Beltane Early Growth Moon
Mark Seeley University of Minnesota & MPR
My MPR colleague Dr. Mark Seeley gave us some astounding benchmarks on just how rapidly Minnesota’s climate is shifting, and how extreme weather in Minnesota is becoming the new normal.
-Weather Whiplash: The record warmth of March 2012 was the “most anomalous month in Minnesota and USA climate history” Fast forward to spring of 2013, and Minnesota is living through one of the coldest and wettest springs on record. This kind of year to year “weather whiplash” is unprecedented in Minnesota’s climate record.
-On the need to adapt: Minnesota’s infrastructure is built upon older perceptions of climate behavior that no longer hold true. We need to adapt our infrastructure to the new climate reality…which include more heat waves, tropical humidity episodes (70F to 80F+ dew points) in summer and excessive rainfall events.
-On changing rainfall patterns: A greater percentage of Minnesota’s annual precipitation is coming from summer thunderstorms…and the extreme rainfall they produce. The gentle soaking rains of our youth are fewer and farther between. That is promoting a cycle of flood…and drought in Minnesota. Twice in the past 6 years several counties in Minnesota were declared in flood…and drought at the same moment in time.
The “new normal” in Minnesota’s changing climate includes an “amplified thunderstorm signature” meaning more of our rainfall is coming in the form of heavy downpours.
