Spring Records for Rochester

Spring Records for Rochester
(March - April - May)

Warmest		Coldest
1) 53.8	2012	1) 36.6	1888
2) 52.1	1977	2) 39.2	1950
3) 50.1	2010	3) 39.4	1893
4) 49.3	1987	4) 39.5	1965
5) 48.8	1985	5) 39.7	1996
	1946	6) 39.9	2013
7) 47.9	2000	7) 40.2	1984
8) 47.8	2006	8) 40.3	1909
	1910	9) 40.4	1997
10) 47.7	1991		1975
			1937

normal temperature is 45.7 degrees

Wettest		Driest
1) 21.90	2013	1) 3.17	1910
2) 15.88	2001	2) 3.59	1934
3) 15.09	1888	3) 4.14	1972
4) 14.57	1990	4) 4.37	1948
5) 14.35	1945	5) 4.43	1987
6) 12.85	1982	6) 4.71	2010
7) 12.60	1999	7) 4.85	1943
8) 12.37	1973	8) 4.89	1939
9) 12.06	1938	9) 5.06	1958
10) 11.91	1991	10) 5.18	1932

normal precipitation is 8.75 inches

Spring weather normally begins around the end of March and can extend into early June, at which time the average high temperature has reached the lower to middle 70s. Thus, a typical spring lasts just slightly over two months but may seem much shorter when cold weather lingers into April and parts of May.

Average high temperatures in the spring rise from near 50 degrees at the beginning of April to the lower 70s by the end of May. Average lows rise from near 30 to near 50 during the same time interval. Freezing temperatures are common during the first half of April (averaging 13 for the month) when invading Canadian air masses are still very cold. The last frost is usually by the first or second week of May in the city of Rochester.

The jet stream gradually moves northward as spring progresses but the track of surface lows are often still to the south of Minnesota, especially in April. Significant snows are still possible when polar air is in place over the upper Midwest and lows track through the central Mississippi valley. Severe weather becomes more likely when the lows begin to track further to the north of Rochester later in the spring. The frequency of thunderstorms increases during the spring with an average of three days with thunderstorms in April and six such days in May.

Spring is, on average, the windiest season of the year and April is usually the windiest month in Rochester. This is largely due to the strong temperature difference at this time of the year, when the polar regions are still cold but the southern U.S. has warmed up significantly.