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Frost advisories were up for most of southeast Minnesota Monday night but frost in May isn't surprising considering Minnesota has even seen snow... in June!

While we've had a fairly warm, dry spring so far here in 2021 (in fact, this April was one of the driest on record in Rochester) but it's been much cooler the last week or so. And with low temperatures forecast to drop below 32 degrees, frost advisories were issued several times for our area in the past week. Of course, we're used to cold weather-- and even snow-- in May, aren't we?

Sure, we've had snow in May in Minnesota

You, like me, probably remember that freak snowstorm of May 2nd, 2013 that ended up dumping over 14 inches of snow on us here in Rochester. I was working at KTTC-TV at the time and was heading in at about 5 a.m. to help with the storm coverage. The snow was falling so fast and furious at that point that my all-wheel-drive SUV barely made it to the station without getting stuck.

But while snow in May in Minnesota is rare, that's not the latest date snow's ever been recorded here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. According to this Minnesota DNR story from the State Climatology Group, it's snowed here in the North Star State even later in the year than that.

So what's the latest date it's snowed in Minnesota?

Try June and August. That's right. Snow. In Minnesota. In the middle of summer!?!

While the story notes there have been many tall tales about Minnesotans witnessing freak snowfalls up north near Ely or Brainerd on the 4th of July, none of those stories have ever been actually confirmed. But there HAVE been summer snows validated by verifiable authorities here in Minnesota, the DNR says.

"As it stands right now the latest recorded measurable snow in Minnesota remains at 1.5 inches at Mizpah in Koochiching County on June 4, 1935, and the earliest documented snow in Minnesota is a trace that fell at the Duluth Airport on August 31, 1949."

So, yeah, that's not what we wanted to hear, right? I don't want to deal with snow in April, let alone June or August, right?! Don't put away those snow shovels yet, I guess! Of course, flurries in June-- while not what anyone wants-- aren't quite a weather disaster, though Minnesota has seen its share of those. Keep scrolling to check out some of the worst in our state's history!

Listen to Curt St. John mornings from 6 to 10 on Quick Country 96.5
and afternoons from 2 to 6 on 103.9 The Doc

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