Updraft: June 4, 2009 Archive

New report: 45% of Minnesota feeling drought

Posted at 8:48 AM on June 4, 2009 by Paul Huttner

Lake Minnetonka's Gray's Bay Dam was closed this week due to low water levels. The dam feeds Minnehaha Creek.

The new U.S. Drought Monitor released today show 45% of Minnesota is now considered "abnormally dry." This designation is the first stage of drought and is up from 31.5% last week. Most of Minnesota south of Brainerd is now feeling the impacts of our continued dryness.

The hardest hit area remains centered on the Twin Cities and into northwest Wisconsin. Moderate drought dominates east central Minnesota. Severe drought conditions now include most of the metro.

Visible signs:

Minnehaha Creek usually flows swiftly this time of year. Not this year.

In an unusual step for June the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District closed the Gray's Bay Dam Tuesday. The dam feeds water into the creek, which provides critical habitat for wildlife and recreational opportunities for residents in the southwest metro.

The closing comes at an unusual time. June is normally when the highest seasonal flows occur on the creek. Last June Minnehaha Creek roared at a flow rate of 225 cubic feet per second (CFS). That is so fast it is considered dangerous for canoes and kayakers.

To picture 225 CFS is think of it this way. A cubic foot is about the size of a basketball. 225 basketballs racing by each second is a lot of water. The creek is just a trickle in some areas today.

Perhaps the most visible sign of the reduced flow is at Minnehaha Falls. The metro landmark usually roars in June. This year it's hardly the spectacle so many metro residents enjoy.

The Gray's Bay Dam will remain closed until Lake Minnetonka Water levels rise about a foot. The lake is down over a foot from last year at this time. Boaters should use caution as lower water levels expose rocks and other lake bottom features usually hidden under deeper water.

The Minnesota DNR has issued new burning restrictions for much of central and southern Minnesota. Many communities are now issuing sprinkling restrictions as well.

There is a chance for some rain this weekend, but it does not look like a drought buster. We need several inches of rain to begin to pull out of what is now becoming a severe long term drought.

Air masses have been exceptionally dry over Minnesota this spring. June is normally our wettest month, and tropical moisture often surges north from the Gulf of Mexico. Dew points often reach the 60's and 70's in Minnesota in June. Today dew points are in the 30's. The moisture content in the air mass overhead is more typical of the desert southwest.

Expect another dry day today with a high approaching 80 in the metro.

PH

Surf's up in Duluth: Rip current conference today

Posted at 3:55 PM on June 4, 2009 by Paul Huttner (2 Comments)

Rip currents clearly visible in this Delaware image.

You hear a lot of weather terms thrown around in the Midwest. Rip current is generally not one of them.

So why would scientists gather in Duluth today to talk about rip currents?

It turns out as many as 100 people a year die from rip currents in the U.S. Some of those deaths occur in the Great Lakes. In 2003 a young man drowned in a rip current in Lake Superior near Park Point in Duluth.

The conference also covered the effects of hypothermia, something swimmers in Lake Superior may encounter even in the warmest summer months.

I've always been in awe and had a healthy respect for Lake Superior. I'm an experienced sailor on inland lakes and won my share of races over the years. But I have never had the slightest urge to venture out on Lake Superior. That big cold water scares the heck out of me.

I've spoken with Jeff Solum, a fellow sailor who was one of the crew on the famous HJEMKOMST voyage from Duluth to Bergen, Norway in 1982. Jeff told me that even though they encountered fierce gales that cracked the HJEMKOMST's hull in the Atlantic Ocean in route to Norway, the scariest weather they encountered was while training for the voyage on Lake Superior.

Superior is the greatest of the great lakes. I prefer to enjoy it's grandeur from shore. If you're brave enough to venture into Superior, you need to know what you're getting into. You also better have a good weather forecast, and know that sometimes Gitchi Gumi creates its own weather.

I will post any results from the rip current conference if I get them.

PH

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