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We don't have seven months of winter in southern and central Minnesota. Cold weather generally starts in November and ends in March or April. Still, winter can seem long and I would not recommend that anyone who has experienced winter and dislikes it move here.
It really depends on where in Minnesota you're talking about. The OP mentioned something about the St Cloud area....but for the sake of discussion, let me chime in about Northeastern Minnesota. I'd have to say that, depending on your individual definition of "Winter", we do generally have about 7 months of Winter.
This year was colder than normal, but my wife and I were in Arizona for a couple weeks in May and left my daughter to take care of the house. When we left on May 4th, there was lots (yes....lots) of snow on the ground. When we got back on May 18th, there was no snow on the ground. I asked my daughter about the snow situation and she told me that she was frantically shoveling the piles of snow in the shaded areas of the lawn into the sunny spots to help it melt quicker. She told her husband "my dad will freak if there is still snow on the ground when they get back....so grab shovel and help me get rid of this stuff".
Typically we have snow at some point in later October although it doesn't always accumulate on the ground until at some point in November. It's not at all unusual to have the snow stick around until mid April. Years ago the kids went Trick or Treating many times in a few inches of snow. I always rake my lawn after it's dried out from the snowmelt.....and I usually am raking the last week of April or the first week of May.
My definition of Winter doesn't have to include a snow pile. If it's cold out and you need a Winter jacket at some point during the day or night.....it's Winter ! By my thoughts, up here in Northern Minnesota, that gives us about 6-7 months of Winter, depending on the individual year in question.
It's importand to note that just because it's not Winter, doesn't automatically mean it's Summer either. In Northern Minnesota we have very short or non-existant Springs. It usually just goes from cold to relatively warm in a very short time. We seem to be above the Jet-Steam most of the year and many times we're right on the boarder line of the warm/cold line of the Jet-Stream. The weather can change in just an hour or two from bad to good, cold to frigid, cold to warm, or warm to hot....sometimes it drives you nuts since it's tough to plan any outdoor event without first consulting various weather prediction sources. One day it can be 80 and sunny, and overnight a "front" moves through and it can be 50 and rainy the next day. Sometimes this can happen in far less time than from one day to the next.
Summers seem short, probably because they are, and even if they aren't by your definition of Summer, they will seem short because it's one time of the year you have lots of options for doing things outside, and as we all know, time flies when you're having fun and keeping busy doing enjoyable things. Misquitos suck (literally and figuratively) and do hinder enjoyment of the Summer....but none the less, Summer is as good as things get in Minnesota. Yes of course there are chemicals you can smear yourself with to keep them away....but I'm of the opinion that the "cure" is worse then the "disease". I don't like smelling like I am bathed and slathered in toxic chemicals of which who knows the long term results of that behavior.
Fall can really be a beautiful time in Northern Minnesota. Fall can last anywhere from a few weeks to a couple months. It's usually a dryer (less humidity) time of the year and we have many clear days with lots of sunshine. Yes it's cooler, but the days can get up into the 60's and sometimes the low 70's and it's very enjoyable outside when these conditions are present. However....when the sun goes down, the temps drop very quickly, so bring your jacket....lol
In Northern Minnesota we dont' generally have to many real strong storms as I would call them. Storms generally take energy to drive them. Energy in weather systems means heat.....since we're not very warm most of the time (relatively speaking compared to most other areas of the country as well as in real terms generally), there isn't enough energy present to really form a severe storm. Ironically, even most of the Winter blizzards or severe snow storms miss us because we're to cold and dry and there is not enough energy (meaning heat and moisture, cold are has very little actual and relative moisture) to keep the storm going this far North. Summer is the same way with severe thunder storms and/or tornados. We don't have to many due to the cooler weather we experience...there just isn't any energy to form them and keep them going long enough to do much damage even when they do occur.
Month by month, this would be my take on Minnesota. Keep in mind, these are just my personal opinions, but each person is likely to have their own take on this.
January / generally brutal weatherwise. Sub zero temps can last for days on end, people are bundled up if outside and usually just rushing from car to a heated space. Garage floor now is covered with road sand/salt from car. Good time to catch up on your TV watching.
February / almost as brutal as January. Still sub zero temps quite often, and by now most Minnesotians are sick and tired of Winter. Garage floor is now getting bumpy from the piles of road sand/salt falling off the car. There are no holidays to look forwad to and we're just waiting for Spring to come....but it's still a few months away.
March / Snow starts to melt on some days, and yet get get quit a lot of new snow at times. Garage floor is completely covered in 1/8" or more of disgustingly filthy road sand/salt Snowbanks are dirty from all the road sand/salt accumulation over the past few months, and most days are still blustery and cold
....still waiting for Spring.
April / can be a transition month (or not....lol), from the depths of Winter to the early tinges of Spring. My garage floor is now so dirty I cannot stand it. It gets tracked into the house which angers my wife, and my car floor is covered in it and yet it's all wet/frozen to the garage floor so it can't be easily cleaned up. Extremely variable in what to expect. We can get snowstorm and get 8 or 10 inches of snow, and a few days later it's melting quite rapidly. Roads are sloppy and the freeze/thaw cycle can make for some very nasty driving in the early morning and late evening hours. Sometimes the snow disappears totally by the 2nd or 3rd week of the month.......still waiting for Spring !
May / usually things start to warm up. At some point, I've had enough....the first day it hit's 50 degrees, I've shoveled, swept and hosed off my garage floor. There really is concrete under there. I was starting to wonder if I had a dirt floor....lol. The days can be nice, but the evenings/nights are still cold. Tree leaves start to bud out in early May (usually) and we find hope for better things ahead from Mother Nature.
June / a crap shoot. Usually Summer doesn't really arrive until later in June. We can have beautiful days, but there are a lot of rainy/cold/cool/soggy days in between the nice days. Usually at some point in early June you'll hear a neighbors lawnmower running.....awe, what a sweet sound that is, followed by the sweet smell of fresh cut grass....life is starting to get good.
July / Usually a beautiful month. Lots of outside activities take place and you see a lot of smiles on faces. The sounds of the neighborhood kids playing outside, people taking walks, convertibles driving with the top down, trailered boats on their way to a family adventure.....life is good !
August / Same as July, but towards the end of the month, you'll have that first evening when you feel, and hear other say "oh my, I feel a touch of Fall in the air. Evenings are getting cooler again towards the end of August, and we realize that our carefree Summer days are about to end.
September / Can be a beautiful month....I just wish Winter didn't follow Fall ! Days are usually variations of warm, dry and sunny with cool/cold evenings. However....the dread of what is to come weatherwise is creeping into conversations and that hinders true, full enjoyment of September. If only we could replace October, November, December, January, February and March with September type weather, life would be really good here, for me and my desires anyway ! We'd also probably have 25 million people living in Minnesota too !
October, another transition month. We go from more or less comfortable daytime tempatures, to tempatires that many times demand a Winter jacket. Days can be nice, but they are sporadic and unpredictable. Snow fluries in the air from time to time and sometimes by the end of the month, you'll get a few inches of snow that will stick on the ground. It's not living color green anymore outside, it's now starting to make our world far to black and white for my tastes.
November, grey, cloudy, cold. Everyone has buttoned up their outside domain, lawn mower put away, snowblower gassed up and ready for action at a moments notice. Not much to do, Summer activities are obviously out, but Winter activities cannot start yet. If you're not into shooting animals (as in hunting), there isn't much to do. But....Thanksgiving is almost here and that will be fun and is something to lookforward to !
December, grey, cloudy, cold. Snow is now generally "stuck" firmly on the ground. Garage floor now has some sand on it from all the dirt and grime on the streets that your car "tracks" into the garage every time you enter. Still not much to do outside as there usually isn't enough snow to ski or snowmobile at least in the early part of December. But...Christmas is coming and that will be fun !
Regarding the social situation, I've never found Minnesota people in general to be unfriendly or aloof. Granted, I was born here, but whenever anybody new moves into our neighborhood, we usually give them a few days and then venture over to introduce ourselves and invite them over for a chat/coffee/drinks at their convenience if they so desire. We've started some good relationships this way, and other times nothing comes of it.....so be it.
Minnesota is a great place to live in so many ways.....but, I cannot let that statment stand without telling you that in my personal opinion, the weather can be brutal at times, and even when not truly "brutal" the cold/snow/ice lasts far to long. It just seems like we spend far to much time "waiting for Spring".
Last edited by jasper1372; 09-17-2014 at 01:25 PM..
the long freeing cold winters are what is making me hesitate.....to be honest...still contemplating....
Your social experience will vary widely with your personality, your interests and activities, and dumb luck. The weather is the same for everybody.
If you were the fairly common "My husband and I found more exciting, better paying jobs with cheaper, bigger, and nicer homes in a better school district with easier commutes and more convenient access to the amenities we enjoy, but we might stay put because winter looks really cold" poster, I'd tell you to suck it up, put on a sweater, and move already. That's not you. I've only gathered that you're looking for cheap land by a VA and in prior experience did not enjoy winter in the upper Midwest. I like winter, if you feel the same way about cold as I do about heat and humidity then Minnesota is not your best option.
I like winter, if you feel the same way about cold as I do about heat and humidity then Minnesota is not your best option.
This, exactly. I hate, hate, hate to be too warm, sweating, sticky, etc. I've spent a good part of my career moving around, with a lot of it in Georgia, the Carolinas, and Southern Virginia. More often than not, summer weather in these places is miserable for me. Summer in Northern Minnesota? Not so much - except maybe on the rare days where the heat and humidity climbs up far enough to invade my comfort zone. I know some folks love those places I mentioned, even in the summertime. To each his (or her) own.
As far as winter, it is what you make of it. I grew up in Vermont, so Minnesota isn't a huge leap for me. One thing that winter-loving Vermonters and Minnesotans have in common is that they have winter-based hobbies, snow sports, ice-fishing, etc. They also learned how to dress for the cold and don't usually let winter stop them from living their lives.
I've lived all over the country and now wouldn't live anywhere BUT Minnesota.. That includes my home state, which has become far too crowded for me (as many parts of the east coast can get). I'm a transplant, but consider myself to be more Minnesotan than anything else.
thanks for input....those winters are longer though in MN then they are in new England, I imagine, although new England gets much more snow....yet the temps in NE are less cold then they are in MN I think it sounds like
The St. Cloud area is a lot like Fargo. They are similar culturally, scenery-wise, and have the same weather. If you didn't like Fargo you probably will not enjoy St. Cloud, either.
I cant see St Cloud being like Fargo, to be honest. It has to be better in every way, I would think...is St Cloud actually as cold as Fargo??
St. Cloud is not nearly as far north in latitude as Fargo and it is closer to a more diverse array of landscapes nearby. Winds are not nearly as severe compared to the pancake flat Red River Valley that Fargo is located on.
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