April 2022 is on pace to be the second-coldest month of April in Minnesota in the last 60 years and ninth-coldest since 1872, according to National Weather Service data.
The average temperature through 18 days has been 38.8 degrees, 5.4 degrees colder than average. The only colder month of April since 1962 was 2018, which averaged 37.6 degrees.
“We still have 13 days to go, but it’s quite surprising,” said Caleb Grunzke, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service. “This April has been anomalously cold.”
The one reprieve from that brutal 2018? There's been only 1.6 inches of snowfall so far this month. In April 2018, a record 26 inches of snow fell.
But what has increased is wind speeds. Wind speeds have been above average in 12 of the 18 days so far this month with several days of gusts over 40 miles per hour.
So when will it finally get back on track?
“Halfway through the month of May we could see improvement, '' Grunzke said. “Probably not above normal temperatures but closer to normal.”
That would mean temperatures in the mid to low 60s. Minnesotans will get a taste of that warm weather later this week. Grunzke says national weather forecasts show temperatures could climb into the 70s this weekend, however they will not last. Like Minnesotans have been accustomed to, it will just be a tease of spring before returning down into the 40s.
“It will probably not be as cold as it is now, but that spring warmth will not last for long,” Grunzke said.
Grunzke said there’s no indication this extended cold streak will have a major impact on the summer outlook. He’d only get concerned about that if the cold spell stretches deep into May. As of now, long-term forecasts continue to show the summer will be warmer than average.
“It’s not unheard of for these cold temperatures to last into May,” Grunzke said. “I guess people just forget and are getting stir crazy with wanting it to warm up.”