Aside from typical year-to-year variations, significant trends show:
Lakes and rivers are getting warmer
- During July and August, Minnesota lakes are about 3.06 – 3.78° Fahrenheit warmer now, on average, than 50 years ago.
- Minnesota lakes have lost an average of 10 to 14 days of ice cover in the past 50 years.
More frequent and extreme rain events
Every decade since the 1960s, Minnesota has seen an increase in the number of 2-inch, 3-inch, and 4-inch 24-hour rain events.
Source: MDNR – State Climatology Office
The rate of change is accelerating
Long-term data for air temperature, precipitation, and surface water temperature show that the rate of change (measured per decade) from 1970 to present is significantly higher than the rate of change from 1895 to 1969.
Source: MDNR – State Climatology Office
What are the climate trends in my community?
Most Minnesota communities are experiencing similar trends, but there are some variations throughout the state. These climate resource tools can help understand climate trends for your community:
Minnesota Climate Explorer - This DNR-developed web tool allows users to view, graph, and download historical and projected future data for average, minimum and maximum temperature, and precipitation statewide, as well as at the county, watershed, and other management levels.
Surface Water and Climate Data Viewer - This MPCA-developed web tool allows users to view, graph, and download surface water temperatures for lakes and streams for individual lakes and streams or lakes and streams grouped by county, region and statewide.
Minnesota CliMAT - This University of Minnesota interactive online tool offers highly localized future climate information for Minnesota communities down to a 2.5-mile scale.