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Last month in Albert Lea will be recorded as the January with the lowest amount of precipitation in the city on record, according to the national climate archives dating back to 1886.

The Albert Lea Wastewater Treatment Center, which has measured and reported precipitation since 1970, recorded .01 inches during the month, according to Brandon Huston, treatment center superintendent. That includes melted snow and rain.

Huston pointed out that the record came only eight months after the city had the largest single month of precipitation in the last 25 years in June with 11.99 inches.

Looking at the archives, after the 2025 new record, the next lowest January precipitation total in Albert Lea came in 1962 with .02 inches and 1900 and 1896 with .03 inches.

Huston said January is typically Albert Lea’s driest month of the year.

Albert Lea’s top 10 lowest January precipitation

1. 2025: 0.01 inches

2. 1962: 0.02 inches

3. 1900: 0.03 inches

    1896: 0.03 inches

5. 1940: 0.06 inches

6. 1948: 0.07 inches

7. 1995: 0.08 inches

    1981: 0.08 inches

    1974: 0.08 inches

10. 1970: 0.16 inches