Climate of Grand Forks, North Dakota

Climate of Grand Forks, North Dakota
Grand Forks
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D
 
 
0.8
 
15
-4
 
 
0.6
 
22
4
 
 
0.9
 
34
17
 
 
1.2
 
53
31
 
 
2.1
 
69
44
 
 
3
 
77
54
 
 
2.9
 
81
58
 
 
2.9
 
80
56
 
 
2
 
69
45
 
 
1.6
 
55
34
 
 
0.9
 
33
18
 
 
0.6
 
19
3
Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
Precipitation totals in inches
Source: NOAA [1]

The Climate of Grand Forks, North Dakota is a warm summer continental (Köppen Dfb) typical of cities located in the Great Plains, with four very distinct seasons and great variation in temperatures over very short periods of time. The city's climate is characterized by long, cold winters with moderate snowfall and warm summers which are typically humid.

Contents

Temperature

Grand Forks lies in the middle of the North American continent on low-lying, flat land. Since it is located in the Great Plains, it has an extreme continental climate, in that there are great differences between summer and winter temperatures. As there are no nearby mountain ranges or bodies of water to ameliorate the winter climatic conditions, Grand Forks lies exposed to numerous weather systems including bitterly cold Arctic high pressure systems. This can result in bone-chilling temperatures as early as the end of October, followed by bitter cold temperatures and sometimes dangerous wind chill readings during December, January and February. During these three months, the high reaches freezing on only 18 days, and the low falls below 0 °F (−17.8 °C) for 50 days per year. [1] Cold weather and snow will occasionally extend into April, although in general the winter weather begins to moderate in late February or early March. The lowest temperature ever recorded was −43 °F (−42 °C), most recently on January 30, 2004. [2]

Summers are typically warm and often humid, particularly in June and July, with frequent severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. Depending on the year, warm weather can continue beyond to October, or come to an abrupt end soon after Labor Day. The city often receives an Indian Summer, when summer weather returns briefly after the first frosts, in mid to late October, or even early November. The highest temperature ever recorded in Grand Forks was 109 °F (43 °C) on July 6, 1936. [1]

Precipitation

The wettest month is June and the driest is December, and precipitation is concentrated from May to September. There is generally snow cover from mid-November to the end of March, though this varies depending on the year—heavy snowfalls in late October and in April are not uncommon. The city averages 37.2 inches (94 cm) of snow per season. [1]

Statistics

Climate data for Grand Forks, North Dakota
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 54
(12)
67
(19)
82
(28)
98
(37)
105
(41)
105
(41)
109
(43)
104
(40)
102
(39)
93
(34)
73
(23)
58
(14)
109
(43)
Average high °F (°C) 14.5
(−9.7)
22.3
(−5.4)
34.3
(1.3)
53.4
(11.9)
69.1
(20.6)
76.9
(24.9)
80.7
(27.1)
80
(27)
68.8
(20.4)
54.7
(12.6)
33.2
(0.7)
19.3
(−7.1)
50.6
Average low °F (°C) −4
(−20)
3.5
(−15.8)
16.9
(−8.4)
31
(−1)
43.8
(6.6)
53.6
(12.0)
57.7
(14.3)
55.5
(13.1)
45.2
(7.3)
33.8
(1.0)
17.9
(−7.8)
2.7
(−16.3)
29.8
Record low °F (°C) −43
(−42)
−42
(−41)
−36
(−38)
−5
(−21)
5
(−15)
29
(−2)
39
(4)
32
(0)
18
(−8)
1
(−17)
−24
(−31)
−37
(−38)
−43
(−42)
Precipitation inches (mm) 0.78
(19.8)
0.62
(15.7)
0.89
(22.6)
1.17
(29.7)
2.11
(53.6)
2.98
(75.7)
2.89
(73.4)
2.92
(74.2)
1.95
(49.5)
1.59
(40.4)
0.86
(21.8)
0.59
(15)
19.35
(491.5)
Snowfall inches (cm) 9.3
(23.6)
5.7
(14.5)
5.9
(15)
1.2
(3)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0.8
(2)
5.9
(15)
8.4
(21.3)
37.2
(94.5)
Avg. precipitation days 6.3 5.8 6.6 6.4 8.6 10.4 9.5 9.1 7.4 6.7 5.5 5.9 88.2
Avg. snowy days 6.6 5.0 4.2 0.9 0 0 0 0 0 0.6 3.6 5.7 26.6
Source: NOAA, [1][2]


References

  1. ^ a b c d e "NCDC: U.S. Climate Normals" (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/climatenormals/clim20/nd/323621.pdf. Retrieved 2010-05-14. 
  2. ^ a b "Daily Averages for Grand Forks, ND". MSN. http://weather.msn.com/daily_averages.aspx?wealocations=wc:USND0146&q=Grand+Forks,+ND+forecast:averagesd&weai=1. Retrieved 2010-05-14. 

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Grand Forks, North Dakota — Infobox Settlement official name = City of Grand Forks settlement type = City nickname = The Grand Cities The Forks The Sunflake City motto = A Place of Excellence imagesize = image caption = Town Square in downtown Grand Forks image mapsize =… …   Wikipedia

  • Media in Grand Forks, North Dakota — The following is a list of media in Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA: Contents 1 Print 1.1 Daily 1.2 Weekly 1.3 Other 2 …   Wikipedia

  • List of roads in Grand Forks, North Dakota — This is a list of major roads in the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota. In Grand Forks, roads that run from north to south are traditionally called streets and roads that run from east to west are traditionally called avenues. Streets are… …   Wikipedia

  • List of mayors of Grand Forks, North Dakota — The following is a complete list of the Mayors of Grand Forks, North Dakota.[1] Term Mayor 1881 1882 Col. W.H. Brown 1882 1884 M.L. McCormack 1885 J.S. Eshelman 1886 1887 D.M. Holmes 1888 1889 Alexander Griggs …   Wikipedia

  • North Dakota locations by per capita income — North Dakota is the forty second richest state in the United States of America, with a per capita income of $17,769 (2000). North Dakota Locations by Per Capita Income Briarwood, North Dakota $57,751 Ayr, North Dakota $55,567 Maza, North Dakota… …   Wikipedia

  • Grand Forks International Airport — For the airport near Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada, see Grand Forks Airport. KGFK redirects here. For the radio station in Grand Forks, ND with the call sign KGFK, see KGFK (AM). Grand Forks International Airport IATA: GFK – …   Wikipedia

  • List of counties in North Dakota — RD SG RM DK LM …   Wikipedia

  • University of North Dakota — Motto Lux et Lex (Latin) Motto in English Light and Law Established 1883 …   Wikipedia

  • Portal:North Dakota — Wikipedia portals: Culture Geography Health History Mathematics Natural sciences People Philosophy Religion Society Technology …   Wikipedia

  • North Dakota — North Dakotan. a state in the N central United States. 652,695; 70,665 sq. mi. (183,020 sq. km). Cap.: Bismarck. Abbr.: ND (for use with zip code), N. Dak. * * * State (pop., 2000: 642,200), U.S. Situated in the north central region, it is… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”