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Beyond the Forecast

December 25 in Minneapolis

Weather forecasts run out after about two weeks. For any date further out than that, the honest answer isn't a single number — it's the range Minneapolis actually delivers on this date, and how often.

On December 25, Minneapolis, MN typically reaches 29°F, but has run anywhere from 11°F to 41°F in eight years out of ten. About 74% of December 25s see no measurable precipitation.

Daytime high29°F
11°F8 years in 10 land in here41°F
Overnight low16°F
-5°F8 years in 10 land in here30°F

The odds on December 25

74%
Dry day
No measurable precipitation
97%
Freeze
Low at or below 32°F

Odds computed from the last 30 years (19962025).

This date is moving

Highs around December 25 have warmed about 0.7°F per decade since 1970 — roughly 4.0°F across the record. The figures above are shifted along that trend to 2025, so they describe today's climate rather than the average of the last 55 years.

Where this comes from: 798 daily observations from U OF MN ST PAUL, covering 19702025. We pool every day within 7 days of December 25 — a single calendar date has only about 55 readings, far too few to place a 10th percentile you'd want to trust.

Why it's not a plain average: A climatology computed straight across 19702025 describes the middle of that period, not today, so as a statement about the present it runs cold. We fit a trend on year and shift each observation to 2025 before taking the range. The probabilities use the last 30 years instead — shifting a temperature along a trend is well defined, shifting “did it rain” is not.

What this is not: Not a forecast. It is what Minneapolis, MN has actually done on this date, which is the only defensible answer once you're past the two-week horizon where real forecasts stop. Data: NOAA NCEI GHCN-Daily.

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