Memorial Day Climate

Through 1970 Memorial Day (originally called Decoration Day) was always held on May 30th.  As part of the Uniform Holiday Bill of 1968, Memorial Day was moved from May 30th to the last Monday in May 1971. It has been held on this date ever since.  Memorial Day can now fall anywhere from May 25th to May 31st. Below are some Memorial Day climate statistics for La Crosse, WI, and Rochester, MN.

La Crosse, WI:

The following statistics comprise 151 years of data. From 1873 through 1950, the data came from various locations in downtown La Crosse. Since 1950, the data has been gathered at La Crosse Regional Airport.

Temperatures have been above normal during 15 of the last 19 Memorial Days. 

The odds of having any precipitation at all on Memorial Day are 51.7% (78 out of 151).  There has been measurable (0.01" or greater) on 57 Memorial Days (37.7%) and trace amounts (less than 0.01") on 21 Memorial Days (13.9%).

Last year on Memorial Day (May 29), the high temperature was 85°F and the low temperature was 56°F. No rain fell. The average wind speed was 5.9 mph.

Rochester, MN:

The following statistics comprise 110 years of data. From 1887 through 1931, the data came from several cooperative observers in the Rochester area. Since 1932, the data has been gathered at Rochester International Airport. No data was taken on Memorial Day from 1889 to 1891, 1908, and 1921 to 1928.

Temperatures have been above normal during 14 of the last 19 Memorial Days.  Rain has fallen on 9 of the last 11 Memorial Days (8 measurable and 1 trace).

The odds of having any precipitation at all on Memorial Day are 56.4% (62 out of 110).  There has been measurable (0.01" or greater) on 40 Memorial Days (36.4%) and trace amounts (less than 0.01") on 22 Memorial Days (20%).

Last year on Memorial Day (May 29), the high temperature was 84°F and the low temperature was 58°F.   No rain fell.  The average wind speed was 11.1 mph.

Memorial Day Weather History

The following weather events affected southeast Minnesota, northeast Iowa, and western Wisconsin on Memorial Day:

• In 1941 (May 30), Decorah, IA (7.70") and Waukon, IA (5.98") had their wettest 24-hour period (from the morning of May 29th through Memorial Day). Much of the rain fell in Decorah between 2 p.m. and 11 p.m. on the 29th. This heavy rain caused Dry Run Creek to overflow at Decorah covering streets and sidewalks with mud, flooding the lower levels of the town, and damaging roads and bridges. Damage of a similar but less severe nature occurred at Waukon. In the surrounding countryside, bridges, highways, culverts, and railroad roadbeds were damaged, newly planted cornfields eroded, some hay and small grain fields covered with mud and much topsoil washed away. The damage was augmented by continued cool and showery weather which prevailed during the first half of June and prevented the drying of fields and replanting of corn and delayed reconstruction of railroads, highways, and bridges. The total damage to tangible property in the northeast counties of Iowa was close to three-quarters of a million dollars, while the erosion loss probably exceeded that figure.
• In 1942 (May 30), heavy rains began on May 29th and continued through Memorial Day (May 30th) and May 31st across the northern two-thirds of Wisconsin. These rains caused floods, particularly in the Chippewa River and tributaries and the Black River, that continued into June. Alma, WI received 3.29 inches of rain on Memorial Day.
• In 1953 (May 30), Platteville, WI (93) and Genoa, WI (90) had their warmest May temperatures.
• In 1978 (May 29), an F1 tornado occurred just southwest of Caledonia, MN (Houston County) during the afternoon. According to NCDC’s Storm Data, "at 4:25 p.m., Mr. Jim Haig observed a tornado approaching his farm from the south. Some damage occurred to his main barn. In addition, a new steel building was destroyed with its roof thrown 200 feet north of the building site. 2x6 lumber was driven into the ground to a 10-inch depth. Also, lumber was impaled in a tree trunk 300 feet from the building. Large and small trees showed signs of being twisted and a very tight circulation." Also on this date, Minnesota City, MN had its wettest May day (4.20") and there was a funnel cloud reported at 2:25 p.m. in Medford, MN (Olmsted County).
• In 1991 (May 27), strong thunderstorms developed during the afternoon over western Olmsted County and produced up to baseball (2.75" in diameter) hail and gusty winds in the vicinity of Rochester. Between 3:15 and 3:45 p.m. CDT, hail covered the ground in the southwestern portion of Rochester and it still had not melted until about 3 hours later. The combination of strong wind and large hail did significant damage to trees and automobiles. These severe thunderstorms moved into northern and central Wisconsin during the late afternoon and evening. Wind damage was reported in Willard (Clark County) at 5:10 p.m. CDT and a funnel cloud was reported 8 miles northeast of Melrose (Jackson County) at 8:58 p.m. CDT. Also that evening, thunderstorms produced funnel clouds two miles south of St. Ansgar (8 p.m. CDT) and two miles west of Osage (825 p.m. CDT) in Mitchell County Iowa.
• In 1994 (May 30), a cold front produced strong to severe thunderstorms across Minnesota and Wisconsin during the afternoon and evening.
   
  • In southeast Minnesota: Quarter size (1") hail was reported in Mapleview (Mower County) and Rochester International Airport (Olmsted County); walnut size hail (1.50") fell 5 miles south of Kasson (Dodge County), and baseball size (2.50") hail was reported in Salem Corners (Olmsted County). Besides the hail, estimated 60 mph winds were reported in Salem Corners (Olmsted County) and numerous funnel clouds were reported in Rochester, Stewartville, Grand Meadow, and Austin.
  • In northeast Iowa: Mitchell, Floyd, and Butler Counties received dime (0.75") to golf ball (1.75") size.
  • In Wisconsin: Severe thunderstorms raked west-central and northern parts of the state with damaging winds up to 61 mph (Melrose in Jackson County) and hail up to tennis ball (2.5") size hail, and two tornadoes. A tornado set down just east of Woodville in St. Croix County damaging 8 farm dwellings and structures along its one-mile path. It caused $55,000 in damage. Another tornado cut a 12-mile path from just southwest of Crandon to just north of Laona in Forest County causing $1 million in damage. It destroyed three mobile homes, damaged or destroyed 25 homes, and leveled 600 acres of timber. Three people were injured in a mobile home that was destroyed by the tornado. Widespread hail up to tennis ball size fell over the Rhinelander area damaging hundreds of vehicles as well as roofs and windows. A severe thunderstorm with damaging winds knocked down about 3,000 trees and damaged several homes and cabins seven miles southeast of Seeley (Sawyer County). Wind damage was reported six miles south of Melrose (Buffalo County), Independence (Trempealeau County), and Melrose (Jackson County). A funnel cloud was reported in Nelson (Buffalo County).
• In 2006 (May 29), temperatures ranged from the upper 80s to mid-90s.  In many places, this still stands as the warmest Memorial Day.
• In 2018 (May 28), temperatures ranged from the upper 80s to the upper 90s.  It was the second warmest Memorial Day in both La Crosse, WI (94°F) and Rochester, MN (95°F).
• In 2019 (May 27), 7 tornadoes occurred during the afternoon in northeast Iowa and southeast Minnesota. 3 were brief touchdowns in Fillmore Co, MN with the other 4 having longer tracks (near Charles City, IA, near Elma, IA, near Saratoga, IA, and the last around Greenleafton, MN).  Besides the tornadoes, between 1 and 3.50" of rain fell across the Upper Mississippi River.  It was the wettest Memorial Day for many locations.  This includes La Crosse (1.13" - the previous record was 1.06" on May 30, 1882) and Rochester  (3.33" - the previous record was 1.50" on May 30, 1917).   https://www.weather.gov/arx/may2719
• In 2020 (May 25), 2 rounds of showers and storms moved through the region.  The first was during the morning and early afternoon.  A severe thunderstorm moved from Wabasha (MN) through Pepin (WI) into Buffalo (WI) counties between 8:21 and 9 a.m.  This storm produced 2" diameter hail in Pepin, WI.  The second round of storms occurred during the evening.  These storms were non-severe.  La Crosse, WI received 1.08" of rain making it their second wettest Memorial Day.  Ironically, their wettest occurred just one year earlier in 2019 (1.13").  Rochester, MN  received 0.98" of rain.  This made it their 4th wettest Memorial Day.  Like La Crosse, their wettest Memorial Day occurred in 2019 (3.33").
• In 2021 (May 31), a broken line of thunderstorms moved southeast across the area during the afternoon and evening.  These storms produced hail in Dodge County in southeast Minnesota and Buffalo County in west-central Wisconsin during the afternoon.  The largest hail was nickel size (0.88") 2 miles west of Concord, MN (Dodge County).  This line also produced 46 mph at La Crosse Regional Airport at 6:53 p.m.  Rainfall totals were up to a half-inch.  The highest rain total was 0.48" near Austin, MN (Austin 1.5 WSW CoCoRaHS).
• In 2022 (May 30), La Crosse, WI had an average temperature of 81°F. This was their third warmest daily average temperature on Memorial Day.  Only 2006 (May 29 - 85°F) and 2018 (May 28 - 82.5°F) were warmer.  Rochester, MN had an average temperature of 76°F.  This was tied with 1934 & 1944 for the 3rd warmest daily average temperature on Memorial Day.  From the late morning into the evening, south winds gusted between 30 and 50 mph in northeast Iowa and southeast Minnesota. Between 8:46 p.m. and 11 p.m., severe thunderstorms moved across Chickasaw, Howard, Floyd, and Mitchell counties in northeast Iowa and Fillmore County in southeast Minnesota.  The Rudd Fire Department (Floyd County) reported numerous trees down across town. The Colwell Fire Department (Floyd County) reported 60-70 mph winds northeast of Charles City, IA.  Minor tree damage was reported.  At 8:56 p.m., a 72 mph measured wind gust was recorded a mile south of Rockford, IA (Floyd County). Power lines were blown down between Elma and Riceville, IA (Howard County). At 9:32 p.m., a mesonet station recorded a 62 mph wind gust just south of Saratoga, IA. Finally, at 10:58 p.m., a 67 mph wind gust was measured 2 miles east of Whalen, MN (Fillmore County).
• In 2023 (May 29), no rain fell during the 3-day Memorial Day holiday. This was the first time this had occurred in La Crosse, WI since 2003 and only the 5th time since 1971 (1974, 1980, 1988, 2003, and 2023). It was only the 6th time this had occurred at Rochester. The last time was in 2014. The other times included 1980, 1985, 1988, and 2003.