Minnesota's dramatic and highly varying fall continues, with some of the warmest November conditions ever recorded in the state.
Just days after the peak of a historically winter-like late October, the jet stream retreated into Canada by November 2nd, opening the door to a rush of historically warm air that overspread the entire region, lasting into Monday the 9th in southern and eastern parts of the state.
On November 3rd, with cloudless skies and light winds, temperatures soared into the 70s right up to the Canadian border, and along the shore of Lake Superior, reaching the 80-degree mark in parts of western and southwestern Minnesota. This marked the beginning of the warmest six-day period in any November on record throughout the state.
The warmth set a slew of records across the state. Duluth, International Falls, Rochester, St. Cloud, and the Twin Cities, all broke (and in some cases shattered) their records for number of November days with 70-degree (or higher) daily maximum temperatures. Of those, Duluth, International Falls and St. Cloud all set new all-time high temperature records for November. One of Minnesota's longest-running cooperative observers, at Milan in Chippewa County, set its all-time November high temperature record (82 degrees F), and recorded three separate high temperatures of 80 degrees or higher.
The one record that did not fall is the state's all time high temperature mark for November, though it was tied. Granite Falls recorded a high of 84 degrees F on November 4th, matching the record in Winona on November 1, 1950.
This warm spell should be remembered not just for its magnitude, but also for the incredible reversal it signaled. Low temperatures across much of Minnesota were in the single-digits on October 27th, and as late as October 30th in northern areas. By November 4th, temperatures across the state had risen to between the upper 60s and the mid-80s. In many areas, the temperature increase exceeded 70 degrees, with a 78-degree rise reported at Lamberton (from a low of 2 F on October 27th to a high of 80 F on November 5). Indeed, this was a spectacular Minnesota's warm-up.
| Station | Highest Temperature (F) | # Daily Record High Temperatures | # Daily High Temperatures 70 F or Greater |
| Duluth | 75* | 3 | 3** |
| International Falls | 74* | 2 | 3** |
| Rochester | 74 | 0 | 6** |
| St. Cloud | 76* | 4 | 4** |
| Twin Cities | 75 | 4 | 5** |
* Denotes all-time record high temperature for November
**Denotes most on record for November
Last updated December 8, 2020