------  -----------
   March    2.29 inches   +0.27 inches
   April    6.83 inches   +3.52 inches 
            2nd Wettest April
   May      4.20 inches   -0.15 inches
 
   Spring  13.32 inches   +3.43 inches 
           7th Wettest Spring

• The wettest day occurred on April 12th when 2.25" of rain fell.
• Measurable precipitation fell on 36 days (39.1%) and trace amounts fell on another 20 days (21.7%).

Snowfall - 7th Least and the Least since 2012

From March 1st through May 31st, the snow observer near Rochester International Airport recorded 1.5" of snow. This was 10.9" less than the 1991-2020 normal of 12.4".  6 out of the 17 springs with little snow have occurred since 2000.  The table below contains the monthly snowfall totals and their departures from normal for the spring of 2022.

          Spring 2022 Snowfall
             in Rochester MN 

             Snowfall      Departure
   Month       Total      from Normal
   -----   -------------  -----------
   March     0.6 inches   -8.0 inches 
             7th least for March
   April     0.9 inches   -2.4 inches 
             8th least for April
   May       0.0 inches   -0.5 inches
 
   Spring    8.9 inches  -10.9 inches 
             7th least for a spring

• The snowiest day occurred on April 7 when 0.4" of snow fell.
• Measurable snow fell on 7 days (7.6%) and trace amounts fell on another 15 days (16.3%).

Winds - Windiest Spring since 1994

• From March 1st through May 31st, the average wind speed was 13.92 mph. This was 0.89 mph higher than the 1948-2022 average of 13.03 mph.  This was the highest average since 1994 (14.25 mph).  The windiest spring was back in 1982 when the average was 16 mph.   
• There were 16 days when the daily average wind speed was 20 mph or greater. This was the 6th most in a spring. This was the most since 1990 (20 days).  The most ever in a spring was 24 days in 1982.