Twin Cities breaks 125-year-old temperature record; 100 in northwest Minnesota

Yahoo

12-05-2025

Uff da. Incredible early-season heat is gripping Minnesota. Numerous record highs were set Sunday—some of them dating back 125 years, including in the Twin Cities and St. Cloud.
High temperatures as of 3:45 p.m. Sunday: Twin Cities (90°), St. Cloud (92°), Duluth (84°), International Falls (91°), Brainerd (93°), Fargo (95°), Grand Forks (99°), Baudette (97°), and Park Rapids (92°) all broke records Sunday. Northwest Minnesota and eastern North Dakota in particular shattered previous records by more than 5 degrees.
As of mid-afternoon Sunday, Hallock, in the northwest corner of the state, took the prize with an incredible high of 100 degrees!
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Most of central and western Minnesota saw temperatures surpass 90 degrees—unusually early, of course. In the Twin Cities, this was our earliest 90-degree day in 9 years. We reached that mark by 3:31 PM Sunday afternoon. For reference, the average first 90-degree day at MSP (using the modern 1991–2020 averages) is May 30. It's worth noting that a century ago, it was even later.
In addition to the record heat, we had strong winds and incredibly low relative humidity. With dew points only in the 30s and 40s, afternoon relative humidity dipped into the single digits in western and northwestern Minnesota.
Red Flag Warnings were posted across much of Minnesota through the evening, and we'll likely see more on Monday and Tuesday before dew points begin to rise midweek.
The heat will continue through Wednesday, with highs mostly in the mid to upper 80s—and more 90s likely in western Minnesota. In the Twin Cities, we're on track to hit 7 or 8 days in the 80s already this month, including 5 in a row from Sunday through Thursday. For comparison, we average just 5 such days for the entire month of May.
Finally, a pattern shift is on the way. Rain chances increase by Thursday, followed by cooler temperatures. Highs next weekend will be slightly below normal—mostly in the 60s across southern Minnesota and 50s up north.
BMTN Note: Weather events in isolation can't always be pinned on climate change, but the broader trend of increasingly severe weather and record-breaking extremes seen in Minnesota and across the globe can be attributed directly to the rapidly warming climate caused by human activity. The IPCC has warned that Earth is "firmly on track toward an unlivable world," and says greenhouse gas emissions must be halved by 2030 in order to limit warming to 1.5C, which would prevent the most catastrophic effects on humankind. You can read more here.