Bob CollinsIs it too early to start debating whether schools should close during snow storms? No? Good, because Duluth schools could change the way winter operates around here. The Duluth News Tribune reports that administrators are considering a philosophical shift away from closing schools for the entire day when there’s a storm — they lost 8 Read more →
MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
Weather
We’re still getting fairly gorgeous sunrises and sunsets in Minnesota, thanks to the wildfires burning out West. What else can the fires provide? Thunderstorms, according to NASA’s earth observatory. In images provided this week, NASA notes that the heat of the wildfires creates Pyrocumulus clouds when conditions are right, which they are. Says NASA: Pyrocumulus Read more →
With the the hurricane season underway and Hawaii now in the eye of the storm, we begin our season of asking, “how long could a typical American city last before anarchy sets in once daily conveniences are denied?” It appears that residents of Hawaii are most concerned about water and toilet paper, presumably in that Read more →
A little warm for you, is it? Here. This will help.
It was a gorgeous day in Novosibirsk, central Russia, on Saturday when the sky started raining cold death. A freak hailstorm sent people scurrying, including — you may note — the woman in the stars-and-stripes bikini. No one was killed by the hail. Russia Today says snowdrifts piled up on the roads in the Ural Read more →
Floods have returned to New Hope because of the rain this morning. Do you have any flooding where you are? pic.twitter.com/jMpwpnO3OU — KARE 11 (@kare11) July 11, 2014 Sometimes it’s hard to have sympathy for drivers. It’s not like we haven’t been told thousands of times not to drive through standing water because it might Read more →
We have noted in this space for many years the silly tendency of TV reporter to want to stand in water to tell the story of a flood (a tendency, it’s worth noting, that seemed sparse in the recent floods in Minnesota). A Phoenix reporter took it to a new level with the recent haboob.
White Bear Lake still has plenty of room to take your overflowing lakes, Minnesota. That just goes to show you just how far the lake has been drained in recent years as the aquifer is pumped dry. Not that this 2010 image didn’t, mind you. Despite a record month for rainfall in Minnesota, it’s been Read more →
Pilot Gary Bipes of Hector went for a ride over the New Ulm area last evening to get a look at the flooding after a week of rain. Read more →
Is it too early to start thinking about what life will be like when all the mosquitoes hatch after 20 inches of rain? Read more →
Does a picture of a professional kayaker going over Minnehaha Falls make you want to do the same, likely plunging to your death? Read more →
We’ve had about 20 inches of rain this month so far. And yet people are still pumping out the aquifers to water their lawns.
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How do you fix the giant mudslide threatening to swallow Fairview Medical Center at the University of Minnesota? Read more →
Sometimes a flood gives us the opportunity to look at the half-full side of things. Read more →
First, let’s acknowledge that we all have heard the warnings not to drive through standing water. That said, today’s various photos provide a great chance to evaluate the worst way to do what you’re not supposed to do in the first place. People blast through, apparently figuring if you go through really fast, all the Read more →