`  ==New Climate Section==  Sorry for jumping the gun in the main article.  I'll put my version here and incorporate some of 's changes.    , 1881]] Minnesota endures temperature extremes characteristic of its continental climate, with cold winters and mild to hot summers in the south and frigid winters and generally cool summers in the north.  Without the climate-moderating benefits of large bodies of water, except for highly localized effects near Lake Superior, temperatures in Minnesota vary widely, especially with variations in the short-term jet stream patterns and polar fronts.  <> Temperature extremes range from a low of -60 °Fahrenheit (-51 °C) measured at Tower in the north on February 2, 1996,February in the Northern Plains Retrieved October 1, 2006. to highs of 114 °F (45.5 °C) reached in both 1917 and 1936 in the western part of the state.Minnesota and United States Climate Extremes Retrieved June 22, 2006. The average temperature in the coldest month, January, is 11.2 °F (-11.5 °C), and the average in the warmest month, July, is 73.1 °F (22.8 °C). Averages are cooler in the north and warmer in the south. <>   Snowfall averages 49.6 inches (126 cm) statewide; averages range from about 85 inches at Duluth to 40 inches in southwestern portions of the state.Historical Climate Summaries Online Data | Historical Climate Summaries Retrieved October 18, 2006  Snowfall extremes have ranged from 150 inches in the rugged Superior Highlands of the North Shore to as little as 10 inches in southern Minnesota.  << I took out the ``blizzards are common`` because I'm not sure how to define a blizzard.  (Isn't that something yummy from DQ?)>> Minnesota experiences dangerous wind chills and blizzards during its long winters; the most notable of these is the 1991 Halloween Blizzard which dumped 21.0 Inches of snow in 24 hours and broke several local records.  Occasional thunderstorms hit the state the rest of the year, averaging 30–40 days of thunderstorm activity per year.  srh.noaa.gov. Retrieved on October 25, 2006.  <> Minnesota is located on the northern edge of Tornado Alley, and peak tornado activity is from June through August. On average, the state has 24 tornadoes hits per year.Minnesota Tornado History and Statistics Retrieved October 19,2006  Total precipitation averages range from 20–35 inches across the state, with the most in the southeast and the least in the northwest.Precipitation Map Retrieved October 31, 2006  The heaviest winds in the state are found along the Buffalo Ridge, an elongated area extending from Watertown, South Dakota, diagonally across southwestern Minnesota and into Iowa. Created by a glacial drift from the last ice age, the Buffalo Ridge is ideal for wind power generation, with average wind speeds of 16.1 miles per hour (26.8 kph). <>   `