St. Paul Campus Climatological Observatory
The University of Minnesota's Department of Soil, Water, and Climate maintains a Climatological Observatory on the grounds of the University's St. Paul campus. This page provides links to charts that show the last three days of weather data collected at the Observatory. These charts are updated each hour. The new charts should be available by about 15 minutes after the top of the hour.
Information about hourly data charts:
- Some charts show the maximum, average, and mininum values within each hour.
- Some charts show average values for the hour.
- Precipitation and evaporation charts show the total for the hour.
- Data are sampled every five seconds to build the hourly summaries.
- Labeling on the X-axis of most of the charts is of the form MM DD HOUR, showing the month, day, and hour for the data. The time is Central Standard Time. Thus data labeled 6 19 1500 is for June 19, for the hour ending at 1500 C.S.T.
Select a Chart:
| Air Temperature | Precipitation | Other elements | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max., Avg., and Min. | Hourly (3 days) | Relative Humidity | Wind Speed - 10' |
| Air Temp. and Dew Point | Hourly data file | Vapor Pressure | Wind Direction, text |
| Air Temp. Range | Solar Radiation | Notes on Direction file | |
| Wind Chill | 15-min. (2 days) | Pan Evaporation | |
| Temp, Dew Pt., Rh text file | 15-min. (1 day) | Wind Speed - 3' | |
| 10-minute Avg. Temp. | 15-minute data file | Gamma Radiation | |
| Air Temp and Heat Index |
Description and examples of the Gamma Radiation Data
The following charts of soil and air temperatures will be updated starting at 20 minutes after the hour.
| Soil temp. - bare plot | Soil temp. - sod plot | Air Temp. over Bare Soil Plot |
|---|---|---|
| 1,5,10,20,40 cm | 1,5,10,20,50 cm | Air Temp. by height above Soil Surface |
| 50,60,80,100,120 cm | 60,70,90,110,130,160 cm | |
| all 10 depths | 320 - 1280 cm | Air Temp. Profile above Soil Surface |
| Temperature Profile | Temperature Profile | Air / Snow / Soil Temp. Profile |
| Depth Conversion Table | Notes about Bare Soil Plot Air Temps |
Other Information:
- Minnesota Public Radio story --"U of M climatologist took the earth's temperature"
- Air Temperature Profile Above Sod Surface (Updated 35 minutes after the hour)
Historical Summaries:
- Table of Monthly Pan Evaporation, with summary statistics
- Table of Monthly Precipitation, with Normals and other summary statistics
- Average Monthly Maximum Air Temperature, with Normals and other summary statistics
- Average Monthly Minimum Air Temperature, with Normals and other summary statistics
- Monthly Mean Air Temperature, with Normals and other summary statistics
charts are maintained by: Dave Ruschy
phone: 612-625-5227
e-mail: