How warm and dry have we been??

Warm and dry weather has been consistent for most of 2023, especially in the second half of the year. It’s showing up in the record books!!

For temperature, we are averaging 48.8°F at Rochester International Airport. This factors in the average temperature of every single day. This would be the third warmest year on average on record with full data going back over 80 years. While we won’t finish on this mark, mild conditions later this week will allow us to likely finish in or around the top 5 when this year is over.

For rainfall, Rochester has faired “better” than other communities due to some thunderstorms over the Summer that produced heavy rainfall. A lot of these thunderstorms did not impact other communities including Austin, Albert Lea, and Mason City. All three of these communities are currently in the top 10 for their driest years on record. With high pressure taking over later this week, and no real rain or snow systems getting close to our area, we could very well see little to no changes the rest of the year.