2016 In Review

Climatologically, 2016 was an unusual year for Minnesota. We were very warm but rarely excessively hot. We were very wet, with multiple intense rainfall events, but we did not see a tremendous amount of flash flood damage. We had an awful lot of thunderstorms, an almost historical barrage of damaging straight-line winds in northern Minnesota, but not an extraordinary number of tornadoes. For good measure, we ended the year with a "double surprise" during December that left climatologists scratching their heads.

We have a lot to say about 2016, and cannot do it all in one post. Instead, you can follow these links, for more information:

• We have produced a basic summary of the year, with highlights, records, and oddities tossed in for good measure.
• Here are the 5 most notable events of 2016, as voted on by climatologists, meteorologists, and our Facebook users.
• 2016 was warm all year long (every month) in the Twin Cities. Follow the progress of the warm streak here.
• Lastly, have a look at December 2016's puzzling ways!

Of course, we do not know what the new year will bring, but we hope 2017 is climatologically favorable for everyone!

Last modified: January 9, 2017
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