News Cut Category Archive: Weather

Tribute to a storm chaser

Posted at 11:37 AM on February 5, 2012 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Andy Gabrielson of Luverne, Minn., was killed by a wrong-way driver in Oklahoma. Gabrielson, a "storm chaser," was on his way home from a chase in Texas yesterday when he died near Tulsa.

He saw his first tornado when he was 6 near his home, and he said he was fascinated by them ever since.

The storm chasing community paid tribute to him by "lighting up" their GPS tracking systems in his honor...

Here's an interview with him, and some of the video for which he won an Emmy.

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Sculpture interruptus

Posted at 2:04 PM on January 30, 2012 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

With temperatures pushing the 40s, it was the smart ice sculpture fan who spent lunch hour in Saint Paul's Rice Park for the viewing of the Winter Carnival snow sculpture contest. Unfortunately, various limbs have already fallen from some of the sculptures, and the rest of them might not be far behind in the January heat.

(click the image to see a larger version)

(more below)

Continue reading "Sculpture interruptus"

Where winter went

Posted at 1:22 PM on January 30, 2012 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Even though we know that the weather outside and climate are two different things, it's not difficult to wonder whether the winter that wasn't is evidence of a warming world.

If you say it is, how do we explain Kiev?

Temperatures reached -15 celsius today and 15 people have died from hypothermia in the last four days.

In Bucharest, the area was paralyzed by snow over the weekend.

The Associated Press reports that one woman froze to death in a snowstorm in a central Serbian village, while two elderly men were found dead, one in the snow outside his home. Further south, emergency crews are searching for two men in their 70s who are feared dead.

The winter weather comes after a period of relative mild weather.

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Weather math

Posted at 10:31 AM on January 27, 2012 by Bob Collins (8 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

The National Weather Service has just issued a "heavy snow" warning for the Minneapolis Saint Paul Airport:

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN THE TWIN CITIESCHANHASSEN HAS
ISSUED AN AIRPORT WEATHER WARNING FOR...

MINNEAPOLISSAINT PAUL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT MSP

* VALID FROM NOON TODAY TO 4 PM CST THIS AFTERNOON

FOR THE FOLLOWING THREATS...

* SNOW FALLING AT A RATE OF 34 INCH OR MORE PER HOUR

LIGHT SNOW WILL ENVELOP THE TWIN CITIES METRO AIRPORT SHORTLY BEFORE
THE NOON HOUR. SNOWFALL RATES OF UP TO THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH
PER HOUR ARE LIKELY BETWEEN NOON AM AND 430 PM. SNOWFALL
ACCUMULATION OF NEAR AN INCH SHOULD BE EXPECTED.

This invites some math. If the rate of snowfall is "up to" 3/4 of an inch per hour, and the snow will last for four hours and the total accumulation is near an inch, for how long would the rate of snowfall be 3/4 of an inch per hour?

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When normal is news

Posted at 10:56 AM on January 19, 2012 by Bob Collins (16 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Our top story today is that the weather is perfectly normal. This is usually the coldest week of the winter. Our fascination with normalcy reminds me of an editor's suggested headline when someone urged a news organization cover more good news: "No plane crashes at airport today."

Over the last few months or so the top weather story was the weather wasn't normal. Now the chatter is that it is. What can we conclude from this? If you're in the business of talking about the weather, you're living the good life.

Here's a little survey you might recognize:

The last time that survey appeared on these sacred pages, it was hot, humid, and normal. Go ahead and answer and we'll compare results. No peeking.

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Where's the snow?

Posted at 12:44 PM on December 21, 2011 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

There's no snow outside and it's not right, not just because the holidays demand a snowy scene, but because it's winter and it's supposed to be snowy. And because this is the first year in the last 20 I got my snowblower prepared for the season, but that's another issue.

The first reaction I have every day, illogical as it is, is that this is the future and we might as well get used to it; we're just a cold North Carolina now.

But today, NASA released this animation of snow cover on the globe in the last 10 years, which suggests to me that the snow will be back. Someday.

If it's any consolation, snow lovers, Minnesota isn't alone. This map of snowcover in the U.S. reveals that almost nobody has any...

Compare that to a year ago this week...

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Winter driving, a slippery slope

Posted at 11:33 AM on December 15, 2011 by Eric Ringham (5 Comments)
Filed under: Health, Weather

Michael Olson's post in this space yesterday got me to thinking about the hazards of Interstate Hwy. 35 in bad weather. I make the drive to Duluth fairly often, and even a little bit of freezy slush seems to be enough to send cars into the ditch. There's an elevated curve near Barnum, for example, that's scary on a warm dry day.

Three Saturdays ago I was heading south out of Duluth just as the snow started up. Cars were in the ditch left and right. One poor soul had gone off the road, into the ditch and up the bank, coming to rest upside down among the trees. A drive that normally takes me under two and a half hours lasted more than five.

My friend Wayne Lee teaches driving skills for a car club, and he offers this advice:

"No. 1, don't stop driving. If you're out of control and going into the ditch, then drive into the ditch. Keep control of your car. No. 2, don't overreact. Remain calm and keep driving.

"Another thing people don't realize is there's more than one pedal. There's an accelerator. I can choose to drive out of the ditch by putting the gas on."

Another time, Wayne told me that many accidents happen because drivers who can't stop forget that they have the option to steer. It's better, he said, to cross a line painted on the pavement than to just plow into the car ahead of you. That particular advice, simple as it sounds, saved me on that recent Saturday.

Here's a video to get us thinking about our winter driving skills. Note: Don't attempt to videotape other cars while driving.

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Today's moment of Minnesota zen

Posted at 10:03 AM on November 4, 2011 by Bob Collins (6 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

It was a very short window of opportunity for this morning's sunrise, of course, but -- trust me -- it was spectacular. Warm, tropical breezes and sleeping in? Who needs them?

Fortunately, the Duluth News Tribune captured the event on the waterfront of Lake Superior this morning.

And one image on Flickr has been posted here.

(h/t: Ben Chorn)

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Chicago does the waves

Posted at 1:27 PM on October 19, 2011 by Bob Collins (9 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

NewsCut has a few readers in Chicago, so here's hoping this can be verified firsthand. The Chicago Tribune is reporting the area will be hit by 25 foot waves from Lake Michigan later today.

Twenty-five foot waves? Imagine what Minnesota meteorologists could do with such a warning.

The jogging paths along the lakefront have been closed, but not Lake Shore Drive.

Here's what a 10-foot wave looked like in late September.

View more videos at: http://nbcchicago.com.

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Waiting for the price of a warm October

Posted at 3:22 PM on October 6, 2011 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Warm temperatures in October is pretty fun, as long as you don't think too much about the wrongness of it all. It's hit near 90 this week, which is simply not natural.

Check the current temperatures around the country:

Dallas 86
Orlando 86
New Orleans 82
St. Paul 81
Phoenix 71
Albuquerque 69
San Diego 65

The natives in Arizona hate the congestion caused by all the Minnesotans who seek refuge from the cold every winter. Maybe this winter, they'll be coming here.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that scientists are trying to figure out why autumn's colors seem to be arriving later and later.

Scientists caution that heavy rain, drought-like conditions or temperature extremes can cause dramatic year-to-year fluctuations that don't establish a long-term trend. For example, heavy rainfall in New England this spring, followed by a deluge caused by Irene, is causing fungal growth that's causing some trees' leaves to turn brown and drop earlier than normal.

William Ostrofsky, forest pathologist with the Maine Forest Service, is skeptical about whether there's a proven link between fall foliage and climate change.

"I just don't know that there's any evidence to indicate there's a trend one way or the other," said Ostrofsky, who points out that year-to-year fluctuations make it difficult to discern long-term trends. "I really don't think we've seen any long-term trend, as far as I can tell."

The New York Times reported last week, however, that warmer-than-usual temperatures are wreaking havoc on trees, making them more susceptible to disease.

The writer of that story has a blog post online today in which he relays the half empty/half full nature of his observation:

When I was flying over Montana in a small plane with the scientist Steven W. Running, I was awed by the devastation we were seeing across one mountainside after another, and kept saying so. At one point, yelling over the engine roar, Dr. Running shut me up with a simple observation: "Look how much is left!"

His point was that the situation is not hopeless, and I came to see that he was right. I emphasize again, as I said in the article, that the forests of the world are continuing to take up a large amount of carbon. Even given all the problems we are seeing in the American West and in other affected regions, the healthy forests still outnumber the sick ones. Policies and action are needed to help them stay healthy, scientists say. So my answer to your question is: I just can't bring myself to be that pessimistic.

True enough. But here in Minnesota, this scene, shot from the luxury of my couch this morning, accompanies a touch of sadness:

That's an ash tree. If the experts are right, it's only a matter of time before the emerald ash borer takes it and ends what passes for fall around many east metro suburbs, which are dominated by ash trees planted in the '80s.

Nobody knows for sure how soon. Some residents aren't waiting. They're cutting down the trees now to get it over with. Some of us just sit on couches and wonder if this is the last time we'll see such splendor, and silently think we'd gladly give up 80-degrees in October if an old-fashioned, kill-all-the-invasive-bugs, starting-early-never-ending winter would help keep the trees around awhile longer.

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Joplin's lessons

Posted at 1:27 PM on September 20, 2011 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

The National Weather Service today released its report into this summer's devastating tornado in Joplin, Mo.

It pulls no punches in blaming the people of Joplin:

The vast majority of Joplin residents did not immediately take protective action upon receiving a first indication of risk (usually via the local siren system), regardless of the source of the warning. Most chose to further assess their risk by waiting for, actively seeking, and filtering additional information.

The reasons for doing so were quite varied, but largely depended on an individual's ―worldview formed mostly by previous experience with severe weather. Most importantly, the perceived frequency of siren activation in Joplin led the majority of survey participants to become desensitized or complacent to this method of warning. This suggests that initial siren activations in Joplin (and severe weather warnings in general) have lost a degree of credibility for most residents - one of the most valued characteristics for successful risk communication.

But that explanation would also seem to indict trigger-happy meteorologists and officials who "sound the alarm" whenever the skies turn dark and a few lightning bolts begin appearing.

The report recommends a "a non-routine warning mechanism that prompts people to take immediate life-saving action in extreme events like strong and violent tornadoes."

Short-term, however, this could mean more use of social networks, the report said:

One local media outlet in Joplin reported some success using text messaging and social media (e.g., Facebook) as a method of disseminating warning information and receiving storm reports from residents. In addition, most television stations reported using their Facebook accounts to deliver and receive weather information, including warnings and storm reports; however, among residents interviewed in the field, only a small number stated that this was how they primarily received the warnings. Many current dissemination systems are based on geo-political boundaries and jurisdictions (e.g., counties), including EAS and NWR. This can inadvertently project a sense of over-warning or confusion for the general public when warning polygons overlap or multiple warning polygons are issued for a county. For better or worse, NWR and EAS alerted Jasper County (and Joplin) residents twice within a 10-minute period for tornado warning polygon #30 at 509 pm and polygon #31 at 517 pm CDT.

But if officials -- and the media, apparently -- don't begin to better distinguish Joplin-like weather from the typical thunderstorms of summer, anything that's developed eventually becomes "routine."

Find the entire report here.

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Relax, East Coast, the Midwest is coming

Posted at 8:42 PM on August 26, 2011 by Bob Collins (7 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Driving across Indiana has always been the most boring part of our drives to and from the East Coast. But not today.

Every few minutes, from the Ohio line to South Bend, convoys of utility trucks and tree crews -- two people to a truck -- were heading toward hurricane country. The various news agencies said there were 50 such crews on their way to help the East Coast recover from Hurricane Irene, but I counted about 100 such vehicles this morning, and more are supposed to head to the area tomorrow (I realize this isn't a great picture, but it's Indiana).

Some of these people are heading to Virginia; others are going up to New England.

The view out the window gave me a chance to think about the nature of disasters -- even apparently overblown ones like this hurricane (it's a Category 2; I walked to work once in Boston in a category 2). Yes, these people are being paid, but they're going into a potentially dangerous situation, and someone was smart enough to send them there because there's a fair chance nameless people in another part of the country will need electricity and a quick recovery.

Where hurricanes are concerned, that's not exactly been our forte in recent years. But as a Midwesterner, I felt pretty proud that we're still a people who pitch in when someone needs a hand.

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A good morning at the falls

Posted at 10:44 AM on August 17, 2011 by Eric Ringham (3 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

After a big rain, there's nothing like a visit to Minnehaha Falls to start the day.

It was a relief when the car started this morning. Last evening I was out until around 9, and then tried to drive through the storm to my house in south Minneapolis. I had no idea what I was getting into.

Those well-meaning media types make it sound easy when they say we shouldn't drive into standing water. That advice doesn't help much when the entire street is water. A smarter person would have just pulled over, but that smarter person was not driving my car, and I plowed on, thinking higher ground was just across the next intersection.

Across the next intersection was just more water.

By the time I neared my house, the bow wave in front of my bumper was coming over the hood. A half-foot of water was geysering up from the manhole covers. The alley was flooded as well, but I made it to my driveway, where the water was only an inch deep.

The current bent my license plate. Jiminy.

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Storm video

Posted at 5:20 PM on August 1, 2011 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

A few videos have surfaced documenting today's monsoon that hit the Twin Cities. This one is our favorite so far...

But this one is a good reminder that being outside in a thunderstorm taking a video probably isn't that great of an idea.

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A haboob by any other name

Posted at 11:23 AM on July 22, 2011 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Once you get past the Arizona phobia against foreign things, the dust-up created by the use of the term "haboob" by meteorologists is worth considering.

The New York Times, riffing off a series of letters to the Arizona Republic newspaper, says the use of "haboob" to describe the dust storms that have plagued the state this summer is causing plenty of angst:

Dust storms are a regular summer phenomenon in Arizona, and the news media typically label them as nothing more than that. But the National Weather Service, in describing this month's particularly thick storm, used the term haboob, which was widely picked up by the news media.

"Meteorologists in the Southwest have used the term for decades," said Randy Cerveny, a climatologist at Arizona State University. "The media usually avoid it because they don't think anyone will understand it."

Well, yeah. Because a dust storm by any other name is still a dust storm. Why not just call it what it is and spare the meteorologicalspeak?

A haboob is a particularly intense dust storm, not unlike what you might call a "big honkin' dust storm."

Years ago, we referred to tornadoes as "tornadoes," not "tornadaic activity." Last week, a local meteorologist tweeted, "tornado vortex signature (TVS) near Milaca." Vortex. Latin. Don't try that in Arizona.

We don't get tornadoes and thunderstorms anymore. We get approaching bow echoes or hook echoes. I forget which is which, which is why they're lousy ways to tell us what's coming.

That, of course, is an entirely different issue than the xenophobia that some of the letters seem to betray.

Excuse me, Mr. Weatherman!

Who gave you the right to use the word "haboob" in describing our recent dust storm?

While you may think there are similarities, don't forget that in these parts our dust is mixed with the whoop of the Indian's dance, the progression of the cattle herd and warning of the rattlesnake as it lifts its head to strike.

We have our own culture, too, sir, and we don't take kindly to being robbed of it. - Diane Robinson, Wickenburg

Why does it surprise Arizonans when our legal aliens (non-natives) call dust storms haboobs?

I say tie them to a wagon wheel and run 'em off the Mogollon Rim. - Bill West, Tempe

I remember I first heard the word in a weather report about 15 years ago. A self-satisfied young reporter said on TV that a haboob had hit the East Valley.

I figured it was the reporter's way of distinguishing himself from the pack. I laughed at his use of fancy words to describe a good old-fashioned dust storm.

Ha boob!

As any longtime Arizonan can attest, there is nothing better to a kid than to see a dust storm approach and to run out and meet it.

We'd jump, yell and scrunch up our face so that the dust would gather in the wrinkles. We could hold our hand in front of our face and not be able to see it. Arizona dust storms were a thing of wonder.

Now, "haboob" has been imposed on us, and we can do nothing about it.

Just check the headline on Tuesday's Valley & State section, "Haboobs hit again."

Haboob doesn't even sound pretty. - Mary C. Leon, Phoenix

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It's not the heat...

Posted at 10:20 AM on July 1, 2011 by Bob Collins (8 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

If we are not careful and paying attention, we can let the professional weatherpeople lead us down the path of meteorological despair. "It's 90, but it feels like 106!" they warned today as summer made the apparently unwelcome visit to Minnesota even though we've been longing for it for weeks.

When I let the Blog Dog back in from her morning inspection of the south 40 this morning, she was panting like a two-stroke engine, a reminder to me to keep the windows shut and the air conditioner on. You don't want to go out in this weather because, you know, it's not the heat, it's the humidity that will get you if you're not careful.

That's a phrase that still occupies a disk sector in the hard drive in my head, "it's not the heat, it's the humidity."

It's around 1960, the memory bank reveals, and I'm at my mother's feet while she utters those words to someone. We're in the driveway of our home.

"What's humidity?" I asked.

"You can't really feel it when you're a kid," she said. "But when you get older, you'll know."

I'm older now, of course. I recognize humidity and loathe its existence and the passing of time that made its recognition possible.

The senses are a time machine. A song on the radio takes you anywhere in the past you want to go. A smell -- for me, it's Candyland in downtown St. Paul -- transports you to a boardwalk, a summer night, and a lost love.

I could avoid the outdoors no longer this morning. I had to dump the coffee grounds in the compost bin. I had no choice but to accept fate, open the back door and step into ... 1964.

This temperature. This humidity. I remember this exact combination in a place and moment that no longer exists. It's a trailer on the oceanfront of Plum Island in Newburyport, Massachusetts, which seemed like luxury then but which I realize now was a desperately cramped spot for five kids and two parents.

I am 10 years old and it's the beginning of another perfect day, me with my freedom to spend it roaming the beach looking for lost lures, watching the charter boats head for George's Bank, seeing what's up at the Coast Guard station, standing at the end of the jetty as the tide comes in pretending I'm the captain of a trawler in the storm, smelling the rope at the tackle store, or riding the bike to the variety store for the latest Archie comic book. My parents are half the age I am now. It is summer, I don't know what a dewpoint is, and these are the best days of my life.

Be careful if you go out today. You might become 10 years old again.

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Stormchasing tornado warnings

Posted at 2:30 PM on June 21, 2011 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

I'm out storm chasing the system that spawned tornado warnings along Highway 52. As Paul Huttner was on the air saying the system was probably cold-weather, funnel clouds, I sat along the highway south of Inver Grove Heights and watched the system head to the northwest, then turn slightly and head over West St. Paul.

Other than the quick shift in direction, I didn't notice any rotation, indicating the forming of a tornado, but as the storm moved to the east side of St. Paul, it sure seemed possible that it could.

MPR's Bill Kling is due to be on Talk of the Nation in a few minutes. It would be ironic if Minnesota Public Radio interrupts the national program for tornado warnings. But, it can't be helped.

3:10 p.m. - The storm seemed to weaken (probably because of the "heat island" effect if it actually existed) and then caused more warnings in the northern suburbs.

A tornado reportedly touched down briefly in Coon Rapids. But for the most part, the giant cloud was good for some visual interest, but not much more.

6:17 p.m. - If you're a lover of cloud formations, this was your kind of day...

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Minot's misery

Posted at 12:55 PM on June 21, 2011 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Lost in all the coverage of fires in Arizona, the tornadoes of Missouri and Minnesota and a government shutdown in the state is this item: A good share of Minot, North Dakota is about to be washed away.

The flooding around the country, caused by spring rains and snow melt, defies most attempts to describe it. The Souris River, in Minot's case, is likely to crest at 1,564.3 feet on Saturday. There's no point in trying to sandbag against it; that's 8 feet higher than the all-time record, according to the Minot Daily News.

The numbers were crunched for several hours at the NWS Hydrologic Forecast Center in Chanhassen, Minn., Monday. What they came up with was an initial high of 1,564.3 feet at Minot's Broadway Bridge by Saturday. As early as Thursday evening the river is projected to surpass its all-time high of 1,558 feet. Those numbers, astronomical in terms of flows in the Souris, only reflect the initial blow to be dealt the city and is subject to further increase as the situation develops and hydrologic outlooks project further into the future.

The crowd at Monday's City Hall press conference sat in stunned silence, followed by a few brief murmurs, when it was revealed that releases into the Souris from Lake Darling Dam would be ramped up to "16 or 17,000 cfs by Thursday." Minot's existing dike system laborously protects against 10,000 cfs. The previous high release for Lake Darling prior to this flood event was less than 5,000 cfs. Numbers all along the Souris are similarly stunning, shocking and, ultimately, saddening.

Parts of Minot are being evacuated. What makes the situation even more of a punch in the gut is area residents thought they had beat the flood earlier this month when the water receded a bit.

Amtrak is suspending train service between St. Paul and Montana because of the flooding.

The Mississippi River is also heading higher. It could be a foot below flood stage by this time next week.

Meanwhile, down in Texas, they can't catch a break or get a drop of rain.

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The end of La Nina

Posted at 11:02 AM on June 9, 2011 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

If you speak the language, this may interest you:

A transition from La Niña to ENSO-neutral conditions occurred during May 2011 as indicated by generally small sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies across the equatorial Pacific Ocean east of the Date Line (Fig. 1). The latest weekly Niño index values (Fig. 2) showed near-average SSTs in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific (Niño-4 index of -0.2oC and Niño 3.4 index of -0.1oC), and above-average SSTs in the eastern equatorial Pacific (Niño-1+2 index of +0.7oC). The subsurface oceanic heat content anomalies (average temperatures in the upper 300m of the ocean, Fig. 3) remained elevated, but relatively constant during the month, reflecting a large area of above-average temperatures at depth (Fig. 4). Consistent with other transitions to ENSO-neutral conditions, the atmospheric circulation anomalies continued to show some features consistent with La Niña, albeit at weaker strength. Convection was enhanced over eastern Indonesia and suppressed over the central equatorial Pacific (Fig. 5). Also, anomalous low-level easterly and upper-level westerly winds weakened but persisted over the central Pacific. Collectively, these oceanic and atmospheric anomalies reflect a transition to ENSO-neutral conditions, but with lingering La Niña-like atmospheric impacts, particularly in the global Tropics.

We don't know exactly what language the Climate Prediction Center uses but translated to English, it means La Nina has ended, let normalcy reign.

La Nina has been blamed for hurricanes, tornadoes and -- I'm theorizing here -- the slow start of the Minnesota Twins.

The phenomenon may, the Weather Service says, have had something to do with May's outbreak of tornadoes, including the ones that struck Minnesota.

La Nina gets blamed for a lot of things, some of which may be true. Of late it's been tagged for the wildfires in Arizona. But if it's to blame for the drought, there's little indication the end of La Nina means things might improve there.

"This is not just happening on eastern New Mexico, it is the same over most of southwestern United States" said Ken Widelski, lead forecaster with the NWS in Albuquerque.

A drought continues in Texas. Farmers there are writing off the cotton crop. But in South Dakota, especially the western part of the state, they don't want to see any more water.

Video of the Oahe Dam outflow (north of Pierre) must make Texas weep.

Don't hurry back, La Nina.

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Tornado planning at Target Field

Posted at 2:13 PM on June 6, 2011 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

A couple of weeks after the team didn't tell patrons that a tornado warning had been issued for Minneapolis, the Minnesota Twins announced today the National Weather Service has made Target Field a "StormReady supporter."

But far from a response to not telling patrons of the tornado warning, the Twins' decision may reflect its value. It didn't need to because the team had the information that the storm was too far away to be a problem for Target Field.

The program required the Twins to:

1. Establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center

2. Have more than one method of receiving severe weather forecasts and warnings and alerting the public

3. Create a system that monitors local weather conditions

4. Develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding exercises.

5. Conduct severe weather procedures with event staff, including ballpark ushers.

On May 10, a tornado warning was issued for the county, but the team didn't tell the fans because the storm was 30 miles away. The team had already finished its requirements for being a StormReady stadium when that warning was issued.

The team was out of town when the tornado struck north Minneapolis nearly two weeks later but had it been playing at home, it's clear how it would've been handled, according to an MPR story following up the earlier tornado warning:

The concession stands and the restrooms are all on the exterior perimeter walls of the building. That allows us to move people into the concourse areas," said (VP of Operations Matt) Hoy. "The whole lower deck area, if you go into the main concourse, is pretty well protected."

Hoy says fans sitting in the upper deck would be instructed by ushers and other security staff to take emergency stairways down to either the main concourse, or below to the service level. The service level is completely closed off to the outside and rings the entire field.

It'd take 10-15 minutes to move people in Target Field to safety.

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Reporter rescues woman about to be swept away by flood

Posted at 10:33 AM on June 2, 2011 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

There are so many troubling aspects to this just-released video of a water rescue in flood-devastated Arkansas yesterday. There's the woman who ignored everything she's ever been told about driving into standing water, there's her effort to save her SUV once a reporter jumped into the water to help her, and there's the TV photographer who didn't do anything to help, probably because it would've meant sacrificing a great piece of video. That is, after all, what he/she is paid to do.

Meanwhile, much farther north, residents of three South Dakota cities have been urged to evacuate because of the flood threat from the Missouri River.

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The Saint Paul glacier

Posted at 10:57 AM on June 1, 2011 by Bob Collins (8 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

We are fairly certain that this is the last remaining pile of snow in Minnesota. It's in the Sears parking lot in Saint Paul, where it continues a slow melting process which reveals the flotsam of our long winter.

The glacier is still about four feet high and about 30 feet long. At its present pace, it will probably be gone by the time more snow is dumped on the spot.

Is it the last one in Minnesota? You tell us. If you find one -- rumor has it the 3M campus has one tucked away in the corner of a parking lot -- send us a picture and we'll see which pile carries the distinction of longest-lasting.

(h/t: Jeff Conrod)

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Live: Tornadoes striking tornado alley

Posted at 5:01 PM on May 24, 2011 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

As the experts predicted, all getout is breaking loose in "tornado alley" this afternoon. At least one large one -- a local meteorologist calls it "a monster" -- is dancing around the Oklahoma City area this afternoon. Watch live coverage of it on KFOR in Oklahoma, and note the in-the-field stormchaser the station uses.

The station here features a live camera and audio from a helicopter that's chasing the storm.

An aside: The big American Family Insurance mobile disaster bus that pulled into north Minneapolis yesterday is pulling out and heading to Oklahoma this evening. A smaller unit will replace it in the parking lot of the Cub on Broadway. But the initial fear is that the tornadoes in Oklahoma will be like the ones in Alabama a few weeks ago.

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Video of Sunday tornado released

Posted at 3:27 PM on May 24, 2011 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

By way of WCCO, North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale has released security camera footage of the tornado that ripped through north Minneapolis on Sunday.

Presumably, more of these types of videos will trickle out, but so far in a city full of security cameras and a few hundred thousand people, there have been very few videos of the actual tornado that caused such havoc.

Meanwhile, the city of Minneapolis provided this update on the recovery efforts this afternoon:

People are retuning to their homes: Following Sunday's tornado, emergency managers divided the area affected into three zones, and to date residents in zone 1 and zone 2 have been allowed to return home. Within these zones, staff have spent the days going block-by-block, door-to-door, assessing damage, evaluating the safety of structures, and clearing debris to reopen streets. As areas are cleared, residents (only residents) will be allowed to return to their homes. If staff identify a property as unsafe, they will place an orange placard on the front door. Owners and residents should not enter a property that has been identified as unsafe. City officials are working to clear the way so it's safe for folks in all three zones to return to their homes by Wednesday.

Continued housing for affected families: The shelter set up at the Northeast Armory accommodated 61 people overnight and is continuing today to provide services to people in need but the number of people needing shelter services is going down as more people are returning to their homes. Since Tuesday, more than two dozen families with children have moved from the shelter to the recently-renovated Drake Hotel Downtown. People who need assistance can still go to the Armory at 1025 Broadway Ave. If folks need transportation to the Armory, call 311. Since opening Sunday, 535 have gotten assistance at the shelter.

All streets now accessible to emergency vehicles: Minneapolis Public Works crews, in partnership with Xcel Energy, have been working to clear debris and downed power lines. Streets are now passable for emergency vehicles and work continues to clear them curb to curb to accommodate all traffic.

Update on alley cleanup, trash pickup: Together with Xcel Energy, Public Works crews began the work of clearing alleys today, beginning with the hardest hit areas. Garbage pickup is proceeding as normal, if possible. Public Works is also looking to giving residents in the affected area additional vouchers for excess garbage and debris that would not normally be picked up by garbage crews to the South Transfer Station located at 2850 20th Ave. S. Residents normally are allowed six vouchers per year.

Tree damage and cleanup: Approximately 2,000 trees in parks and along boulevards were downed or damaged during the tornado. Minneapolis Public Works, Park Board and St. Paul Forestry have been working to make the roads passable in the storm damaged area.

Beginning May 25 through June 10 Public Works and Park Board crews will collect large debris for properties in the city west of Interstate 94 and north of Highway 55 (Olson Memorial Highway). This service is for property owners clearing their property after storm damage only--it is not for contractors doing work for property owners or for regular tree pruning. Visit the City's website or call 311 for more information. Homeowners should not mix construction debris with tree debris.

Beginning Wednesday the Forestry Division will begin renting cranes to remove boulevard trees that have fallen on homes.

Utilities update: After Sunday's tornado, Xcel Energy estimated that 28,000 homes were without power. As of today, 7,000 homes are without power and Xcel hopes to have power restored to them by tomorrow. Once Xcel Energy repairs its power lines, it is still possible for homes to be without power if their mast is damaged. It is the homeowner's responsibility to higher a licensed electrician to repair the damaged mast. One of the biggest safety concerns is still downed power lines, and if people see lines down, they should assume they're live. Stay away from downed lines and report them to Xcel Energy at 1-800-895-4995.

Center Point Energy addressed more than 100 gas leaks following Sunday's tornado and have been working to restore gas service to properties that had it shut off. If you need a safety check on your property or would like the gas turned back on, call 1-800-234-5800.

How the public can help: People throughout Minneapolis and the region have been asking how they can help people affected by the tornado. There are several ways to help:

· Donate funds, not goods - The Minneapolis Foundation has established the Minnesota Helps - North Minneapolis Recovery Fund to assist with both short-term and long-term housing and recovery-related needs on the North Side. The Minneapolis Foundation will match donations. To make a donation by credit card, visit http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Northminneapolisrecovery or send checks for the recovery effort to The Minneapolis Foundation, 80 S. 8th St., Suite 800, Minneapolis, MN, 55402. People can also donate to the Red Cross at www.redcrosstc.org. Please do not donate goods at this time.

· In the coming days, volunteers will be needed - There are crews working already in the neighborhoods, but the conditions are not yet safe enough to accommodate volunteers. The City and Urban Homeworks, a local nonprofit, will be making a call to volunteers in the coming days, but at this point it is not safe to bring folks in.

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The other tornado

Posted at 11:04 AM on May 24, 2011 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Some people in Fillmore County might be feeling a little slighted; a tornado struck there on Sunday, too. It's not getting much attention. The Rochester Post Bulletin reports it was an EF-2 tornado, about the same size as the one that demolished parts of north Minneapolis

It's Amish country and in Harmony, the paper reports, neighbors helped pick up at a farm that was hit by the tornado. About 30 people used chainsaws, backhoes and horse-pulled Amish wagons to help the family clean up.

Unlike north Minneapolis, people in Harmony could see it coming...

I can't speak for MPR News, southeast Minnesota. No slight was intended.

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Does God send messages by tornado?

Posted at 12:50 PM on May 12, 2011 by Eric Ringham (9 Comments)
Filed under: Religion, Weather

If you don't think this is strange, it's only because you haven't thought of it yet.

Remember August of 2009, when the Lutherans were meeting in Minneapolis? They voted to allow gays and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as clergy. During the meeting, a tornado hit the convention center and nearby Central Lutheran Church. The Rev. Tom Brock (who later turned admitted struggling with his own sexual orientation) called the tornado an act of God.

"It was God saying 'hello,' and sadly, the Lutherans ignored it," Brock said on a radio show.

Jump ahead to 2011. Two nights ago, a vote by ministers and elders meeting in St. Louis Park cleared the way for the nation's largest Presbyterian group to reverse its ban on openly gay members of the clergy. And what was the other breaking news story of Tuesday evening?

Minnesota's first tornado of 2011, that's what. It touched down in Wright County, a far piece from St. Louis Park. But still.

Now, people are just asking for trouble when they try to discern the hand of God in severe weather, let alone in natural disasters or terrorist attacks. Think of Pat Robertson's pronouncements on Haiti and 9/11. Even so, this is a pretty big coincidence.

Wait a minute, though. Didn't the Lutheran vote come AFTER the 2009 tornado? We should check the headlines from Wednesday, not Tuesday night. What happened on Wednesday?

Here it is: "Minnesota Senate OKs same-sex marriage ban amendment."

Hmm. Maybe we should just agree that God moves in mysterious ways, and leave it at that.

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Thunder phobia and your dog

Posted at 10:34 AM on May 9, 2011 by Bob Collins (6 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Today's early-morning thunderstorm has ushered in the "scared-dog" season in the Upper Midwest.

Some dogs are scared nearly to death by thunder and lightning (or fireworks, or gunshots) . The Current's Mary Lucia and I were conducting our own research (which usually consists merely of talking about it) a couple of years ago, but then my thunderstorm-hating dog died and the new Blog Dog couldn't give a rip about the weather.

The most intriguing "solution" we found, however, is the assertion that rubbing a dog with "dryer sheets" can make a difference, and indeed both of us found they appeared to make a slight difference. Why? It removes static electricity, which may have something to do with why the mutt is freaking out, according to the Knowing Dogs blog.

Help reduce the possibility that static electricity is an issue by rubbing a dryer sheet, such as "Bounce™ lightly over your dog. Be sure to purchase the unscented variety. It is helpful to rub this on yourself as well, so you do not accidentally shock your dog when you touch him on a stormy day. Don't wait until the middle of a storm to use this tip, simply rub the dryer sheet lightly over your dog's fur every morning during thunderstorm season.

Thunderstorm phobia seems to increase in dogs as they get older; that's led some to believe that the storm has something to do with aggravating arthritic pain .

Other possible aids? One vet suggests dressing your pooch in an old shirt. Be advised that if you try something like, we're going to require pictures.

Many dogs seem to find comfort in a tight space. Bathtubs are a favorite refuge. They are seeking the security that a small or covered space can offer. For many dogs, you can provide comfort by putting them in a tight shirt or leotard, providing the sensation of being wrapped and protected. There are commercial variations on this theme. Many have magnetic properties or other special features which set them apart. What they generally have in common is that they are expensive. I generally recommend that owners start by putting an old shirt on the dog. You can snug it tight with rubber-bands and see if this helps calm the fears. If this provides some relief, you can feel more confident that the purchase of an anxiety wrap will be of benefit to you. I have many clients who just continue with a shirt and others who try the commercial products. For those who buy, there are a percentage who seem to improve further and then of course there are others who did as well with the shirt. I used to be surprised by the effectiveness of such a simple concept until I thought about the difference in laying down yourself with no covers or blankets- it is a feeling of exposure- which goes away quickly and irrationally if you just pull up a sheet.

If you've got a tried-and-true solution, or just want to help our "research," pass it along below.

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NASA: Sea ice area still dropping

Posted at 1:57 PM on May 3, 2011 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Maybe what we need to warm things up around here is a good, old-fashioned climate-change debate.

NASA released this image today (strongly suggest you click on it to get the larger image) showing the difference between Arctic sea ice in September and the sea ice in the same location in March.

The yellow lines mark the the median sea ice extent observed by satellite sensors in September and March from 1979-2000, according to NASA.

The amount of sea ice in March was the second lowest recorded during that time. The amount in September was the third-lowest.

New data showed that the amount of older, thicker ice had increased slightly over last year. "Data through the third week of March shows an increase in sea ice one to two years old, and older than two years old, compared to recent years," NSIDC noted. "However, the amount of older ice remains much lower than in the mid-1980s, and there is still almost none of the oldest ice (older than four years) that used to dominate much of the Arctic Ocean."

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The tornadoes from space

Posted at 1:25 PM on April 30, 2011 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

NASA has released this image of Alabama. You can see the track of three tornadoes around the Tuscaloosa area. Click on the image for a larger one.

GEOEYE has made these before-after images available from a satellite 400 miles above Tuscaloosa.

Before...

And after...

The Tuscaloosa News also has some side-by-side, before-and-after photos here.

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St. Louis' tornado

Posted at 11:19 AM on April 25, 2011 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

On Friday evening, a tornado struck the airport in St. Louis. This video from KMOX shows what happened on the concourse when it struck. Note that people racing for cover picked the appropriate bathroom.

From the looks of things, it could have been worse had the tornado struck a building frequented by lots of people.

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Caption contest: The duck

Posted at 10:07 AM on April 20, 2011 by Bob Collins (15 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

If it snows like winter, is it winter? Spied outside News Cut's Woodbury bureau. Caption it:

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Spring 101

Posted at 10:36 AM on April 14, 2011 by Bob Collins (7 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

That's a loon on Lake Calhoun this morning, taken by MPR producer Jayne Solinger. It's a very lonely loon, but a loon nonetheless. Its arrival, of course, is another sign that spring has taken hold in flyover country.

In other news, several inches of snow are expected this weekend.

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Severe storm season opens

Posted at 1:58 PM on March 31, 2011 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

A story developing in Florida this afternoon: A tornado or serious thunderstorm struck Lakeland, Florida today during one of the more prominent air shows in the country. James Wiebe provided the photo above.

There are more images here. An interview with a person on the scene here.

Was it a tornado? You usually don't see a thunderstorm rip an engine out of an airplane.

(Image from James Wiebe)

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You're desperate for spring apparently

Posted at 4:55 PM on March 2, 2011 by Jon Gordon (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

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Tales from a snowstorm

Posted at 1:19 PM on February 22, 2011 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

If you're a fan of Car Talk, perhaps you heard the caller last weekend who wondered whether it would be possible to make a plow for her car.

This week on Car Talk, Leanne is tired of shelling out 50 bucks per blizzard to escape her driveway, so she's trying to design a mini-snowplow for her Subaru. Leanne's husband thinks she's nuts, but Tom and Ray think she just might be the late-night infomercial's new best friend.

Listen to the call here.

Leave it to a Minnesotan to come up with the answer:

But Leanne was talking about something a little more "homemade." Like this, only workable:

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Floods and a warmer climate

Posted at 12:40 PM on February 16, 2011 by Bob Collins
Filed under: Weather

There is more fuel for the climate change fire from the UK, today.

Two reports are linking an increase in flooding to a warming climate, the BBC reports.

In the second study, researchers from Canada and the UK looked at the increase in the frequency of extreme rainfall events documented across much of the Northern Hemisphere between 1950 and 2000.

There are variations from year to year and from place to place; but across the piece, intense downpours have become more common over the period.

The researchers suggest there is nothing that can explain this trend except the slow steady increase in temperatures caused by greenhouse gas emissions.

In the UK, another study said, the chance of flooding doubled with a warmer climate.

Related:

-- Climate change and the TV meteorologist

-- Report links severe weather to global warming

Minneapolis: A warm Dallas

Posted at 4:00 PM on February 4, 2011 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Sports, Weather

Perhaps you know the type. They got tickets weeks ago to the Super Bowl, and spent an inordinate amount of time working into the conversation the fact they were going to a warm, sunny place in the dead of winter... and you weren't.

The current temperature in Dallas, Texas, the site of Sunday's Super Bowl: 27 degrees.

The current temperature in Minneapolis: 34 degrees.

We should feel sorry for them.

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Banning 'snow bombs'

Posted at 9:55 AM on February 4, 2011 by Bob Collins (14 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

An idea worth considering in Minnesota.

In Boston, the nation's snow capital these days, a lawmaker is tired of driving behind people who haven't cleared their cars of snow, and getting snow-bombed.

"We actually had in committee hearings in the last legislative session people who came in and testified who were physically injured in accidents where big chunks of ice came off from commercial vehicles, came through the windshield and seriously injured people, including in one case shearing somebody's ear right off," Rep. Cleon Turner told WBZ Radio.

Turner has filed a bill making it a crime to drive without clearing all the snow off a vehicle. Violations would cost $500.

There's good reason for this, of course, and the early line on Twitter is that this is a good idea for Minnesota. But "snow bombs" have their place. They're perfect, for example, for people who have run out of "blue juice."

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One picture: Winter

Posted at 11:11 AM on February 3, 2011 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

I'm putting together a presentation of reader submissions of a single picture that screams "this is what it's like this winter." Today, I noticed this mailbox in the neighborhood which, although you can't tell entirely by looking at this picture, is now completely encased in ice -- the only thing visible is the door.

Unlike mine, which is dutifully shoveled out after each storm, this one is fully protected from plow damage now by the glacier that is growing around it.

Send your submission to me at bcollins@mpr.org.

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Viral video of the day: The ukulele guy

Posted at 2:41 PM on February 2, 2011 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

This video is rapidly racing across the Internet. It features a guy in Kansas City taking to song, inspired by the blizzard that's hit the Midwest.

Here's the thing: Kansas has had -- what? -- one, two big snowstorms this year and already leads Minnesota in the "viral video based on a snowstorm" category by... one.

Won't anybody rise to the challenge? Prince, are you still out there?

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Trouble in the Order of Fire and Brimstone

Posted at 1:07 PM on January 31, 2011 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

If you read yesterday's Star Tribune profile of NewsCut, you might recall this item about the very first day I threw open the shades and saw Minnesota in daylight for the first time:

"I came out in March of 1992 from Massachusetts, and it was still pretty snowy. They put me up in the St. Paul Hotel. I got up in the morning, looked outside and there was a fire truck full of guys in red costumes coming down the street, kinda wobbling. The truck took a left, clipped a Volvo, then they backed up and took off. I thought this is my kind of town."

Now today's news release from the St. Paul Police Department:

The Saint Paul Police Department's Traffic and Accident Unit is investigating a hit and run crash that happened at approximately 9:30 pm on Saturday, January 29 behind the Eagle Street Grille, located at 147 West 7th Street.

A witness, who was standing on the restaurant's back patio, said he saw the driver of an older model fire truck back out of the alley and hit a parked car, causing minor damage to the car's rear bumper. The witness said he yelled at the driver and the passengers who were in the truck bed that they had hit a car, but the driver kept backing out.

The witness said he recognized the fire truck as one used by the Saint Paul Vulcan Krewe.

The witness went inside and told the restaurant owner about the crash. The restaurant owner came outside and told police he saw the fire truck driver back into a retaining wall. The restaurant owner said he then asked the driver to stop and provide insurance information, but the driver refused and drove off southbound on Eagle Street.

A short time later, the fire truck was found behind Alary's Bar at 137 7th Street East. No one was inside the truck. Officers attempted to locate the driver and his passengers Saturday night but were unsuccessful.

Today, investigators spoke to the fire truck's registered owner who said that he was driving the truck on Saturday night. He told investigators he thought he hit some ice but was unaware that he struck a parked car and a retaining wall. He also told investigators that he had no recollection of anyone asking him to stop and provide insurance information.

Saint Paul Police have turned the case over to the city attorney for formal review.

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Viral video of the day: The skater

Posted at 11:55 AM on January 31, 2011 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Let's see summer do this:

The improv group got the idea after noticing that whenever the ice was cleared every two hours for resurfacing, there was always one feeble skater who had a tough time making it to safety. Here's the story behind the story.

And if you want to take a break from the overly dramatic reporting of today's marginal snowstorm in Minnesota, check out these fine images from the Boston Globe's Big Picture.

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Video: The cold-weather lab

Posted at 11:04 AM on January 21, 2011 by Bob Collins (12 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

There were a fair number of videos posted to YouTube from Minnesota today, each showing the time-tested past-time at this time of the year: Throwing hot water into the air to see it turn to steam (and then ice crystals). It never really gets old. Here's one from Tim Freeland at KYMN...

At News Cut, we're nothing if not curious. What other substances would work?

Here's the don't-try-this-at-home disclaimer: Don't try this at home. It's not shown on the video but when I tried to microwave the Scotch, I forgot about the properties of alcohol and after about a minute, the cup full of Scotch "flashed." No damage was done, but everything in the microwave will, presumably, smell of Scotch for a few days.

I'd hoped the orange juice would be more colorful, but that was not to be. I thought about pureeing cottage cheese and other substances, but I had to get to work.

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Viral video of the day: Up on the roof

Posted at 10:23 AM on January 14, 2011 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

This video, which is pretty funny since it didn't turn out tragically, is still a good reminder that it's rarely good idea to get up on your roof in the winter.

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March of the dead mailboxes

Posted at 2:57 PM on January 13, 2011 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Back in my very old days of covering the city council in a small town, I learned quickly that if the topic is dogs, I should forget about a timely dinner. Barking ordinances, leash laws, and license disputes are the it-hits-home standard for city politics.

Here's another: Mailboxes struck by plows.

In Burnsville, ThisWeekLive reports today, they're prepared to draw a line at replacing mailboxes that are damaged during snowplow operations.

An average mailbox might cost $75 to replace, but more elaborate boxes -- some surrounded by rock landscaping -- can cost far more, Bud Osmundson, public work director for the city says. "We've replaced $2,000 or $3,000 mailboxes, as silly as that sounds," he said.

The new policy will be that mailboxes will be replaced only if they're actually hit by the plow. If they're damaged by snow/ice that is pushed into them by the plow, the homeowner is out of luck.

The policy aligns with MnDOT's policy, even though over 5,000 pounds of force hit your mailbox, even if the plow doesn't.

The council in Burnsville will vote on the proposal on February 22.

Don't hold dinner.

(Photo via Flickr: Creative Commons license)

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Blizzard wars: The snarl

Posted at 2:02 PM on December 27, 2010 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

The East Coast had a slight edge in the "we feel sorry for you" category in today's News Cut Blizzard War. That evaporated the minute we saw this in the "handling the snarl" category:

That photo was tweeted by Brian Elmquist who noted, "Note to self. "When I'm elected office in a major metropolitan area. Prepare the plows before blizzard."

Come on, now, East Coast, you're not even trying here. First of all, there's not even that much snow in this picture and then you went all Kuwait-to-Basra-1991.

Secondly, check the car just below the bus. That car has been swept clean and shoveled out. That's his (or her) parking place.

How does Minnesota handle this? Observe:

Your turn:

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Blizzard wars: Time-lapse video

Posted at 11:49 AM on December 27, 2010 by Bob Collins (6 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

We continue the comparisons of the East Coast vs. Midwest blizzards.

The category is: time-lapse video.

Here's one shot yesterday in New Jersey. And, yes, that is serious accumulation.

December 2010 Blizzard Timelapse from Michael Black on Vimeo.

And here's the best one (yes, it's a subjective assessment) from St. Paul's big blizzard earlier this month.

Your turn:

By the way, the record for the East Coast snowfall seems to be in Lincoln Park, New Jersey, where 29 inches fell. If that were the Twin Cities, it would be the largest snowstorm recorded.

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One picture: The cigarette break

Posted at 10:19 AM on December 27, 2010 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Weizhi Rong sent this photo to us today from the mean streets of Manhattan.

It would appear a couple of half-hearted swipes of the rear side window area necessitated a break.

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Take our snow! Please?

Posted at 4:45 PM on December 20, 2010 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

LiveScience.com considers the possibility of something that a look out the window suggests shouldn't be too hard: What are the chances that all of earth would be covered in snow?

Is it possible that snowfall can occur across the entire Earth? If the temperatures are low enough and if there is an excess of humidity present, then it can," said Caspar Ammann, a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo. "Is it likely? No."

What a buzzkill, Caspar.

It likely did happen more than 600 million years ago, he acknowledges.

But what if we were able to give the world some of our snow? Could we give a "white Christmas" to the rest of the world? Heck, we've got plenty to share, and you know you've asked the question "where are we going to put it?" at least once today.

Let's do the math and make some ridiculous assumptions to figure out an answer.

At the Woodbury bureau of News Cut at the moment, there is about 24 25 26 27 inches of snow on the ground. We'll assume that's true for the entire state (yes, I know, it's not. And if you're in one of those areas, give me a call. We've got something for you),

There are 57 million square miles of land on earth. There are about 84,000 square miles in Minnesota. The earth, then, is made up of 678 Minnesotas. Assuming (there's that word, again!) it takes a half inch of snow on the ground to unofficially make a "white Christmas," we have enough to provide one for only 7 percent of the world. We'd need another 28 feet of snow to pull this off.

It's true, of course, that parts of the world are already covered by snow, but still half the world's population hasn't seen a snowstorm. We're not going to be able to provide it. Sorry, world.

Do we have enough to cover the U.S. only? There are 3.7 million square miles (44 Minnesotas). With our mythical amount of snow on the ground, we could spread it to a depth of more than an inch throughout the rest of the country.

Here's the current snow cover in the U.S.:

We really only need to cover about half the country.

Let's get started! Arizona, come get your snow!

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Crazy Minnesotans go road skiing

Posted at 12:57 PM on December 15, 2010 by Jon Gordon (5 Comments)
Filed under: Life, Sports, Weather

Under the category of "We can't recommend this" ...

(h/t Mr. News Cut, who apparently can't commit to vacation 100%...)

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Your ideas for better snow removal

Posted at 1:56 PM on December 14, 2010 by Jon Gordon (13 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads, Weather

As part of the MPR News feature "Today's Question" we asked, "What could your city do better in removing snow?" Despite snow problems that persist for drivers and pedestrians almost three full days after the last flake fell, many people who've responded so far seem rather satisfied:

"All things considered, I think Minneapolis is doing a pretty good job. They're dealing with an enormous volume of snow & there aren't easy answers for where to put it all. The idea of calling the 2nd snow emergency was a good one - make streets somewhat passable during round 1 & go back and clean up for round 2." (bsimon via MPRnews.org)

"Hey, it's MN. It was a BIG storm. The cities are doing as much as they can with all the snow...This isn't an earthquake, hurricane or tornado that does lots of property damage too (ok except the Dome:) so be patient, helpful to others, and don't use too many brain cells complaining." (Cynthia via Facebook)

There were plenty of complaints, of course, and lots of ideas about how to better remove snow. Several people suggested a move that would likely be unpopular with most: New taxes.

"Pretty simple. Raise our taxes and buy more snow plows (I live in St. Paul, and yes, I want my taxes raised). Anyone who doesn't like taxes has no right to complain when government falls short of their expectations. We can't have our snow and eat it too." (Al via Facebook)

Some other ideas gleaned from your comments:

-Plows give one pass to every street in the first 24 hours after snow stops
-Cities should communicate better, letting residents know exactly when the plow is coming
-Empower small, private snow removal contractors to help with side streets
-Copy Bismarck, ND, which uses a plow mechanism that prevents pushing snow in front of driveways (unverified)
-Plow sidewalks with golf cart-type vehicles
-Use "zambonis in reverse" (snow melting machines)
-Plow from curb to curb downtown, and clear all downtown sidewalks
-Cities should plow alleys
-Employers should give everyone time off for shoveling
-Strategic deployment of flamethrowers

Final thought from Jim via Facebook:

"I know it's a lot to ask, probably practically impossible, and will come off as so much whining in light of people whose roads don't get cleared at all, but here's mine: Little is more disheartening than spending hours shoveling your gigantic driveway, finishing up, then finally collapsing into bed exhausted...only to discover as you try to leave for work the next morning that the bloody plow came by, and created a waist-deep ice dam at the street line overnight. OH, the profanity."

Add your own ideas here, or via Facebook.

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What it's like to drive the plow

Posted at 1:14 PM on December 13, 2010 by Jon Gordon (2 Comments)
Filed under: The jobs we do, Weather

Ever wonder what it's like to drive a plow during a big storm? Here's some video from MNDOT:

(h/t Tom Weber)

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Social media channels enhance shared experience of winter storm

Posted at 4:20 PM on December 13, 2010 by Jon Gordon (1 Comments)
Filed under: Tech, Weather

This photo was submitted to the MPR News Facebook page by Ellie Skelton of Minneapolis

One of the key differences between the 1991 Halloween mega-storm and the 2010 Domebuster (both of which I helped cover for MPR News) is in the way we are able to share the misery and joy with each other through Facebook, Twitter and other social networks -- tools that did not exist 19 years ago.

In '91 the mainstream media defined the storm while personal accounts had fewer outlets. Back then we talked with our neighbors and maybe a few got quoted in a newspaper or TV story.

This time around, we shared our stories and photos with each other, and developed a common language online as the blizzards raged (not that there's anything wrong with good old oral history, which will probably last longer than anything we're coughing up onto social networks).

On Twitter, we developed funny ways to classify our messages through "hashtags" - and there were some doozies -- "Blizzardpeople" and "snOwMG" come to mind. We spread the news ourselves by Tweeting what we were seeing and forwarded messages we saw from news organizations on Twitter -- @MPRnews for example.

We posted pictures of ourselves up to our waists in snow, or of our kids enjoying a good ride on the sled.

Sarah France of Minneapolis sent this photo to MPR News via Facebook

Were social media important to you during the weekend blizzards? Did you get news via Twitter and Facebook?

Let us know, and make sure to check out our item on Facebook where we're collecting stories about acts of kindness during the winter storm. Here's an example from Eric Strom:

Some Soldiers from the Joint Forces Headquarters in St Paul spent Saturday afternoon shoveling some folks out, including a city bus. On the way home I got stuck and the favor was returned as a group of folks from my neighborhood (Kenwood) came by and helped to shovel me out!

And another from Ann Nasses:

Two neighbors I hadn't met before helped me get my car out of our hilly neighborhood so that I could get to work. It took an hour and a half, but they shoveled, snowblowed, and pushed my car until I got to the roads that were plowed. I wouldn't have made it without them.

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The reality of November

Posted at 4:31 PM on November 24, 2010 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Around 1 o'clock this afternoon, freezing rain hit the Rochester area and caused a series of car crashes. Officials sent this picture of one accident on I-90 westbound just west of Highway 52.

A young woman was trapped, extricated and taken to St. Mary's.

Not long afterwards, I got a call from a family friend. She and her car skidded off Highway 52 in Zumbrota. I headed in that direction and I wasn't treating Highway 52 lightly. And I've long been known as the best snow driver ever exported to Minnesota from Massachusetts.

It's true that the current snowstorm isn't "snowmageddon." And it's true that news and weatherpeople make a big deal out of an event or two that happens every year at this time (I'm more than guilty).

But it's a big deal when you're driving down the highway at a good clip and your car starts sliding and heading for a ditch or, worse, another car full of people who just want to get home. It happens to good people, even real Minnesotans who know it's November and that it snows in Minnesota in November.

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Welcome to Minnesota

Posted at 10:30 AM on November 24, 2010 by Bob Collins (6 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

It's becoming clear that I'm going to have to start a new category on News Cut: "Welcome to Minnesota" (See previous entry). These are videos and stories that explain this place to people elsewhere.

Here's an entry that's been posted in the last 24 hours.

For this latest storm, you're all following Paul Huttner on Updraft, right?

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Tornado postseason

Posted at 3:40 PM on November 22, 2010 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

A tornado -- you read it right -- has hit Illinois this afternoon. Temperatures in the Chicago area hit near 70 just as hail hit the Wisconsin/Illinois border. A tornado watch is still up for sections of southern Wisconsin.

I'm sure I'm jumping the gun on colleague Paul Huttner, who writes the Updraft blog for MPR, but I couldn't wait to find out whether Minnesota has ever gotten a tornado in November.

According to the Minnesota Climatology Working Group, a tornado has never struck Minnesota this late in the year:

In Minnesota, tornadoes have occurred in every month from March through November. The earliest verified tornado in Minnesota occurred on March 18, 1968, north of Truman, and the latest in any year on November 16, 1931, east of Maple Plain. Historically and statistically, June is the month of greatest frequency with July not far behind. May has the third greatest frequency, followed closely by August. Nearly 3/4 of all tornadoes in Minnesota have occurred during the three months of May (15%), June (37%), and July (25%).

In 1996, fourteen tornadoes touched down in the state on October 26, according to the National Weather Service.

But of the 1,653 tornadoes that have hit Minnesota since 1950, only one came in November.

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The ice storm cometh

Posted at 9:28 AM on November 21, 2010 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

After this morning's painful -- and unsuccessful -- search around the driveway and environs for the morning paper, here's something I didn't expect to see on the Minnesota Department of Transportation's Web site. A clean map with no reported "incidents."

But it's not hard to see why (I694 at Lexingont):

Say what you will about Minnesota drivers, but there's clearly a point at which they'll stay put. This ice storm -- said to be the worst in 20 years -- is one of them.

That wasn't the case, however, last evening:

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Welcome to winter

Posted at 10:53 AM on November 17, 2010 by Bob Collins (8 Comments)
Filed under: Surveys and trivia, Weather

How do you explain Minnesota to people who've never been here?

You show them this, which someone shot after the big snowfall over the weekend.

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The winds of heck

Posted at 12:40 PM on November 9, 2010 by Bob Collins (7 Comments)
Filed under: Regional history, Weather

No story ever posted to the Minnesota Public Radio website has generated as much audience traffic over the last 10 years as Mark Steil's 2000 story on the 60th anniversary of the Armistice Day blizzard. It killed 49 people in Minnesota, many of them hunters who were caught by surprise by the storm. The weather up to then was very much like today: unseasonably warm.

Thursday marks the 70th anniversary of the storm and we heard today from Father Roger Kasprick at St. John's Abbey, who grew up in Angus, Minn. He was kind enough to share his e-mailed answer to an acquaintance who asked him recently if he'd heard of the storm.

Here is his response:

So my response to your question: Yes, I have "heard of this story of the 1940 snow storm." I also lived through this storm and survived it. One of our neighbors a mile the other direction from our one-room school just about didn't survive it. His ears froze, and I guess his lungs froze, and I don't remember all the details, but I guess one eye was damaged.

George Goodwin was a nice guy, and a nice neighbor. Their two sons, Murry and Dennis, went to the same school as we did, and later their daughter, Carol, as well. George had gone to Warren [local parlance="went to town"] wearing a light jacket and his man's dress hat, just right for a summer day because it was an unusually nice warm fall day. We had no idea of what was coming at us so suddenly.

Anyway, George somehow managed to get his car almost home on the country roads, something almost miraculous in that white-out blizzard. But he finally couldn't get it any farther, couldn't get it into his yard. He got out of his car to try to make it to his farmstead, barn, house, all the possible shelter. He could not get that far; he got all confused. But he did end up across the county road from his house, and he had some machinery parked there, including a truck box. He took some shelter in the truck box, and since he knew where he was, he tried again and again to get across the road to his house. He just couldn't do it. In the white-out he merely got confused and was sort of blown back to the area where the machinery was.

Here my little boy memory starts to fail me, but I think someone the next morning found his car, so started to look for him, found him, dug him out and got him inside the house. He did lose at least one ear, the outer portion, and part of the other. In those days they didn't have plastic surgery available, so he ended up mutilated. The family had to nurse him back to health for a very long time. Neighbors had to come in to help milk the cows and take care of the chores. He didn't die in that storm, but sometimes people said perhaps some times he might have wished he had.

Me? I was a lot luckier. Us kids (including at least George's son Murry Goodwin, one grade ahead of me; perhaps Denny had not yet started school.) were all in our one-room schoolhouse. I was six years old, so I suppose Miss Smith had promoted me to second grade by that time, but I was a pretty small kid.

It felt like that wind was going to blow the little building down, just the way the big bad wolf did it to the three little pigs' house. The stove was having trouble burning, with the terrible down draft of the strong wind, so we had very little heat in that poor drafty frame building. But we all put our coats or jackets on, even though we too had started out that morning with only light outer clothes because it was such a pleasant day.

Some of the big boys wanted to start walking home, as I recall--"get out of here before it gets any worse" was the attitude. Miss Smith tried to keep school classes and activities going; I suppose she thought it would be best to keep our thoughts engaged with our lessons. We were used to winter storms in winter time, but this one came as such a nasty surprise, and it was a corker.

I don't remember all the details any longer, but I suppose Miss Smith probably wouldn't let any of the kids go outside. We were safer in the school, piled against one another for warmth and assurance. Some cars got there from the farms that were closer to school, especially those whose mothers usually drove their kids to school (usually little girls were more likely to have "a ride" than the rest of us). Some parents told other kids they were supposed to go home with them, ride to their house, and their folks would pick them up there when they could. But us? No such luck. We lived 1 1/2 miles east of school on a township dirt road (not graveled), and nobody else lived in our direction from school. I guess we farmed all or nearly all of the land, so there were no other farmhouses along the way. And normally, nobody gave us a ride, either to or from school.

I think at that time there were four of us younger kids [my sister, and then the 3 younger boys, spread through 8 grades]. We walked to school together, and home again each day. So we didn't have any reason to expect that anyone would come to give us a ride.
(Several years later the two youngest of us boys got bicycles so we could do the trip much quicker during clement weather, but in winter we were back to walking. The bikes were a good idea because we could get home quicker and get to doing chores, since by that time the two older brothers were off in boarding school all week, at the school now known as University of Minn - Crookston. Mom and Dad wanted to make sure that all us kids got to go to high school. My two sisters were not usually expected to work in the barn, and anyway they both got out of Dodge and got jobs as secretaries. They became townies as soon as they finished high school, so they weren't much available for the barns during the winter. Too bad; they missed out on a really enriching experience.)

Before it got too dark, we stepped outside of school to see if we could make it home. We couldn't. Back into the schoolhouse. At some point in late afternoon someone thought she/he saw something dark on the road from the East. Perhaps someone coming to the schoolhouse? We had to wait for a time; finally the dark spot got close enough that we could see that it was real, and it was moving toward us, very slowly. Good feeling. But what the heck is it? Eventually we could make out that it was a team of horses fighting their way into the teeth of the NW wind and fiercely driven snow. What the heck were they pulling?

Finally the team turned in at the schoolyard, and a figure rose from under something heavy, and stood up in the horse water tank he'd been riding in. He was covered in very strange ways since parkas had not yet been invented for us, but we now knew that it was our Dad. Yep, he and Mom had dug out the outside horse watering tank and put it on the manure sled, also known locally as a "stone boat". It was a big sled of boards strung across two sturdy "runners", so it slid along only about 5 or six inches above the ground, the easier to muscle big rocks onto it. In spring or summer farmers might drive these stone boats through the fields to pick up the rocks to clear the fields. In the winter time we used it for cleaning the cow barn every morning. In winter there was no way to use the fancy manure spreader with its box on wheels, which gears could be engaged to self-unload the manure load. In winter we hitched a team of horses to the stoneboat/manure sled or sleigh, and had the horses drag it through the barn from one end to the other and go out the door on the other end. All the way along we forked or shoveled out the barn, with the cows still stanchioned in place and the other horses tied in their stalls. We got to know their hind ends close up and personal. I was never kicked by a horse, for which we give thanks and praise, but I sure didn't like it because one mare decided she should be in charge, not me, and would crowd me against the plank stall, or nip at my hands and arms when I was trying to feed them their grain portions--again and again. She made it really hard for me to like her. Even scarier when I was told to take off their halters and put on the bridle and harness, to go out to work. Now that is not a decent job for a little kid, but we had to do it to get all the work done.

Now, on November 11, 1940, this nasty mare and her regular teammate, a very decent sort of gray mare -- evidently our most trusted team -- came out into the blizzard of the century to collect us, haul us home safely, to safety. It gave me a new appreciation for the horses, for my Dad, and for the manure sled which was the symbol of an awful lot of hard and unpleasant work at home.

Dad faced the elements in order to make sure that us four kids got scrunched down into the water tank, and he put a couple of very heavy horsehide (with hair still on them) "horse robes" over us for our ride home. The mare didn't really think that that one day of horse heroism required her to be much nicer to me the rest of the time. But I knew what she was really made of, a stout heart of pure gold when the times got tough. We kept that team of horses the longest of any. They were the last ones to go, and Dad did not part with them easily. He couldn't think of a single tractor that he could count on to do what that team had done for him, and with him, for a good many years. As for me, I had a new way of estimating the manure sled. Still, through the years when someone asks if our folks gave us a ride the one and a half miles to or from school, I've had to summon a bit of courage to say, "Well, sometimes they would haul us on the manure sled." I guess it doesn't sound elegant.

Thanks for asking. Yes, I have heard of the 1940 Armistice Day storm. It was there with us on the open prairie of the Red River Valley.

(Photo: Minnesota Historical Society)

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Wind redux

Posted at 12:29 PM on October 29, 2010 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

A few days ago, I posted some KARE video about the effect of the high winds on a football game in Woodbury. News Cut can never get too much wind-and-football video and the Farmington Independent complies with video of a kickoff at the 40, which briefly traveled forward for a few yards before the Lakeville North Panthers settled for a 12-yard loss.

In Minnesota high school football this week, the best way to get good field position, was to give up a touchdown.

(h/t: Chad Hjellming)

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Warmth in the nation's icebox

Posted at 3:55 PM on October 11, 2010 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

How warm is it? The National Weather Service reports that if International Falls' temperature stays above 45 -- it probably will -- over the next two days, it'll set a record for the most consecutive days above 45.

I know what you're thinking, but the record was established in 1911.

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Flood prediction lowered in St. Paul

Posted at 1:24 PM on October 1, 2010 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Raspberry Island
16.62 ft 10/1
15.4 ft 9/30
13.5 ft 9/29
11.3 ft 9/28
9.2 ft 9/27

Wabasha St. Bridge
16.62 ft 10/1
15.4 ft 9/30
13.5 ft 9/29
11.3 ft 9/28
9.2 ft 9/27

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Flood dud?

Posted at 12:42 PM on September 30, 2010 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Raspberry Island
15.4 ft 9/30
13.5 ft 9/29
11.3 ft 9/28
9.2 ft 9/27

Wabasha St. Bridge
15.4 ft 9/30
13.5 ft 9/29
11.3 ft 9/28
9.2 ft 9/27

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Should government help flood victims?

Posted at 10:31 AM on September 30, 2010 by Bob Collins (9 Comments)
Filed under: Politics, Weather

Two items on the flood patrol today.

First, the Minnesota State Patrol has posted some images of the flooding on Facebook. This is the St. Clair water treatment plant, which is currently encircled.

On a more political front, Ed Lotterman, the Pioneer Press business writer, brings up what few have mentioned, so far -- politicians calling for less government, turning to government in the wake of the flooding in Minnesota.

However, nothing in the Constitution authorizes the federal government to tax the general populace to help a few hurt by natural events. Nor did the feds do much of this until recent decades. There was virtually no federal aid after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. During the 1927 floods in the lower Mississippi valley, federal action was largely limited to politicians exhorting the citizenry to give money to the Red Cross and other private charities to carry out relief.

This is not to say that individual states should not decide to help flood victims if their voters wish. But they should be aware that such assistance creates incentives for people to continue to build and live in areas where nature says they should not.

Discuss.

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The river that ate Raspberry Island

Posted at 1:16 PM on September 29, 2010 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Raspberry Island
13.5 ft 9/29
11.3 ft 9/28
9.2 ft 9/27

Wabasha St. Bridge
13.5 ft 9/29
11.3 ft 9/28
9.2 ft 9/27

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Waiting for the flood

Posted at 12:42 PM on September 28, 2010 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Wabasha St. Bridge
11.3 ft 9/28
9.2 ft 9/27

Raspberry Island
11.3 ft 9/28
9.2 ft 9/27

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The slow-motion flood

Posted at 3:46 PM on September 27, 2010 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Given the amount of coverage the coming flooding has been getting, I expected to see more drama on the downtown St. Paul riverfront today. Check that. I expected to see some drama. I saw none.

Some streets are being closed in St. Paul, but they were mostly open late this afternoon. And, as the above photos show, the Mississippi River is pretty low at the moment.

Of course, that's not the case around Jordan where the mighty Minnesota River is cresting. The state has closed these roads and bridges in the Minnesota River Valley, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation:

Highway 19 from Highway 169 to Henderson

· Highway 22 south of St. Peter

· Highway 66 south of Mankato

· Highway 93 from Highway 169 to Henderson

· Highway 93 from Highway 169 to LeSueur

· Highway 99 east of St. Peter

· Highway 169 from Mankato to St. Peter (north and southbound lanes closed)

· Highway 169 from St. Peter to LeSueur (north and southbound lanes closed)

· Highway 169 in St. Peter by Union Street

It's worth noting that very few spots along the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers will have "major" flooding. You can view the predictions at this page of the Twin Cities office of the National Weather Service. The exceptions seem to be Savage, where it's projected to crest next Friday and Saturday; the Mississippi in St. Paul on Friday and Saturday. No other points are currently projected to have "major" flooding.

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Duluth is 2nd worst weather city

Posted at 11:57 AM on September 15, 2010 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Do we hate our winter weather more than we love being known for our terrible winter weather? I pose the question today now that the Farmer's Almanac has named its 10 worst weather cities in the country.

Duluth, you're #2.

I would've gone with Fargo.

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Report links severe weather to global warming

Posted at 2:45 PM on September 8, 2010 by Bob Collins (66 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

What made "tornado alley" move 500 miles north -- to Minnesota -- this summer? Why have there been two major floods in Iowa in recent years, and annual flooding in the Red River Valley of Minnesota?

A report issued today by Environment Minnesota, an environmental advocacy organization, stops short of definitively saying the disasters are attributable to global warming, but said "extreme weather" is likely the result of a warming planet (See the report).

"This is not a coincidence," meteorologist Paul Douglas (left above) said. "We've had an accumulation of coincidences. I tell people, 'strip out the ideology. Look at the numbers. Look at the science.' This has been an amazing year." (Listen)

Douglas acknowledges that one year does not a trend make, "but we've had 384 consecutive months where the global temperature has been warmer than the 20th century average. Now I'm all for serendipity, but at some point you step back, you connect the dots, you look at the pieces of the puzzle; something is going on," he said.

The report said the sea level has risen by 8 inches since 1870, snow cover has decreased in the Northern Hemisphere over the last 40 years, and the amount of precipitation falling in the top 1 percent of rainfall events has increased 20 percent in the last century.

"Just a month ago, the remaining largest ice shelf in the Arctic broke up. All of the ice shelves that I've traveled on in the Arctic and Antarctic have broken up, " explorer Will Steger said at a news conference (Listen), held at Douglas' Excelsior weather forecasting company. "It was 700 feet thick." Douglas says he's starting a new company to make wind energy more profitable by providing more dependable wind forecasts for companies.

Those calling attention to global warming are usually reluctant to link weather events to climate change -- especially during blizzards and cold snaps. "What's happening on a planetary scale now is consistent with what climate scientists were predicting 20 years ago," Douglas said. "Just the sheer number of coincidences, taken together, there's no argument that greenhouse gasses have spiked 20 percent. There's no argument that the amount of water vapor floating overhead has spiked by 4 to 5 percent. So we're loading the dice... increasing the probability of these extreme events."

But critics of the concept of climate change and global warming say there's no saying for certain that what's happened in Minnesota this summer, for example, is attributable to climate change. They want a smoking gun.

"By the time the last piece of the puzzle falls into place -- and even the skeptics come around and say 'yes, you're right.' It will probably be too late, Douglas said.

Additional audio:

Ken Bradley, director of Environment Minnesota, discusses the report. (Listen)

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An astronaut's view of Hurricane Earl

Posted at 3:05 PM on September 2, 2010 by Drew Geraets (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

You know something's big when it still looks huge from space (h/t @kev097).

In this photograph captured with a digital SLR camera by NASA astronaut Douglas Wheelock, Earl had a distinct eye that spanned about 17 miles (28 kilometers). Most of the storm had a seemingly uniform top, though the bottom edge of the image gives some sense of the towering thunderheads forming over the ocean. The solar panels of the ISS remind us that the sun is still shining, at least on ISS Expedition 24.

- Caption by Michael Carlowicz.

See the full photo and caption on the Earth Observatory Image of the Day website.

Earl is packing winds of 125 mph as it rides along the East Coast.

Also, check out MSNBC's impressive interactive hurricane tracker.

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Mailbag: Weather warnings

Posted at 2:16 PM on August 20, 2010 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Other than weather geeks, I don't know anybody who really likes having their radio and TV programs interrupted for weather warnings. Particularly with severe thunderstorm warnings, it always seemed to me that anyone looking out the window, or hearing thunder in the distance, or listening to static on AM radio, can figure out that a thunderstorm is nearby.

Nor has it always made sense that someone in northern Minnesota has to listen to a weather warning for someone in southern Minnesota.

But this e-mail from Jay Knaak of International Falls today has me recalibrating that a bit:

Recently I was listening to MPR on 88.1 International Falls where I live. A tornado warning was issued for southern MN near St.James MN on Aug 11th, where I was raised. Warning was for 5 miles north and 4 miles west of the town. I text my Mom and asked her if she was close to it. She was in a neighboring town but called a friend near the warning, who was previously unaware of the tornado . The friend went outside and looked around, and snapped this cell phone picture. MPR could have potentially saved lives and at least prompted a good picture. Good job MPR

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The nightmare is over

Posted at 8:21 AM on August 15, 2010 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Even though it probably announces the beginning of the end of summer, Sunday morning brought the long-awaited, refreshing, low-humidity, you-can-do-anything convincing cool air to the Upper Midwest.

It's the kind of day that makes you want to be a kid at summer camp again:

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Weather photo of the day

Posted at 11:42 AM on August 13, 2010 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

The only thing missing from this photo is Charlton Heston.

Noelle Bakken of Plymouth writes:

Hey Bob, we're fortunate enough to have a west-facing apartment with a balcony, and while it also gives me plenty of time to panic about the foreboding clouds, I've also started to document the panoramic views we get of the incoming storms.

I adjusted the lighting on it a bit, but not by much - just enough to enhance the lights/darks in the clouds a little. J That was just about the point when the temperature dropped about 5-10 degrees almost instantly!

Here's Noelle's album on Facebook.

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Mini flooding

Posted at 1:23 PM on August 11, 2010 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

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South Dakota hailstone sets U.S. records

Posted at 1:30 PM on July 30, 2010 by Drew Geraets (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

A giant hailstone that fell in South Dakota has set national records for weight and diameter, according to the National Weather Service.

Leslie "Les" Scott of Vivian, S.D. grabbed the 1.93-pound hailstone after a storm last Friday. It had a diameter of eight inches and a 18.625-inch circumference.

My favorite line comes from KELOLAND's story:

Scott originally wanted to make a daiquiri out of the hail, but decided to contact the National Weather Service instead.

The Daily Republic in Mitchell, S.D. interviewed meteorologist Greg Herman from the weather service office in Sioux Falls:

Herman said 103 mph winds are required to keep a softball-size hailstone in the air. A softball is 4.5 inches in circumference, about half the size of the Vivian hailstone.

The previous record for heaviest hailstone was 1.67 pounds (Sept. 3, 1970 in Coffeeville, Kan.), according to the weather service.

The previous record for diameter was seven inches (June 23, 2003 in Aurora, Neb.). That hailstone still holds the record for circumference at 18.75 inches and weighed just under one pound.

Extras:

Interactive hail map

And speaking of records - the record for 24-hour temperature change was set in 1972 in Loma, Mont. at 103 degrees. Just thought you should know.

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Video: The lightning show

Posted at 7:03 AM on July 18, 2010 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Is there a better show in town than when big storms leave the Twin Cities, settle over Wisconsin, and allow us to watch the lightning from the comfort of the front lawn?

Be sure to see Paul Huttner's Updraft blog for a few more pictures and an example of how it's possible to provide outstanding weather information without hyperventilating.

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Tracking weather

Posted at 9:45 AM on July 14, 2010 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Normally, predictions of severe weather have to be calculated to subtract the human tendency of weather experts to blow things out of proportion, but today feels different. Even without media, weather radios, and sirens, any trick knee will reveal that today's weather is going to be bad.

That's the weather radar for Duluth. Let's see what it looks like as it moves through.

Here's the Webcam image at 9:43

9:51, via this Webcam:

9:57: The red/orange on the map is over Duluth. What does it look like on the ground? Not much.

10:08: The "green" moves in. It looks suspiciously like the "red" and "orange" weather. So far, we're unimpessed, though we're presently cowering in the basement.

10:18: We'll assume the sudden appearance of tourists constitutes the Duluth version of an "all clear."

Click on any of those images for a larger view.

If you're following via Twitter, you can find weather updates here.

I'm looking for your weather photos through the day. Send them to me at bcollins@mpr.org or use this form.

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What to do if your car flooded

Posted at 7:51 AM on June 26, 2010 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Check your oil indicator.
A reading of an oil level that's too high may tell you there's water in the engine. Do not start or run your car -- it could cause severe damage.

Measure the depth of the water that submerged your car.
It is possible water did not enter any parts that are susceptible to damage.

Determine how long your car was submerged.
The shorter the time, the more salvageable any damaged parts may be.

Be sure to note the type of water that flooded your vehicle.
Fresh water causes less damage to your car than salt water.

Check local weather reports for the temperature during and after flooding.
Warmer temperatures may speed up corrosion, especially if your car was flooded with salt water.

Determine how long your car was submerged.
The shorter the time, the more salvageable any damaged parts may be.

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1,000 Words: The Storm

Posted at 6:40 PM on June 25, 2010 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

The commuters of St. Paul and Minneapolis had it rough, especially the 'Never Say Dry' bicycle commuters.

Continue reading "1,000 Words: The Storm"

The week in pictures: Weather edition

Posted at 11:09 AM on June 19, 2010 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Here's a Flickr slideshow of images relating to last Thursday's weather. Many photographers captured the color of the sky perfectly. As these are pulled directly from Flickr, some of these will not make sense; most will. There's more beauty here than destruction.

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Weather pictures

Posted at 5:48 PM on June 17, 2010 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

The first severe weather of the season is a boon to those of us who like watching cloud formations. This one presented itself a minute ago over the airport at South St. Paul. If you have some weather pictures to share, send them along.

Stephanie Dobson of Anoka says this picture was taken in Alexandria at 5:05 p.m. "Nikki & Reese Aldrich in Alexandria, MN. One of the two of them took it with their cell phone. They weren't home when it hit. No one was hurt. Their antique threshing machine and 500 gallon propane tank were half a mile away," she says.

WCCO also has some spectacular pictures here.

9:20 p.m. - Orange you glad you live in the Twin Cities?

Wadena:

Marc Nall took this from his balcony in St. Louis Park:

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When hail hurts

Posted at 3:46 PM on June 17, 2010 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Back when News Cut was a young boy, he traveled to the top of the Empire State Building, where his sister told him if he threw a penny off, it would make a crater in the streets of Manhattan below. Then, as now, News Cut didn't have any money to throw, but the image has persisted. Then, as now, News Cut's sister was in error.

So when we heard today that golf-ball sized hail fell in Backus (and it's heading East), we were naturally inclined to figure out how big of a hole a golf ball could make, if a penny could take out 42nd Street.

The answer comes from NOAA:

We really only have estimates about the speed hail falls. One estimate is that a 1cm hailstone falls at 9 m/s, and an 8cm stone, weighing .7kg falls at 48 m/s (171 km/h). However, the hailstone is not likely to reach terminal velocity due to friction, collisions with other hailstones or raindrops, wind, the viscosity of the wind, and melting. Also, the formula to calculate terminal velocity is based on the assumption that you are dealing with a perfect sphere. Hail is generally not a perfect sphere!

Another factor in assessing the danger of hail is how fast the wind is blowing that might make them speed toward earth.

In any event, the golf-ball sized hail likely presents less of a danger than, say, a golf ball. Unlike the example above showing a .7kg object travels 108 mph (175 km/h), a golf ball weighs a fraction of that -- about .04 kg, and travels about 125 mph when someone who knows what their they're doing hits it. So a driven golf ball likely presents more of a danger than a falling one.

People are killed by hail. We just don't hear about it much. In Egypt in February, four people were killed by hail. But the last U.S. death from hail on record was in 1979. A man went out to move his new car out of the hailstorm, when he was hit.

But while rare, death by golf ball has occurred more recently.

And yet, we're not interrupting programming today to warn you about the guy on the 7th hole.

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Meteorological wonders of flyover country

Posted at 3:26 PM on June 15, 2010 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Some new research shows planes and jets can make it snow and rain.

Continue reading "Meteorological wonders of flyover country"

Bring on the hurricanes

Posted at 2:46 PM on April 7, 2010 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

This could be a fairly busy year for hurricanes, according to the experts.

Eight hurricanes are expected along with over a dozen tropical storms. Haiti, in particular, could be in for a rough season, the forecasters at Colorado State University said today. The report describes the coming season as "above average."

Last year, the, the forecasters predicted 6 hurricanes and a dozen tropical storms, in what turned out to be a very quiet year for hurricanes. There were only nine tropical storms and three hurricanes.

Here are this year's names:

Alex
Bonnie
Colin
Danielle
Earl
Fiona
Gaston
Hermine
Igor
Julia
Karl
Lisa
Matthew
Nicole
Otto
Paula
Richard
Shary
Tomas
Virginie
Walter

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Climate change and the TV meteorologist

Posted at 1:27 PM on April 1, 2010 by Bob Collins (25 Comments)
Filed under: Media, Science, Weather

There may be a good reason why TV weather forecasters are reluctant to talk about climate change. The minute they do, they risk alienating a large segment of the audience which may know as little about the science of climate change as they often do.

This week, researchers at the University of Texas and George Mason University released a study showing only 54% of weathercasters believe climate change is occurring, while one in four agreed with the assertion that climate change as a result of human activity is a scam (See the full research here).

"From our perspective there's a lot of positive in it about the willingness of a lot of weathercasters who say they don't know as much as they want to about the science," Kris Wilson, senior lecturer in the College of Communication at the University of Texas told me this week. "They can still change their mind; they're open to learning about the science."

Wilson has created a two-hour module for weathercasters that tries to convince them that if they would simply report the science of climate change, the public might get better information.

"One of the big chunks was how do climate models differ from weather models, because many of the skeptics were couching their criticisms with 'you can't trust the models,'" according to Wilson. "If you can just stick to the science, the science is really pretty clear and definitive and the consensus that's been built among climate change science is really very extraordinary in the field."

Why does it matter what weathercasters say? Because for many people, it's the only source of science information once they graduate from school. And TV newsroom managers are asking their weatherperson to take on some of the tasks of science reporting, a role 79% of the meteorologists surveyed say they welcome. Yet, only a third of TV weathercasters believe there is a scientific consensus on climate change.

But the method by which a TV newscast is put together, doesn't help. "This winter is a perfect example because it was cold in, say, Washington DC." Wilson says. "And so what happens is a producer will stack the blizzard in Washington right before the weathercast, and then sometimes the anchors will turn to them and say 'Well, how can that be happening if global warming is going on?"

"Weathercasters refer to that as an 'ambush,'" he says. "You don't ever know what's going to happen in that moment and sometimes what gets communicated is very off the cuff and spontaneous."

And often, wrong.

It can be a scary moment in a profession where audience approval is required. WCCO meteorologist Mike Fairbourne found that out in 2008 when he signed a statement from 31,000 "scientists" who contended the role of humans in global warming is overblown. He was criticized by those who say the climate science couldn't be more clear.

"Climate change, for unfortunate reasons, has become so politicized that you can't even talk about science without setting yourself up from one side or the other. So weathercasters are trying to keep a low profile," according to Wilson. "They also recognize the risk involved because it puts them out there. The most common questions they get involves a hesitancy to trust a weathercaster about a long-term forecast when they can't get the short-term forecast right."

That would certainly appear to be the case in Minnesota, where out of more than a dozen meteorologists I contacted for their view for this post, only two were willing or able to give it.

"I feel tremendous pressure to take a side on global warming," Steph Anderson, a meteorologist at KTTC TV in Rochester told me in an e-mail. "I'm a scientist, so people expect me to have a scientific viewpoint on it, and reasoning behind it. Turns out, I don't like to talk about it."

"Honest and upfront, I don't talk about it, I don't believe in it. Mostly because I can't say it's happening, yet. It's hard enough to get a seven-day forecast right; I'm supposed to believe that the earth is going to warm excessively in so many years? Climate has changed over the earth's time. We've had ice ages and warmed back up. It's cyclical. Who's to say that won't happen this time around? Weather's hard enough to predict, but I don't predict climate, I don't work with models that do such things, but I know that in order for me to believe something, I need concrete data over a long period of time. Frankly, I haven't seen that yet with the global climate change debate.

"I also won't take a stance on global climate change when I'm presenting short-term data that's all over the place. This last summer we had one of the coldest July's on record. Now in March we haven't had any snow. My seven-day forecast changes several times over the course of a week. I'm fighting enough for credibility. If I'm crying global warming and it's not true...or if I'm not crying warming and it is true...I'd rather not risk my credibility at something that's so long-term and far out I can't predict it....and is hard to predict anyway."

Kris Wilson says the tendency of weathercasters to relate climate change to meteorology -- rather than climatology -- is the source of viewer/listener misinformation. "They have distinct differences and what we're finding is that they're projecting a lot of inconsistencies and flaws of weather forecasting models onto climate forecasting models. The weather is much more volatile. But climate models don't work that way."

Heidi Cullen, a meteorologist who once suggested meteorologists should not be certified by the American Meteorological Society "if they can't speak to the fundamental science of climate change," told the New York Times this week that the climatologists aren't stepping on the weather forecasters' turf. "They are not trying to predict the weather for 2050, just generally that it will be hotter," she said. "And just like I can predict August will be warmer than January, I can predict that."

Craig Edwards, an MPR meteorologist and long-time National Weather Service meteorologist, says the political nature of the debate clouds the need for stewardship. "In the book by Newt Gingrich and Terry Maple, A Contract with the Earth, they state there is no "we vs. they" when it comes to the stewardship of the planet. As a meteorologist, if I predict rain for Friday and it doesn't rain, you can track me down on Saturday and tell me I was wrong. As a climatologist, if I predict that 100 years from now that the ocean level will rise 20 inches and it only comes up five inches, I won't be around for you to tell me I was wrong. If we have 100 years to prepare for coastal sea level to rise two feet, yet we continue to build oceanside, shame on us."

"Do I feel as if we should be doing everything we can to reduce our energy consumption, drive more fuel-efficient cars, and be more earth-friendly?" Anderson adds. "Absolutely, but we should have made this effort long ago, not because of global warming fears, and at least before Al Gore's film came out. To me, his film has turned global warming into more of a political game than a science one. Also, I don't feel the average citizen is very informed of climate change and is rather brainwashed. So when they hear a piece of data, such as, "this year the earth warmed 1 degree", I feel their mindset goes like a magnet to a fridge to "global warming!". But what caused that 1 degree warm-up? Was it really humans? Was it something else?"

Steph Anderson says she prefers to "leave the long-term stuff up to the experts." The experts -- climatologists -- say the problem is they don't get the chance to spend five minutes a night before a trusting television audience.

Learn more about the research from Kris Wilson of the University of Texas.(Listen)

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Assault on the ice dams

Posted at 2:30 PM on March 2, 2010 by Bob Collins (10 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Cold nights, (comparatively) warm days. It's ice-dam season in Minnesota.

Ahab had his whale and a Minnesotan has his ice dam.

I found one technique -- hang onto a ladder and swing an axe -- by looking out the back window of News Cut's world headquarters today.

Here's another man's method. Don't try this at home.

There's the brute-force-and-we'll-worry-about-the-shrubs-later method:

There's also the we-didn't-need-this-roof method. Turn down the volume on this one. Why someone thought an ice-dam-removal video needed music is beyond the capacity of your writer.

If none of those work, try the don't-let-it-happen-in-the-first-place method:

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Back to the dikes

Posted at 9:54 AM on February 23, 2010 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Have you got another flood-relief effort in you?

On the heels of last year's massive effort in Moorhead and Fargo, another anti-flood brigade seems highly likely, according to the National Weather Service.

Moorhead is opening its sandbagging site on Monday and is looking for volunteers (Fargo Forum - registration possibly required). The city hopes to fill 300,000 sandbags, and will provide them free this year. In past years, residents had to purchase sand and sandbags but the city changed its strategy last year -- building a single dike along the Red River rather than let each homeowner decide how to fight the water. It worked.

The city is also planning on obtaining a machine to fill sandbags automatically. Last year piles of sand were dumped in the neighborhoods and volunteers and residents shoveled and hauled.

Fargo had a different plan. Wayback Machine time:

Last year (as the above link shows), I spent the flood on the Moorhead side of the river, following three families in one neighborhood. This year? We'll see but if you live in the area and have a plan, drop me an e-mail.

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Golden Snowball Challenge: Maitland, Huttner with the win

Posted at 5:27 PM on February 9, 2010 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

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Weather Service wins latest Golden Snowball Challenge round

Posted at 7:17 PM on February 6, 2010 by Bob Collins (7 Comments)
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Golden Snowball Challenge - Round four

Posted at 3:39 PM on February 4, 2010 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
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Douglas takes latest leg of Golden Snowball Challenge

Posted at 11:00 AM on December 26, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
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The real story of the 'crippling' snowstorm

Posted at 11:43 AM on December 24, 2009 by Bob Collins (9 Comments)
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Golden Snowball Challenge: Let it begin

Posted at 7:06 PM on December 23, 2009 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
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Golden Snowball Challenge: Current snow estimates

Posted at 12:01 PM on December 23, 2009 by Bob Collins (6 Comments)
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Fresh Eye on the Radio: Mysteries of the impound lot

Posted at 4:51 PM on December 22, 2009 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Embed | Help

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Snowjob

Posted at 2:46 PM on December 22, 2009 by Bob Collins (8 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

There's something wrong -- seriously, seriously wrong -- when I'm the voice of optimism and viewing the world through my half-full, rose-colored glasses.

By now, of course, you've heard that a foot -- maybe more -- of snow may "interrupt holiday travel, last-minute shopping and Christmas Eve church plans." And it probably will. Bad news all around, to be sure.

Unless, of course, you live in Minnesota, a state pretty well dependent on the winter tourist and enthusiast economy.

For example:

-- Polaris, a company that makes snowmobiles, is the 27th largest company on the Star Tribune's 100 largest companies list. Arctic Cat, another similar company, is #45.

-- Gander Mountain, a company that sells outdoor equipment, is #35.

-- The Gunflint Trail, Ely, and other sections of the state depend on the winter economy for people to come and stay, maybe do some cross country skiing, and ice fishing. Remember this picture from 2002?

In 2007, this was the cross-country trail around this time of the year at the Northland Arboretum.

There was no snow in northern Minnesota. It was an economic tragedy.

-- The state collects revenue from cross-country skiiers, park fees for winter enthusiasts, and fishing licenses. (h/t: Kassie Church via Twitter)

-- Small businesses like hardware stores are going to have an upswing in business, selling shovels, for example.

The storm is going to hit on Christmas. Most things are closed on Christmas. Most people don't have to go to work on Christmas, and while we share the pain of those who might be flying off somewhere, or expecting someone to fly in, the percentage of people who are is relatively small. Most people spend Christmas at home, looking out the window and -- at least in recent years -- wishing there was enough snow so the kids could take their sleds out to the hill.

If you're going to have a big snowstorm, Christmas is a darned good time to have it.

It's true that we newspeople depend on snowstorms to create the perception of trouble ahead. But a glance at some other stories we've done in recent years shows we're pretty good at digging up trouble ahead when it doesn't snow, too. We'll get by.

Frigid temps, lack of snow cause wave of septic freeze-ups

Little snow foreshadows more drought

John Beargrease sled dog race canceled (2007)

Arctic Cat cuts 60 jobs

Snowless season frustrates winter sports enthusiasts

Drought: Twin Cities lake near all-time low record

The bottom line? This ain't Phoenix.

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What's the big deal?

Posted at 3:18 PM on December 19, 2009 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

The Northeast is getting a big 20-inch snowfall and -- let's face it -- we're using the opportunity to "tsk tsk" what a big deal they're making out of it. Fact is: We like to think we know snow better than the northeast knows snow, but we don't.

Check the average snow forecast map.

We rarely have snowfalls at least a foot deep in the Twin Cities anymore. In the last decade, the northeast averages more than three such storms a year. And snow there isn't the same as snow here. Our colder-than-anywhere temperatures creates a light, fluffier snow. That makes for more blizzards, but easier shoveling. The East has the ocean, which makes every shovelful of snow a heart attack waiting to happen.

Snow also fell in Washington and the mid-Atlantic states. Big deal? Sure it is, when you don't have the snowfighting equipment the snowbelt has.

The mean snowfall amount per year in Minneapolis is 39.5 inches. That's less than Boston's 40.7. The heaviest snowfall per season in Boston was 86.5 inches in 2005. Minneapolis' heaviest snowfall year was also 2005, according to the National Weather Service. It got 42.8 inches of snow. (Note: I'm not sure how NOAA calculates these numbers because the National Weather Service in Chanhassen has much different seasonal snowfall amounts for Minnesota, but presumably NOAA uses the same method for both locations)

The Weather Service also calculates the "big deal factor" of snowfalls by the number of people in a storm's path. The East Coast wins there easily. There are many more flights a day at East Coast airports, so the effect of snow is more pronounced.

Why is a snowstorm on the East Coast being made into such a big deal? Because it's a big deal. And if it happened here, we'd be making a big deal of it, too.

Our specialty, of course, is cold. The time to appropriately snicker is when the East Coast complains about 20 degree weather in December or January. And you know they will.

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Golden Snowball Challenge standings

Posted at 10:20 AM on December 14, 2009 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

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The two-minute blizzard

Posted at 2:29 PM on December 11, 2009 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

A season's first snowstorm is like a person's first love. You'll never love another quite the same way.

Which is why -- more than two days later -- we're wistfully recalling this week's snowstorm by way of this time-lapse view of it from Northfield.

(h/t: Northfield.org)

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Embracing winter: It's in the 'tude

Posted at 8:39 AM on December 9, 2009 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

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Left out in the warm

Posted at 9:02 AM on August 22, 2009 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

For an area that loves to talk about the weather as much as we do, Minnesota has a right to feel positively left out when it comes to Hurricane Bill this weekend. Imagine, with our experience at these things, how much hype we could bring to the occasion!

Massachusetts and Cape Cod are the primary targets of Hurricane Bill. If you're interested, here are Webcams along Cape Cod. We can pretend.

So far, the Weather Channel is all live hype from the Cape. The Webcams suggest normality at the moment.

Here are some other hurricane-tracking links:

Stormpulse
HurricaneTrack.com
National Hurricane Center

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The lightning show

Posted at 9:45 PM on August 8, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Summer made its grand reappearance this weekend. Up to 5 inches of rain fell in the storms Friday night into Saturday morning. Then, after an afternoon of muggy weather, tornadoes reportedly dropped in sections of Anoka County. Trees were downed in Plymouth. From Twitter, we heard reports of wedding receptions hurriedly being moved indoors.

The picture above was the leading edge of the storms.

I shot this video of lightning in the distance -- over Anoka and Washington Counties -- from the safety of the News Cut Woodbury bureau. The lightning didn't illuminate anything particularly foreboding.

Here's some YouTube video scanning the sky of Plymouth as the sirens blare. No tornado spotted on the tape, however.

Is our drought over, yet?

If you see any damage when the sun comes up, shoot us a picture.

The boys on Updraft are doing the heavy lifting on the weather.

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Random weather photos

Posted at 6:30 PM on July 22, 2009 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

We got a late start on summer but this week has been a heck of a week for cloud watchers. This behemoth east of St. Paul -- not expertly captured here -- could've easily led to more rear-end accidents on I-94 during the rush hour.

Deep thoughts while waiting for the traffic light to change to green: If rainbows only exist in our brain (because of the way our eyes interpret light), do they really exist?

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All or nothing at all

Posted at 12:23 PM on July 21, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

In a matter of minutes on Tuesday, the Twin Cities went from a drought to a flood. Here's a scene on Dawn Way in Inver Grove Heights.

Of course, we're still in a drought but the heavy rain didn't hurt, especially for those of us who have been close to taking our gardens and lawns off life support and letting them die with dignity.

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Live-blogging: Severe weather season forum

Posted at 5:45 PM on May 6, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

How appropriate that a few severe weather warnings are up for the "flyover country" this evening, for we are partaking in one of our most beloved traditions: talking about Minnesota weather.

MPR's Cathy Wurzer is hosting a discussion in the UBS Forum with meteorologists Paul Huttner, Craig Edwards, Mark Seeley about tornadoes, floods, straight-line winds and other public safety threats that come with warm weather. We'll discuss how accurately storms can be predicted, how storms are formed and how to protect yourself and your property.

And I am live-blogging the event. Follow along, ask a question, maybe even make some Hot Dish. The forum will be broadcast on the radio during Midday on Thursday.

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A blizzard on the prairie

Posted at 12:02 PM on March 10, 2009 by Bob Collins (12 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

If a blizzard doesn't hit the Twin Cities, is it still a blizzard?

This is a tough time for the news media which, understandably and justifiably, gets criticized for making things sound worse than they really are. "Mother Nature is going to throw everything she's got at us," KARE 11's anchor announced last night, shortly before throwing it to the weatherperson standing outdoors with an umbrella even though it wasn't snowing or raining, and ignoring that earthquakes, volcanic disruptions, floods, tornadoes, and drought weren't in the forecast.

So when we look out the window in the Twin Cities and see gray skies and drizzle, it's easy to give them a little shot for their hyperbole. The problem is, it's a big state and -- cover your ears, Twin Cities -- there's more to it than just the metro. And this particular blizzard really is bad -- and I guess newsworthy -- for the people in the northwest and west-central part of the state. For example, the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Minnesota State Patrol have closed Highway 210 from Fergus Falls to Breckenridge in the last few hours. I-94 from Moorhead to Fergus Falls is closed as is the stretch from Fargo to Jamestown, and Highway 10 from Moorhead to Lake Park. (See other road closings)

It doesn't appear the blizzard is going to affect the Twin Cities, leaving those of us who lamented the prospect of another snowstorm feeling just a little -- admit it -- left out of the excitement.

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Live-blogging: The storm

Posted at 12:41 PM on February 26, 2009 by Bob Collins (12 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

4:41 p.m. -- Minneapolis has now declared a snow emergency. Get the particulars here. Please don't make me do one of those "let's talk to people at the impound lot" stories. Unless there's new info coming in, I may retire the live blog at this point to keep the snow emergency info up top. Observation: For a storm that hit at a bad time for commuters, things appear to have gone relatively well this evening. Frustrating, yes, but nowhere near as mind-boggling as earlier, smaller, storms. Talk about your commute below. I have to go blow some snow now.

4:31 p.m. - Here's the particulars on the St. Paul snow emergency:

On Thursday, February 26, 2009, beginning at 9:00 P.M., all NIGHT PLOW ROUTES will be plowed. Included are all arterial or main streets posted with signs that say "NIGHT PLOW ROUTE" and one side of all north-south residential streets posted with signs that say "NIGHT PLOW ROUTE-THIS SIDE OF STREET".

On Friday, February 27, 2009, beginning at 8:00 A.M. all DAY PLOW ROUTES will be plowed. Included are all non-posted east-west residential streets and the non-posted side of north-south residential streets.

Parking is banned until streets are plowed full width to the curb. There will be tagging and towing ahead of the plows starting immediately at 9:00 P.M. and continuing throughout the Snow Emergency. For more information visit our website at http://www.stpaul.gov/snow

4:14 p.m. - The snow has stopped in the metro, which is great news for the commute. The final total via garage-door-cam is 4 1/2" which, in the big scheme of things, isn't that big of a deal.

4:10 p.m. - A better picture. This is looking at the westbound side of 494 over the Wakota bridge. The jackknifed truck was on the westbound side, not the eastbound side. And it's now been moved to the side and only one lane is blocked now.

4:00 p.m. - Uh oh. This MnDOT camera picture of westbound 494 at Carver Ave in Woodbury tells me there's another big problem in the other direction too, from the one where were that jackknifed truck is blocking things. Searching.

3:56 p.m. - This picture from Julia Schrenkler near the News Cut World Headquarters (7th and Cedar in St. Paul), shows the person everyone hates. He/she tried to get through the intersection, didn't make it, and now everybody going in the other direction is blocked for a light cycle or two.

3:49 p.m. - St. Paul has declared a snow emergency. So far, nothing for Minneapolis but keep checking here.

3:37 p.m. - The biggest traffic disaster godawful mess typical metro commuter nonsense chance-to-scare-you area is in the east metro on I-494. A truck has jackknifed at the Concord St. exit of I-494 eastbound before the Wakota Bridge

You can see the mess.

3:34 p.m. - The Weather Channel person doing live shots from downtown Minneapolis notes, "They don't mess around here," when it comes to snow plowing. His disappointment as the snow tapers off seems detectable.

3:27 p.m. - Some flights arriving at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport are up to an hour and 45 minutes late. Many are being held on the ground at departing locations, according to the Air Traffic Control Management Center. Northwest has issued a winter waiver. You can rebook without fees.

3:22 p.m. - Garage-cam hourly update shows it snowed at a 2-inch-per-hour rate in the last hour.

2:58 p.m. - Paul Huttner says it has stopped snowing in Mankato. Flakes are larger (which usually means it's ending.... why is that?) in Woodbury.

2:52 p.m. - The Uptake's Jason Barnett reports via Twitter: "40 miles south of Twin Cities I35 is blocked. All northern traffic stopped. Me among them. :( "

Also via Twitter, Matt Abe reports the snow is tapering off in Hopkins.

Meanwhile, I have a shovel-ready project.

2:39 p.m. - OK, here we go. The rush hour is underway, and very badly misnamed today. (h/t: MPR's Tim Nelson)

A quick check of MNDot's Web page shows 5 stalled vehicles closing lanes on various stretches of the main highways.
2:37 p.m. - U of M cancels evening classes.

2:20 p.m. - Paul Huttner says the late start of the storm should keep the total accumulation at 7 inches tops.

2:11 p.m. - Paul Huttner, MPR meteorologist, says southeast metro is getting hit the hardest. He includes Woodbury. Let's go there now as part of our exclusive News Cut coverage of Snowmaggedon. Here's the garage-door-cam.

Almost 2.5" in two hours. Now our only-on-News-Cut coverage has this exclusive footage from bird-feeder cam.

More as it happens. Back to you in the studio.

2:00 p.m. - Snow totals so far:
New Market - 5.4 "
Carlos - 9" (good thing I canceled my trip to the area today)
Hastings - 1"
Faribault - 3.1"
Zumbrota - 2"

1:51 p.m. - This picture of the MPR News Cut World Headquarters by Dan Olson ...

... has got me wondering. I wonder what it would've been like if the Republican National Convention in St. Paul were held in February?

1:33 p.m. - Interesting "tweet" from a person who says his son's high school has canceled this afternoon's ski and snowboard trip due to snow.

1:21 p.m. - "What hath God wrought?" Everybody's got a video stream pointing a camera out the window. The Star Tribune is the latest. Naples, Florida? Are you out there watching this?

1:12 p.m. - Live video from Moorhead (h/t: Than Tibbetts)

12:50 p.m. - Latest from MnDOT:

The Minnesota Department of Transportation advises no unnecessary travel in the following counties: Blue Earth, Brown, Cottonwood, Faribault, Jackson, LeSueur, Martin, Nicollet, Nobles, Rock, Sibley, Waseca, and Watonwan . Windy conditions and heavy snow are creating reduced or zero visibility in some areas and snow compacted roads. Weather conditions are expected to deteriorate throughout the day with high winds predicted.

12:40 p.m. - Via Twitter. A live video feed of snow falling somewhere in the Twin Cities. This is the advantage of the Web, of course. Looking out the window just doesn't cut it, anymore.

12:38 p.m. - 41st St. NW in Rochester:

12:21 p.m. - Now that the snow is falling, the meteorologists say it will snow quite heavily. Today's thing to think about when you're sitting in traffic on the way home: If it rains cats and dogs, what does it snow...?"

12:09 p.m. - Snow starting, innocently enough, in Woodbury.

12:05 p.m. - Matt Wells looks out the office window in Eagan and sees, well, nothing:

11:52 a.m. - Confirmation from Greg Boone that it's snowing at Gustavus in Mankato St. Peter.

11:22 a.m. - Weather Channel won't make the same mistake three times. Drops the live shot from the guy standing in downtown St. Paul (with his hood on his parka up. What's up with that?) and does a phone interview with a weather in Mankato who describes the small fall. It's always difficult to subscribe snowfall without visuals (as radio folks know). But it's snowing in Mankato. Save yourselves while you still can.

11:20 a.m. - MPR's Craig Edwards, writing on the Updraft blog says the commute home will be no fun.

As predicted, the snow held off for the morning rush in the metro. But heavy snow, falling faster than an inch per hour, has reached west central and southwest Minnesota. We expect heavy accumulations, of up to an inch per hour, from around 11am to 6pm in the Twin Cities.

I don't know, Craig, so I can't kid with him but predicted? Predicted when? Because I got up at 2 a.m. based on one prediction on heard on (gulp) MPR.

11:16 a.m. - Twitter reports it's snow in St. Peter. You know the drill as thing swallows us, right? Send pictures.

11:12 a.m. - The Weather Channel has a guy doing live shots from downtown St. Paul (looks like near Landmark Center). He's apologizing that nothing is happening. "Any minute now," he said a few minutes ago, repeating what he said a few minutes before that.

Studio host, trying to make something out of nothing, offers him a lifeline. "Mike, is Minnesota doing anything to prepare for this?"

10:51 a.m. - This is going to be the second-cousin-twice-removed of all snowstorms, from what I've heard over the last few hours. It's changed my News Cut plans.

The plan was an overnight in Moorhead after yesterday's News Cut on Campus, and then I was to spend the morning in Pelican Rapids. I wanted to meet the imam of Minnesota's smallest mosque (it was going to contrast nicely with the story today from Minnesota's largest mosque. Pure genius, really.)

But the meteorologists -- and a News Cut friend in Pelican Rapids -- suggested scurrying back to the Twin Cities was a better idea. So after a short nap, I left I awoke in a Moorhead motel and turned on the local weather on the TV (something I can't do in Woodbury anymore, thank you very much, Channel 17). There were pinks and whites all over the screen. It seemed I missed my avenue of escape.

The backup radar (looking out the window) revealed dry pavement. The forecast said an inch by sunrise, so I drove, accompanied by the radio beating forecasts in three-quarter time and telling me the snow would start in the Twin Cities by the morning commute and when it did, "it would be very heavy." I drove faster.

After arriving home at 6:45 this morning, I took another nap, and prepared to live blog the day because surely this storm will wreak havoc. So, far, it just reeks.

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The rodent has spoken

Posted at 10:31 AM on February 2, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

And so have the people of Northfield. The groundhog era is over.

The 2nd annual Defeat of Groundhog Day was held Saturday night. (Pictures via flickr)

If only there were a way of getting to spring without going through mud season.

(h/t: Doug Bratland)

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Notes from the freezer

Posted at 11:02 AM on January 25, 2009 by Bob Collins (7 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

MPR's Tom Weber, purely for the fun of it, stopped by the Pond Hockey Championships on Lake Nokomis on Saturday. There were, from the looks of things, plenty of people staying warm by playing, but not a lot of people freezing by watching.

It was the same story in St. Paul where about a dozen floats and their participants dropped out of the Winter Carnival Parade on Saturday because of the cold. And the sidewalks weren't exactly crammed, although you really have to admire the people who stood and watched (good pictures here).

The Winter Carnival Marathon distance was cut in half. Two octogenarians ran it -- and completed it. Where did you say you were, again?

Meanwhile, in Bemidji, the classic snowmobile races went on as scheduled.

And so did some indoor things to do.

If we make it through six more days like this, we'll have gone the entire month of January without the thermometer getting above freezing. That hasn't happened since 1979, according to meteorologist Craig Edwards. Much of our super-warming winter clothing hadn't been invented yet.

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Where winter still rules

Posted at 1:54 PM on January 22, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Today was the annual March for Life Day at the Minnesota Capitol. Traditionally, I try to compare the crowds from year to year. MPR's Tim Pugmire took the picture above.

This is last year's march:

2006...

2004...

2003...

What can we conclude from these? There's significant climate change taking place.

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Frozen in time

Posted at 8:48 AM on January 16, 2009 by Bob Collins (19 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Paul Douglas and I clearly don't run with the same crowd. In his blurb in the Star Tribune today, Minnesota's go-to guy for weather notes that no matter how cold it gets, we don't care:

Thursday was, in all probability, the coldest day of the year with a low of -21 and a "high" of -6 F. Here's a virtual high five - you just survived/endured the coldest day in 5 years. You made it. Think about that - most schools were open, people went to work, mail got delivered, people shopped, worked out, went about their business. Anywhere else in America they would have declared martial law and activated the National Guard. Here in Minnesota we just shrug our (frostbitten) shoulders and mutter "no big deal."

You weenies in Michigan or Massachusetts simply wouldn't understand the depth of our disinterest in how cold it is.

Coincidentally, the top story on the Star Tribune's Web site this morning was about the weather:

Crushingly cold temperatures and dangerous wind chills kept their grip on Minnesota making roads slippery and forcing some schools to close.

The temperature in the Twin Cities at 6 a.m. was 21 below zero, but that was almost balmy compared to other spots in the state.

Not that anyone cares.

James Lileks, the funniest columnist in the Twin Cities (in the category of those columnists who are trying to be) appears more rooted in reality, possibly because he's frozen to it:

If you're lucky, your car's heater can be set on "Blast From the Gaping Maw of Hell" and it thaws your orbs by the time you hit the highway. But I pass people whose teeth are chattering like wind-up gag dentures, and it's obvious their heaters are incapable of emitting anything warmer than penguin flatulence.

These people need an advocacy group. These people need a spokesperson. Someone who will stand up and say what millions of us believe: THIS IS RIDICULOUS. I'M TIRED OF PRETENDING IT MAKES US BETTER PEOPLE.

By the way, some of us are going skating over at the Landmark Center outdoor rink at noon again. See you there? Or are you from Nebraska or something?

Update 2:18 p.m. - Courtesy of Kevin Hendricks

You have to like the pluckiness of MPR's Tom Weber who didn't need a coat.

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Talking weather

Posted at 11:04 PM on January 13, 2009 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

James Chatto of Faribault is feeling the "Embrace winter" vibe I've been referring to from time to time this winter.

Chatto wants to close the 300 block of Central Avenue in his city starting Jan. 25 to create a temporary ice rink and host ice sculptures, the Associated Press reports. It would take three days to build and give the city four days to ice skate on a main drag in town. A coffee shop owner isn't so sure it'll be good for business. But look at it this way: I'll drive to Faribault to skate down the middle of downtown (and obviously document it here). I only have to go across the skyway to get a cup of coffee.

We're not the only ones having a tough winter. So is Europe. On Tuesday the head of the World Meteorological Association muted a sudden enthusiasm for the pleasantries of global warming saying it's not the answer for those who are tired of snow.

If you're looking to beat the winter blues, the Weather Channel has put together a list of the best places to go. Number one on the list: Antarctica.

update 9:01 a.m. - Via The Current's Barb Abney, we learn about the 1st Annual Rowdy with the Rubbers Downhill Benefit for Winter Depression (facebook).

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Winter. Embrace it!

Posted at 8:34 PM on December 22, 2008 by Bob Collins (6 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

You can fight it, but winter always wins. You might as well embrace it.

Take these lads at Chicago's Soldier Field on Monday night:

The temperature was near zero in Chicago as Vikings fans wondered whether the Packers could help them to the playoffs by beating the Bears. I, on the other hand, found myself wondering why we don't hear more about emergency room cases of people with frostbitten chests.

I, on the other hand, spent the evening making ice lanterns. Several Current listeners sent me tips on how to make them. In the end, I chickened out and just bought a mold.

Let's see south Florida top that!

The floor is open for your tips on how to enjoy winter.

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Snow scenes

Posted at 11:21 AM on December 21, 2008 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Rachel Knudson of Heartland, Minn., has sent along a lovely photograph. " I took this photo off the very snowy balcony of my farmhouse. The picture is looking to the southeast across a field where you can see the drifts and the blowing snow of this weekend's snowstorm. In the branches of the trees in the upper right you can see a snowdog reflecting in the blowing snow.," she said.

Seriously, Florida, aren't you a little jealous?

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French Toast Alert System

Posted at 7:58 AM on December 18, 2008 by Bob Collins (17 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Oh great, it's going to snow again. I'm not against snow, per se. In fact, I like the stuff. I also would take the freezing-cold weather before the 100-degree, high-humidity, not-a-breath-of-a-breeze August day. What I detest -- almost violently, I've noticed -- is the sudden inability of Minnesota drivers to know what to do in it. This latest blizzard -- up to an inch is predicted before it all ends -- looks timed to mess up tomorrow morning's commute.

I can't explain what's happened to us but something has happened to us. On three-lane highways (yes, I'm talking about you, I-94), people drive slow in the "high-speed" lane, the middle lane, and the right-hand lane even though, as was the case earlier this week, the tire lanes were clear. Why didn't they move over and eliminate the rolling blockade? Because they would've had to go through an inch of slush separating the lanes. The situation recalls a favorite expression of a former colleague that might fit the winter-time in Minnesota meteorological discussions at the water cooler: "it's not the heat, it's the stupidity."

Meanwhile, in Boston, it's going to snow again and a Web site there has developed a wonderful new "alert system" : The French Toast Alert System. Surely there's a way we can steal that idea. Perhaps we can use walleye?

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Idling thoughts

Posted at 4:37 PM on December 15, 2008 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

The Current's Barb Abney asked me a question a few minutes ago for which I had no answer.

Is the Minneapolis no-idling law in effect when it's cold as all getout?

Yes and no, the News Cut research department reports. The law, which bans vehicles from idling for longer than 3 minutes, carries this get-out-jail free card:

There are exceptions to the three minute idling restriction for cars and most other gas or diesel powered vehicles.

1. Vehicles may idle when stopped in traffic.

2. Police, fire, ambulance, public safety or other City vehicles may remain running to operate lights, circulate water in tanks or maintain accessories needed during emergency or enforcement activities.

3. Police K9 or Animal Control vehicles may remain running to maintain a safe climate for animals.

4. City vehicles may remain running at job sites during inclement weather if a supervisor grants authorization.

5. Idling is allowed to diagnose repair needs.

6. Idling is allowed if needed to operate defrosters, heaters or air conditioners to prevent a safety or health emergency.

7. Vehicles may idle up to 15 minutes in a one hour period if the outside air temperature is less than zero degrees or higher than 90 degrees.

One might argue that #6 would trump #7 and allow unrestricted idling.

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Weather beauty

Posted at 7:48 AM on December 15, 2008 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Jeremy Breiner of Alpha, Minn., sent this picture along this morning. Alpha is in southwest Minnesota along the Iowa border. It's actually a picture he took in 2007 at sunset. But, like the pictures our news team are assembling of the weekend blizzard, it's a reminder of the beauty of desolation.

Weather pictures, in particular, are like that. The natural occurrence that can lead to misery, is -- at the same time -- beautiful. Take this picture for instance.

This is from southern New Hampshire where an ice storm has caused plenty of misery in the northeast, and yet, it's beautiful in a Raiders of the Lost Ark ("don't look at it or your face with melt") kind of way.

(Photo by Getty Images)

My sister sent this picture to me this morning.

It's from north central Massachusetts. She and her husband hauled a generator down from Maine to my elderly mother's house, and also rescued my disabled brother from his powerless mobile home. They were without heat and power for 50 hours.

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Storm info

Posted at 12:48 PM on December 14, 2008 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

From the sound of things, there's really no point travelling in northern and northwestern Minnesota today. Highway 10 has been closed between Detroit Lakes and Moorhead. I-94 is closed in Moorhead. Here's the road report for that area.

Locally, at last check, delays at the Minneapolis St. Paul Airport are less than 15 minutes. Northwest is allowing rebooking without penalty.

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The storm

Posted at 6:41 PM on December 12, 2008 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Dogs fed? Check. Ice house on the favorite spot? Check. Snow sleds gassed up? Check. OK, from what I could tell this afternoon, Ely is ready for the big snowstorm. We'll be looking for photos from northern and western Minnesota once things start, so kindly send them along.

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Sningo!

Posted at 4:21 PM on December 8, 2008 by Bob Collins (8 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

The snow is falling and so is the sky! We're having our first major snowstorm of the year. We interrupt this blog post for this important announcement: Minnesotans are not fazed by the weather.

And it's time for Sningo!

---------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------

---------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------

Feel free to post any instances of the above in the official Sningo comments section below. Also, you can follow the storm on MPR's Updraft blog.

Update 4:52 p.m. - We have our first photo of us being unfazed of the winter season. This is on some side streets -- side streets! -- outside the News Cut World Headquarters. Note the way we have adjusted into gridlock without having to relearn this from last year. That person walking will be home before any of them.

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Peak color

Posted at 10:14 AM on October 11, 2008 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

I'd love to have your pictures of an autumn weekend in Minnesota, where the fall colors are said to be at their peak. Send them in, please. I'll organize them and present them just as soon as I finish raking.

You'll also find some gorgeous pictures on the Department of Natural Resources Fall Colors page.

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Hurricane Ike victims arrive in Minnesota

Posted at 12:32 PM on October 1, 2008 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

The remnants of Hurricane Ike hit Minnesota today. Fifty-nine dogs who were abandoned or otherwise made homeless by the hurricane along the Gulf Coast arrived in the Twin Cities this morning and will be put up for adoption in a few weeks. Another 60 will probably arrive next week. Northwest Airlines has donated the space to fly them here.

Laurie Brickley, a spokeswoman for the Animal Humane Society, told me this afternoon that a few weeks ago a team from the Society headed to Texas to help with wildlife in the aftermath of the hurricane. "They were approached by a woman who runs a shelter who said, 'I've got 200 dogs and I'm at my wit's end. There's no power and we're living in tents.'"

Thus, the airlift was born. Minnesota has one of the five largest Human Societies in the country.

"They (the Gulf Coast) don't have the cat overpopulation in that area that we do here," according to Brickley. "They have a dog overpopulation and we don't."

The dogs will be checked for temperament, sterilized, and microchips will be implanted. "They look really healthy," she said.

"Is the clock ticking on these dogs?" I asked.

"Absolutely not," Brickley said. "It's one of the biggest misnomers out there." The Humane Society keeps the dogs until they're adopted. They're not euthanized.

When the dogs are ready for adoption, pictures of the dogs will be posted on the Society's Web site and it'll be noted that they're "Hurricane Ike dogs."

Not directly related but still interesting: This video of a rescue crew during Hurricane Ike, rescuing a dog.

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From the northerners, with love

Posted at 9:46 AM on August 31, 2008 by Bob Collins
Filed under: Weather

Randy Fischer of Fergus Falls sends along this snapshot -- taken on Saturday in Texas.
"Ringdahl EMS strike team in Texas assisting with emergency medical needs and medical evacuations. Five ambulances from Ringdahl EMS sites in Fergus Falls, MN, Pelican Rapids, MN, Jamestown, ND, and Lisbon, ND were sent to Texas along with 15 medical personnel, support truck and disaster trailer."

Hurricane Gustav has everyone's attention today.

Says a release from the EMS firm:

In an effort to position emergency vehicles and respond to health, medical and ambulance needs in the Gulf states, Ringdahl EMS was placed on "standby" alert last Thursday morning at 7:00 am for possible deployment of a strike team. At 7:10 PM Thursday evening Ringdahl EMS, under contract with American Medical Response (AMR) was notified to mobilize their strike team. A "strike team" consists of five advanced life support (ALS) ambulances and 22 emergency personnel, according to Randy Fischer, Operations Director for Ringdahl EMS. Fischer said, "the crew was ready to go within hours of call-up, and left for San Antonio, TX late Thursday evening. They arrived and have since been reassigned to Beaumont, TX for evacuation assistance at hospitals in the area. They may be assigned for up to 30 days to various disaster response locations. The crews will stay at their assigned location prior to hurricane Gustav hitting the gulf, and will take shelter and respond to emergency medi cal needs as assigned. "

Remember Rushford?

Posted at 11:33 AM on July 17, 2008 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Here's a tip: If you get up at 5 in the morning to drive to Rushford, Minn., for a look at how the town has fared since a devastating flash flood a year ago, make sure you check your calendar to make sure you're doing so on the right day. Ask me how I know.

It turns out my appointments with some fine folks for a tour of the town are tomorrow.

No matter. It's a nice town and a beautiful area and I'll be happy to go back again on Friday.

In the meantime, I had the opportunity to look around today. If you want to have a flash flood, Rushford is the perfect place to have it. It sits at the bottom of several hills, and while you wouldn't think Rush Creek would be a threat to the town...

... it most certainly was a threat back on August 18, 2007 when a flash flood killed six people in Southeast Minnesota.

The town still needs help, but help has pretty much run out. The volunteers that are left are soon going to pull out. On Saturday, the town will thank the volunteers who helped put the town back together.

It's not hard to figure out where the flood waters swept through. Look for either a new home, a FEMA trailer, or an empty lot...

Construction boomed during the spring, but has tapered off now. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll give you a little multimedia guided tour of the community.

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Blogging the weather

Posted at 7:01 PM on July 11, 2008 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

We'd love to have your pictures of any weather phenomena in your region. Send them to me here.

9:52 p.m. - Via Twitter, hearing of some power outages in St. Paul.

9:33 p.m. West Central Tribune in Willmar has the story of a couple who survived. Also features an unbelievable image. (May require registration). Here's the large photo. Isn't that something?

9:32 p.m. - Warnings should be going up for the Rochester area shortly, as well as Austin and Albert Lea.

9:30 p.m. Air temperature dropped from 84 to 68 with the storm's passage.

9:20 p.m. The storm has now mostly passed the Twin Cities. But there's still a trail to the southwest. It's just clearing Mankato. Resume the party in Mankato, folks. A Twitter post from @PrinceJvstin says:

Very nasty trip back from my friend's Condo in Bloomington up to Circle Pines. Heavy wind, rain, a bit of hail.

9:05 p.m. - Rain in Woodbury but thunder is obviously north. Lights flickering. But so far, I'm not too impressed. Dish Network signal just went out because of rain interference. So long, Belinda!

9:04 p.m. - Matthew Foster has sent an image of the storm hitting Lowry Hill East, near the Walker in Minneapolis.

8:57 p.m. - I almost never want to work for a TV station. The exception is when I'm looking for photos from the audience. People think TV first and only during those times. Enough of that. Here's KARE-11's photo gallery from Willmar.

8:47 p.m. The severe thunderstorm warning for the next half hour or so has now been issued for Chisago County, northeast Washington County, and Polk County in Wisconsin. So far the Woodbury bureau of News Cut is escaping this mess.

8:37 p.m. - Second verse, same as the first for Goodhue and Rice County. Severe thunderstorm warning for the next half hour or so.

8:34 p.m. - St. Croix County Wisconsin has a severe thunderstorm warning until 9 p.m.

8:24 p.m. -- KSTP and KARE 11 are wall-to-wall. WCCO sticking with CBS programming for now.

8:21 p.m. - Scott and Le Sueur County, you're next. A severe thunderstorm warning has just been posted.

8:19 p.m. - Severe thunderstorm warning posted for Western Carver County and Eastern Sibley County.

8:11 p.m. Associated Press quoted West Central Tribune newspaper. The tornado hit a farm. Also caused heavy damage on the south side of Willmar. Severe thunderstorm warning just posted for the area around Gaylord and Norwood Young America.

7:50 p.m. MPR's Than Tibbets, who operates out of Moorhead, just sent this picture from the Thursday night storm.

7:46 p.m. - Mamatus clouds arrive in Twin Cities.

7:41 p.m. - Updated damage info (thanks to Paul Huttner)

Waite Park [Stearns Co, MN] trained spotter reports TSTM WND DMG at 07:20 PM CDT -- power lines toppled, multiple trees downed.

Sw Little Falls [Morrison Co, MN] trained spotter reports TSTM WND GST of M62 MPH at 06:53 PM CDT -- 62 mph gust recorded with dozens of trees down in vicinity.

4 Nne Hutchinson [Mcleod Co, MN] mesonet reports TSTM WND GST of E62 MPH 07:26 PM CDT -- 62 mph wind gust measured at hook lake rd.

7:30 p.m. - Severe thunderstorm warning around Hutchinson area.

7:25 p.m. - Severe thunderstorm warning posted for Wright County. Stockholm is specifically mentioned.

7:20 p.m. The weather radio pops off for the first time tonight to tell me -- and you -- that the storms are bearing down on Foley, Waverly, Becker, and Fosston. Winds near 70.

7:07 p.m. Paul Huttner reports two houses have been heavily damaged in Willmar:

MPX: 4 Se Willmar [Kandiyohi Co, MN] law enforcement reports TORNADO at 06:45 PM CDT -- 2 houses heavily damaged on sw 26th ave near 40th st se. (7:04:23 PM) iembot: MPX: Se Willmar [Kandiyohi Co, MN] trained spotter reports TORNADO at 06:32 PM CDT -- near intersection of county road 8 and 19.

7:02 p.m. Looks like we're in for a wild ride tonight. Several tornadoes have already been reported in the region. MPR meteorologist Paul Huttner has already sent along one damage report:

MPX: 1 S Willmar [Kandiyohi Co, MN] trained spotter reports TSTM WND DMG at 06:46 PM CDT -- shed flattened. small trailor turned on its side. several farm tractors turned on their sides. occurred at 23171 s. wilmar road and county rd. 19. damage resulted from tornado.

At the moment it looks like this initial band is going to slide north of the Twin Cities. But it doesn't look like the folks up at the cabin in northwest Wisconsin are going to have much fun this evening.

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Minnesotans pitching in

Posted at 11:21 AM on June 16, 2008 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

There's certainly a Minnesota flavor to flood recovery efforts in Cedar Rapids.

According to a news release today from the Hennepin County sheriff and the Minneapolis Police Department:

In the early evening of Saturday June 14th Chief Greg Graham of the Cedar Rapids Police Department placed a personal call to Chief Dolan asking for whatever law enforcement resources the City could provide. Chief Dolan immediately committed one Lieutenant, two Sergeants and six officers to respond. Sheriff Stanek also committed an initial 10 deputies and supervisors. By 1 a.m. Sunday MPD Deputy Chief of Patrol Rob Allen was in Cedar Rapids coordinating our response. By 12 p.m. Sunday the Minneapolis and Hennepin County Sheriff's initial response teams were at work in Cedar Rapids. The officers and deputies are working in areas of Cedar Rapids where the flood waters are receding to allow residents to return to their homes on a limited basis. Our personnel are working to prevent theft and other crimes in those areas.

The Minneapolis police chief also authorized another 20 officers and Stanek, the sheriff, authorized another 10 deputies. Since the Cedar Rapids police department communications center is underwater, the locals ("our" locals) are sending down a mobile command post, too.

Meanwhile, according to the Twin Cities Red Cross, 11 area volunteers have been dispatched to assist in flood efforts in the Upper Midwest.

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Flood images

Posted at 2:50 PM on June 12, 2008 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Finally, images of the flooding in southeast Minnesota are emerging. The Winona Daily News this afternoon has an excellent slideshow of images along the Root River. Up to now, for some reason, images in the area around Lanesboro have been hard to come by.

If you have any you'd like to share, send them along here.

Meanwhile, in Iowa, things are even worse as these images from Getty Images show.

Also find some intriguing pictures of the Iowa flooding on the Gazzetteonline Web site (Hat tip: News Cut reader Joel Federer)

At least one death is reported on the flooding in Minnesota. County Highway 34 in Albert Lea was washed out and one car was washed away. Rescuers recovered a person -- alive -- from a car, but then the driver reported his/her car was actually atop another.

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Blogging the weather

Posted at 9:33 PM on June 11, 2008 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

There's more serious weather in the region tonight, so we're patrolling in search of tidbits.

9:39 a.m. -- Via Twitter, Twin Cities Red Cross reports three more disaster volunteers are heading for Iowa.

9:29 a.m. - Flooding in your area? How about taking a picture and sending it?

9:18 a.m. MPR listeners Mike Jorgenson and Kathy Draeger write:

We farm in Big Stone County Minnesota on the western edge of the state. We had flash floods here yesterday. 1/3 of our farm is still under water. Crops are lost.

SE Minnesota isn't the only place suffering from extreme rainfall events. Big Stone County saw the most flooding yesterday that this area has seen since the 1960s.

Our community is tuned in to MPR--Appleton station. Please keep our news in the news. pictures at Resettling Big Stone County .

8:59 a.m. -- Courtesy of MPR's Tom Weber, here's a link to the Sioux City Journal blog on the Boy Scout camp deaths. Solid information provided.

(Thurs) 8:12 a.m. -- Worthington Daily Globe has a few pictures of tornado damage at a farm near Fulda. The Rochester Post Bulletin has a single picture from Lanesboro flooding; kids in a youth mission group helping a family clean up a mess. Fillmore County has posted flood information here.

10:34 p.m. - Severe thunderstorm warnings dropped for western 'burbs. Looks like Twin Cities have been spared. Looks like the Wisconsin Dells are going to get hammered overnight, though.

10:33 p.m. - Looking back at the Old Farmer's Almanac prediction for Upper Midwest weather from last November to this October:

Summer temperatures will be near normal, on average, with much-below-normal rainfall.

It predicted rainfall here 2" below normal in June. Also it said June 7-17 would be "sunny and seasonable." How's that working out where you are?

Nice try.

10:29 p.m. - Rainfall so far today in St. Paul: .68" . Rainfall so far this month in Caledonia: 4.86". Average monthly rainfall for June in Caledonia: 1.38".

10:04 p.m. - WCCO viewer submitted an interesting "sideways" tornado picture near Sleep Eye. A very similar series of pictures, this time from Springfield, shows up on KARE Web site. The same person also submitted the images to KSTP. Clearly showing no favorites. Did I mention News Cut would love to get your weather photos? We're partial to pictures of bocce-ball sized hail.

9:59 p.m. - Twin Cities Red Cross Twitters (Tweets?) that they're standing by in case their services are needed. Three local volunteers were dispatched to the floods in Iowa today.

9:56 p.m. - Sound of thunder emanating from the cities hits the Woodbury bureau. Faithful dog gets "dryer sheeted." Again.

9:52 p.m. - Paul Douglas' blog says 1" hail in Carver County but no tornadic activity. Given all the hubbub when Douglas was fired at WCCO, does anyone else find it odd that nobody ever seems to comment on the blog and when someone does and asks a question, Paul never responds? Oh, and I still don't "get" what I'm looking at when I look at the graphics.

9:40 p.m. - What would it take to cause flash flooding in the Twin Cities? According to the National Weather Service, about 3 inches of rain over a 6-hour period ought to do it.

9:36 p.m. -- Storms are moving into the western 'burbs. A tornado watch is up, a severe thunderstorm warning is up, too. See the National Weather Service Twin Cities page. And we're going to get some heavy rain.

9:34 p.m. -- Fulda, Jefferson, Sleepy Eye have all reported tornado spottings this evening, but the most distressing news is coming out of western Iowa where a Boy Scout camp apparently was hit by a tornado. At last report, four are dead and 40 hurt.

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The lost summer?

Posted at 10:30 AM on June 11, 2008 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

It's raining -- again -- in the Twin Cities and we're near ready to throw in the towel and declare the summer is going to be a lost cause. Too bad. Resorters, for example, had a chance to have a great year thanks to the high gas prices keeping people "close to home." But, perhaps, people will decide it's cheaper to watch the rain fall from the homestead than a couple of hundred miles away.

In Wisconsin, though, it's even worse. On Lake Delton, resorters have a real problem. Their lake is gone... and so are some of the houses on it. Would-be guests have been canceling their reservations because a lake without water is merely a quarry.

It's not just tourists who are being affected by the weather. On America's largest sewer the Mississippi River, barge operators are preparing for delays because of flooding. Flooding... like what's happening in Iowa. (Really good pictures from Decorah here.)

Meanwhile, the inbox reveals a fascinating series of pictures today. The rain and thunderstorms that look so cruddy here on terra firma, look pretty nifty from above.

(H/T: Michael Wells)

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Blogging the weather

Posted at 4:39 PM on June 5, 2008 by Bob Collins (9 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

(Latest up top)

This is certainly one of the most hyped weather events in the region since last December's first snowstorm of the year.

2:21 p.m. - The danger has now passed, so this will be the last post in the topic. Here's the National Weather Service look at the storm. Highest rainfall amount seems to be about 1 1/2" in St. Cloud.

Most of the damage in the Twin Cities -- and there wasn't much -- was from the wind. Panels from the News Cut World Headquarters in St. Paul came loose, prompting the closing of Cedar Street, expertly handled enough police officers to also nab the occasional felon on the run, should one walk by.

12:08 p.m. - Says City-Data.com:

Hubbard County historical area-adjusted tornado activity is significantly below Minnesota state average. It is 15.2 times below overall U.S. average.

Meanwhile, one woman writes to us:

Two of my children are on a 4-H camp outing to Northern Pines Camp near Park Rapids. When I heard reports on MPR of tornado damage near there I called camp out of concern. When I spoke to the 4-H staff person with the kids they were in the storm shelter singing songs and playing games by flashlight as they had no electricity. They were all safe. They were aware of tornado activity both north and south of camp with damage estimated to be about 5 miles from camp. Thank you for alerting me to severe weather in the area where they are camping.

10:38 a.m. - Tornado -- or tornadoes -- spotted in Hubbard County. MPR's Tom Robertson is heading there.

7:26 a.m. - High winds knocked down trees in southeast Minnesota, but no significant damage is reported.

11:31 Sump pump? Check. Doors locked? Check. Dog? Check. Check of WCCO's Good Question in search of possible mention of News Cut? Check. Over and out unless things kick into a higher gear in the early morning.

11:17 p.m. - Watching the big red splotch move up from Iowa, crossing I-35 and heading for SE Minn, and I'm thinking of the people in the Rushford area.

10:38 p.m. - Tornado watch. A whole lot of watchin' going on this evening. This watch is until 5 a.m. for : Carver Dakota Dodge Fillmore Freeborn GoodhueHennepin Houston Le Sueur McLeod Mower Olmsted Ramsey Rice Scott Sibley Steele Wabasha
Waseca Washington Winona counties.

and in Wisconsin: Buffalo, Chippewa, Clark, Crawford, Dunn, Eau Claire, Grant, Jackson, La Crosse, Monroe, Pepin, Pierce, Richland, St. Croix, Taylor, Trempealeau, and Vernon.

Another big line of storms -- after a break -- is just hitting I-90, heading north, just to the west of I-35. Should be getting noisy in Austin and Albert Lea soon.

10:25 p.m. - Gate holds and taxi delays at the airport are running 15-29 minutes behind. FAA says the delays are decreasing. I spot checked several flights that were due to arrive during the middle of the evening and they were running about an hour behind schedule.

8:59 p.m. - Dryer sheet/scared dog experiment update. Dog wiped down with Bounce sheet. Dog is the most unnerved in a storm, ever and a thunderstorm just rolled through Woodbury. Mythbuster verdict: Fact! Many thanks to the Current listener who passed along the tip.

8:54 p.m. - St. Cloud Times reporting 3,421 Xcel customers are without power. How are they going to power the sump pumps?

8:50 p.m. - Who among you has a rain gauge? Let's hear what you've got.

8:48 p.m. National Weather Service/Twin Cities storm report shows the path of hail.

8:44 p.m. Paul Douglas' blog says some 3/4" hail has been spotted in SW 'burbs. But no tornado activity. His graphics are positively gobbledygook to me.

8:34 p.m. Most shameful newspaper weather headline of the day comes from the Wichita Eagle. "Last time it looked like this, 22 died." It's based on some weather data from 1974.

So far there have been some tornadoes spotted in Kansas but the only incidents reported are that some circus elephants got spooked. So the next time it "looks like this," does the headline read, "Last time it looked like this some circus elephants got spooked?" The readers are letting the paper have it in the comments section.

5:50 p.m. - Paul Huttner tells Tom Crann a tornado watch is up for tornado alley... the SW Minn/NW Iowa/SE South Dakota region until 1 a.m.

5:46 p.m. - Ready to transfer to News Cut Bunker in Woodbury to monitor the situation. If you listen to the Current, perhaps you know Mary Lucia and I have been considering the assertion that rubbing your dog with dryer sheets will ease his/her anxiety during storms. I've been trying it and while the dog is still scared to death, in recent storms he hasn't been so bad. This animal hospital Web site gives some credence to this. So does this one.

5:39 p.m. - "Not done yet by a long shot," Paul Huttner says to ATC producer Jeff Jones. He says tornado watch may be posted later for NW Iowa and that system could move into Minn. and the Twin Cities later tonight. Still, some of the natives are getting restless.

5:05 p.m. - A question to ponder while waiting for something to happen... or not: Wisconsin is only 18 miles from downtown St. Paul. So why do we think of a storm as "gone" once it leaves the geographic boundary? Hugo, by contrast, is also 18 miles from downtown St. Paul, yet we don't consider weather as "gone" when it hits Hugo? Hastings is 20 miles away. That's still considered "us." Why isn't Hudson considered "us"?

5:03 p.m. Quiet. Too quiet. Overblown-media-frenzy quiet.

4:54 p.m. "Get your cars in the garage," blares the Star Tribune. Hail, you know. I admit to still be impressed by the pictures of damages in the paper Sunday at used car lots and by learning there's a company that dispatches teams to fix them and it will take months. Browsing the 'net, we learn that it costs about $1,000 to fix "severe" (61-80 dents) half-dollar-sized hail dents. Interesting pictures from a body shop in Colorado here, although I think the damage caused by a bear attack on that same page is even more interesting.

And how do you know you may have hail damage on your asphalt shingle roof? Check the vents, this document from Canada says. Also features an interesting take on how some of the "stormchaser" companies fake the damage.

4:51 p.m. - The Worthington Daily Globe is live blogging weather there, where there's flash flood possibilities. So far, the only evidence of pending disaster is the writer has a cold and has run out of Kleenex.

4:49 p.m. - Paul Huttner, MPR meteorologist, says storms will die down in next couple of hours, although central and northern Minnesota may be in for a busy night. Metro area severe thunderstorm warnings have expired.

4:46 p.m. - The first hail picture has arrived:

Thanks to Don Householder of Mound, who says he took this picture around 5 p.m. Got a picture or story you want to share? Send it to me.

4:41 p.m. Sirens reportedly went off in Minneapolis. Red Cross posted via Twitter that they were huddled in stairwells. No sirens in St. Paul although one person I'm following just posted, "Who else in St. Paul just saw the sky explode?"

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From Rogers with love

Posted at 12:03 AM on June 3, 2008 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

This is the second of several posts. The first is here.

Dustin Sims grew up in Oklahoma and remembers a tornado hitting his grandparents' home -- twice. But when the sound of your own home coming apart at the seams serenades you as you huddle with your pregnant wife and two-year-old daughter, that's a unique experience, even for tornado veterans.

Dustin wrote me last week saying there were things he and his wife, Kelly, learned from the September 2006 tornado that struck Rogers, Minn., that can help the residents of Hugo, who are just now clearing the debris and beginning the reconstruction from last week's tornado.

Only seconds to get to safety, "You kind of sit there in the dark and the glass breaking, and you can hear this huge noise. It lasted about 45 seconds. You could hear the wind starting to creep up under the foundation. We sat there in the dark and we said, 'we're alive and breathing,'" Dustin told me Monday evening.

Then they got to work.

Their house was full of glass and pieces of somebody else's roof. A Frisbee embedded itself in a wall. Kelly found later that even pieces of debris had worked their way into the plastic sleeves of their photograph albums. The garage was gone. Putting on a jacket was useless; they were riveted with shards of glass. (Listen)

They grabbed pictures, financial records, and whatever clothes they could and escaped their now uninhabitable house.

They've learned the lessons they want to share with the residents of Hugo. Here's one, though, for everybody: Don't wait to come up with a plan. (Listen)

"Downstairs now we keep flashlights, a hammer, shoes, and cellphones," Dustin said. "Whenever a storm is coming through, we make sure that stuff is down in the basement where we're going to hide. We keep credit cards we'd need and when we go and hide, we've got everything we need to communicate with the outside world and at least fund ourselves to get to a hotel room so someone can help us."

In a small room downstairs (see picture) , the Sims have created a small bedroom, and selected its location as the least likely to collapse. When a tornado hit Parkersburg, Iowa 10 days ago, 7 people were killed; all were in their basements.

"The day after, we stopped by Menard's and picked up some brooms and plastic bags and we said, 'oh, well, we'll just clean it up,'" Kelly Sims said. "I think we were in a state of shock."

Another lesson: It takes more than brooms and plastic bags. That's when the insurance people showed up and gave them directions -- and money -- on how to clean up. Get a good insurance company, they told me. Theirs, American Family, got high marks from the Sims. "They were always here to give us help on what to do next," Kelly said.

What don't the people of Hugo know yet? "When we started out, we didn't understand the concept of the contractors, of who you're going to have to hire to rebuild your life. And that choice is very, very important," said Dustin. "You can make a bad choice right off the bat and make this whole recovery very miserable. The people who came to our house the first days were very shady people."

"They would show up and say, 'Here's a tarp and the only thing you have to do is sign this so we can get reimbursed by the insurance company," he said. The city of Hugo, at first, decided to require contractors be registered with the city, ostensibly to avoid a similar situation, but the credentialing requirement has since been rescinded, according to the city's Web site. (Listen)

The Sims recommend establishing a system to track finances and paperwork from all of the work that needs to be done. "Foster that relationship with them (insurance companies) right off the bat," Dustin said. "We established that trust with them and documented extensively. The ability to pass them the receipts in some sort of organized manner made everybody's life easier."

When it came to selecting a contractor, "we probably should've gone with a larger company that's used to building houses," Kelly said.

"We overtaxed our local builder," said Dustin. "He brought in quality people to rebuild our house. It was a struggle for him and he suffered because of that. We would probably go with a larger company that we're sure is going to be in business for the next 10 years."

Some residents in Rogers have been paralyzed by legal problems since the tornado. Subcontractors weren't paid by contractors and liens were placed on the homes. "We researched extensively about how to do this, and we put in the contract to rebuild our house that before he (the contractor) received any money, we had to have the mechanics lien in our possession, so that anybody that he hired, they had to sign off that they had been paid before he got paid."

It didn't hurt that Kelly, who, like Dustin, is an engineer at BAE Systems, has worked in law firms. She found pro bono legal advice on the Web, and also found trade associations for the building industry here were able to provide assistance. "That's why they say you pay the builder up to 80 percent done. We've heard some stories about people paying all the money up front and then they ask, 'Why isn't it getting done?'" (Listen)

When the Sims were looking for a place to live during the rebuilding of their home, they found property owners tried to increase the rent and deposits. "When they found out there's insurance involved, they tried to triple the prices on us, and sign a year lease," Dustin said. He said insurance companies will help with that, but you have to ask. "They (landlords) have you at an emotionally vulnerable time. After the first time it happened, we got mad about it. If they steal from my insurance company, they're stealing from me." (Listen)

By now, you know it's a good time to take a look at your insurance policy and home inventory, right?

The Sims also advise not to forget the kids. "Our little girl had a hard time with it. She still tells the story of the night her house got broke. And she'll line her stuffed animals up and tell them the story of the night her house got broke," said Dustin. "On the anniversary of the tornado, we took her to DisneyWorld, and we're trying to establish memories other than this. These people (in Hugo) are going to have to try to establish memories other than this tornado as soon as possible." (Listen)

And one final message from Rogers for Hugo: It'll get better.

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The lessons of the Rogers tornado: The Paulsons' story

Posted at 8:41 PM on June 1, 2008 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

This is the first of several posts this week on recovering from tornadoes.

September 2006

June 1, 2008

Christy Paulson of Rogers, Minn., was upstairs after putting her sons to bed, watching TV and not paying much attention to the darkening weather outside on September 16 2006. Her husband, TJ, knew a late summer storm was coming and, because he "always liked storms," he went downstairs to watch. (Listen)

"All of a sudden it hit pretty hard," TJ, told me Sunday afternoon, both sitting in the dining room of their home which was in the path of a tornado that destroyed several homes in the neighborhood and killed a girl a few doors down. "All of the furniture on the deck went across the deck and just flew off. That was about the same time we felt the house shaking and we said, 'OK, we've got to get to the basement.'" A 250 pound grill was launched off the deck and onto the back lawn.

"All of a sudden my ears plugged up," Christy said. "I jumped out of bed and he was already running up the stairs. We each ran to a different kid's bedroom. I could barely open my son's door. We ran down the stairs as fast as we could. "

"Right after we reached the bottom of the stairs," TJ continued," that's when the windows in the back of the house here blew out."

"That's when I thought we were toast; I thought we were never going to make it," Christy said.

Seconds later, by the time they reached the basement, it was over...

Continue reading "The lessons of the Rogers tornado: The Paulsons' story"

Death toll climbs in Hugo

Posted at 11:02 AM on May 30, 2008 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

A second person has died as the result of the tornado in Hugo.

Sgt. Wayne Johnson of the Washington County Sheriff's Office says a woman in her 50s or 60s was cleaning up the remains of her house yesterday when "she walked out into the yard and called for help twice, and then just sat down and just fell backwards. So she was unconscious and not breathing at that time."

If that is considered by authorities as a storm casualty (I would so characterize it), it makes the tornado the first tornado in Minnesota since 1993, when two people were killed in a Littlefork tornado.

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A pause in Hugo

Posted at 11:37 AM on May 29, 2008 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

MPR's Tom Weber has paused in his coverage of the tornado in Hugo to tell you what it's like to cover a tornado.

Meanwhile, MPR's Paul Huttner passes along that the National Weather Service has now determined that the damage survey show a fourth tornado touched down near Marine on St. Croix and crossed into Wisconsin Sunday. It is rated EF0 and caused primarily tree damage.

Details are here.

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Hugo (cont'd)

Posted at 12:57 PM on May 27, 2008 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

The Salvation Army has posted some more photos of the damage from the tornado in Hugo on its Flickr photostream.

As we look at these and other images, it's impossible not to wonder what we would do if those were our homes? When you have to rebuild your lives, where do you even start?

The Red Cross, meanwhile, has updated its Hugo-themed Web site, including an interesting "Coping with Disaster" article that might be worth reading now, while things are fine.

The city of Hugo is looking for volunteers for a cleanup day on Saturday. Volunteers are asked to meet at the Washington County Service Center located off Highway 61, north of town. Bring work gloves.

Update 2:14 p.m.

Tom Weber passes these along:

A day in Hugo

Posted at 8:39 PM on May 26, 2008 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Here are some images taken by MPR staffers in Hugo on Monday. (10:26 p.m. - Five more pictures added.)

A couple of things to pass along:

Hail, Minnesota!

Posted at 9:26 AM on May 26, 2008 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Jeff Jorgenson, a News Cut reader, sent along this photo, which he took yesterday along Lake Sylvia (3 mi west of Annandale, MN) at 3:35 p.m., about an hour before the system spawned the presumed tornado in Hugo.

How fast is a golf-ball-sized hailstone traveling when it hits the ground?

This site says it's about the speed of a major league fastball, which leads, naturally, to the question of why more people aren't killed by hail?

The Internet being what it is -- a series of tubes -- the answer (or at least an answer) is easily found... like here.

Hail is rarely big enough to be dangerous, and even if it is, a big chunk is unlikely to knock you out. Brooks mentions that most big hail falls in the underpopulated West, which reduces the probability of human injury. Also, when you compare houses getting damaged by hail to people getting damaged by hail, a couple other key differences come to mind: First of all, houses and buildings are much larger than people; the old cliché "it's as easy as hitting the side of a barn" certainly applies to a real barn. Secondly, during a hailstorm, most people tend to seek shelter, usually inside a house or a car. But the house and the car have nowhere to hide, so they're left to withstand Mother Nature's onslaught

Which leads to another question: What about birds? Why aren't they killed by hail? And the answer -- an answer -- shows that they are.

Flickr has some photos from the Hugo area worth viewing. Find them here.

By the way, if you want to see some lovely shots of post-tornadic Minnesota...

... check these out, shot over the northwestern suburbs last night by local pilot Pete Howell. (Used by permission)

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Withstanding the wind

Posted at 8:06 AM on May 26, 2008 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

The typical suburb is no match for a tornado. Few trees have reached maturity so there's nothing to absorb the wind energy before it reaches the home. And the houses themselves are drywall, plywood, and 2 x 4s. Cathedral celings are big these days. Knock out a wall, and the ceiling comes down. Suburban homes, when it comes to tornadoes, are the new mobile homes.

In 2005, an F3 tornado hit Utica, Illinois, killing 8 people. Afterwards, insurance companies and homebuilders worked on a better design according to a Chicago area TV station.

The walls are eight inches thick and consist of a pair of two-and-a-half-inch reinforced concrete sides, separated by three inches of high density foam. In laboratory tests, the difference in durability between this concrete sandwich-style and typical building materials is quite dramatic.

The stronger house, according to the story, costs about 10 percent more.

In Canada, the "Three Little Pigs Project" has created a lab for testing the ability of suburban homes to withstand wind.

It was created after 300 homes were destroyed in a tornado. Investigators found that one of the main reasons for the damage was the builders didn't use a washer on bolts and nuts that anchored the frame of the house to the foundation. Most of the injuries in tornadoes, the project found, occurs when the house is lifted up and then smashed to the ground.

Still, when you look at the amazing video in Oklahoma Saturday when a tornado hit a barn, you realize it's going to take more than washers.

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Imponderables: The tiny TV weather maps

Posted at 7:52 AM on May 26, 2008 by Bob Collins (7 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Why do the TV stations put the little tiny maps at the bottom of the screen during weather alerts? Minnesota is a big state and unless you put your nose right on the screen, you can't tell where the little splotches of red and green are. For many of us, we have a hard time even making out that it appears to be a map of Minnesota

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Your weather eye

Posted at 6:06 PM on May 25, 2008 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

The tornado warnings that sprouted in the north metro late this afternoon, were enough to make us wonder whether the fancy TV weather equipment gives us a false sense of security. The flashing orange and red maps on TV do a great job of telling us where the threat is, but they can also imply -- falsely -- that there are no threats elsewhere.

Shortly before 6 p.m. Sunday, the TV weather guy announced that "all of the activity that suggests rotation" had moved well into Wisconsin," and that Minnesota was out of the woods. Two minutes later, a heavy wind hit New Cut's Woodbury bureau, and we -- and a lot of the neighbors who also wisely decided to check the sky for themselves -- spied a rotating series of clouds above us.

A few minutes later, I checked the weather radar loop on the MPR site and, sure enough, a little finger of orange -- I guess that's bad -- developed over my city just before it all moved over to Wisconsin.

In the end, all we got was a blizzard ... of apple blossoms...

... and a reminder at the start of the summer season that it's wise to put at least as much stock in what you see in the sky, as what you see on TV.

We understand there was plenty of hail and some damage in the Hugo area. Send us your photos and we'll post them.

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The sting of spring

Posted at 8:54 AM on April 26, 2008 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

Minnesota politicians are dumbfounded. Why wouldn't the execs of Delta Airlines want to locate their headquarters in Minnesota? Today's forecast for Atlanta? 79 with a late-day thunderstorm.

In the Strib today, a columnist remembers former Minnesota Twin pitcher Joe Mays, who -- given the choice of anywhere to live -- chose to move the family to Minnesota. How'd that work out, Joe?

We gave it a shot, but we can't handle it,'' Mays said. "Back to Bradenton [Fla.] at the end of summer. We're done.''

In Pelican Rapids today, they've got 18 inches of snow on the ground and, no doubt, dozens of suicidal pelicans about town. In Duluth, it's freezing fog.

Wouldn't mind seeing pictures of the weather out your window -- or your winter trip to the Caribbean. Your choice.

Contributions:

Yeah, Dave Jungst of Morris, you pushed the season:

In Pelican Rapids, according to this picture from Jim Christianson, a bird waits its turn near a feeder. I guess the pelicans get to go first. And what's the deal with the shovel? They don't put snow shovels away in Pelican Rapids until July.

(More under the fold)

Continue reading "The sting of spring"

Earthquakes in Minnesota?

Posted at 9:52 AM on April 18, 2008 by Bob Collins (8 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

There was an earthquake in the Midwest today. The epicenter was in southern Illinois and apparently caused only minor damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey, keeper of the cool instruments that tell us the numbers, has a great idea: an online space where people can report how violent -- or not -- the earthquake was in their area. Unfortunately, at this point, it's all about the numbers, and there's no "community" space yet where people can share their stories, but the possibilities for quickly getting the information and then being able to plot it all on a map are enormous.

How common are earthquakes in Minnesota? Not very. The last one was February 9, 1994, a rip-roaring 3.1 centered in south-central Minnesota. In November 1968, another earthquake in south-central Illinois was strong enough to be felt in the Austin-to-Rochester area. The last strong earthquake in Minnesota was a 4.6 quake that cracked foundations in Stevens and Morris counties in 1975.

So I'm probably wasting my time asking you for stories of any time you felt an earthquake. I was in San Francisco last October for our 25th wedding anniversary. A fairly strong earthquake -- at least by Minnesota standards -- struck the San Jose area. We didn't feel a thing although everyone on the street was talking about it. On the day after my first son was born, a 5.3 earthquake struck nearby Armonk, Minnesota New York (Westchester County). I felt that one, and took it as a sign.

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Surf's up

Posted at 10:31 PM on April 10, 2008 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

I usually cringe when I hear the "only in Minnesota" stuff (usually it's from Paul Douglas citing some weather factoid that actually happens in about 18 other states).

However, I think Minnesota really is the only place people go surfing in a blizzard.

(Hat tip: Perfect Duluth Day)

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It's quiet. Too quiet.

Posted at 10:43 AM on April 10, 2008 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

This meeting of the "I already drained the gas in my snowblower and put the shovels back up in the crawl space above the garage" club is now in order.

As you might have overheard, a storm bigger than the Winds of Hell is heading our way, the first blizzard in the post-Paul-Douglas world.

It's quiet out there. Too quiet. Well, except for the cacophony of bird calls that hits you like a bucket of water in the morning when you go out to fetch the paper out of the bushes. Bird brains. They think it's spring.

Paul Huttner and Craig Edwards are blogging up a storm. They're in charge. It's snowing at Pipestone, Windom and Jackson.

My job? Keeping your eye on the prize.

The azaleas were out this morning in Augusta.

The cherry blossoms are blossoming in Washington.

The bluebells are up in London.

The corpse flower is stinking up the Como Conservatory.

And the Minnesota Wild are losing playoff games.

All the signs are there. Just keep hitting refresh for the next two days. On the other hand, send me your pictures of the great white death and we'd be delighted to share your misery.

(Photos from Getty Images. Corpse flower courtesy of Marjorie McNeeley Conservatory)

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