Tourism staff says weather has not affected traffic
July saw some of the coolest monthly temperatures recorded in International Falls, according to the National Weather Service, but officials said that the weather does not seem to have had a major impact in summer tourism.
The city did not reach 80 degrees all month, and the mean temperature was a chilly 58.8 degrees — 7.3 degrees below normal.
International Falls has not had a July without hitting 80 degrees since 1925. Since 1897, the Falls has averaged 14 days with high temperatures of at least 80 degrees, according to Carol Christenson, meteorologist for the NWS.
“That gives you a good idea how rare it is not to hit 80 degrees in July (in International Falls),” she said.
Pete Schultz, director of the area’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, said that initial reports about July visits to the area have been mixed, but it is too soon to tell what industries may or may not have been affected.
Some resort owners have complained that the number of visitors has been below average, Schultz said, while bridge operators have said international traffic has been steady. Many visitors say they are coming to take advantage of the Canadian-American exchange rate on the Minnesota side of the border, he noted.
But, Schultz said that the colder-than-normal weather combined with other items such as the struggling economy and passport requirements may have indeed kept some visitors away.
“To have terrible weather on top of everything — it’s just too much,” he said.
International Falls Area Chamber of Commerce President Betsy Jensen said that her experience has been similar. Some traffic has been slower, while other traffic has been higher. She said that the city had a successful Crazy Daze recently, which she said was not impacted by the weather.
She also said more visitors have come to the chamber office this summer looking for indoor activities when the weather is too cold to spend time outside.
Christenson said that the month was cooler than normal because the jet stream was pushed southward and did not make its usual upward swing into Canada and the upper Midwest of the United States. She said this has translated into cooler-than-normal temperatures throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin.
However, Christenson said that there would be a warming trend starting this weekend, which could end the warm-weather drought. The outlook for the weekend calls for highs in the upper 70s, and she said that Monday and Tuesday could break the elusive 80 degree mark.
The average maximum temperature for this July was 71.3 degrees, and the average minimum temperature was 46.3 degrees. Three mornings broke the record low temperatures for those days, all dipping into the mid-30s.
The low for the month was 35 degrees on July 12 and 13, while the monthly high of 79 degrees was recorded on July 26. The coldest high temperature last month was 53 degrees on July 16.
