MPR News Reflections and observations on the news

Weather

Snow emergency in rhyme

Bob Collins February 11, 2013, 1:40 PM Feb 11, 2013

You’ve got to give Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak a little credit for resorting to prose to try to explain the rules.

Weather

The myth of the named winter storm

Bob Collins February 11, 2013, 11:45 AM Feb 11, 2013

While a fair bit of nonsense, the naming of a winter storm was no more a danger to the public not taking the storm seriously than an endless parade of inaccurate forecasts.

Weather

The Mississippi tornado up close

Bob Collins February 11, 2013, 10:55 AM Feb 11, 2013

When you hear the tornado sirens, it means ‘grab the video camera and go have a look.’

Weather

Blizzard envy

Bob Collins February 8, 2013, 3:32 PM Feb 8, 2013

Admit it, Minnesota, we’re all feeling a little jealous over not having the excitement…

Regional history · Weather

Ode to ice

Bob Collins February 8, 2013, 3:19 PM Feb 8, 2013

A few months from now, we’ll long for that which will be going on outside this weekend.

Weather

When winter wins

Bob Collins February 1, 2013, 2:03 PM Feb 1, 2013

Winter relishes a good fight. But today, it was bored, too. Minnesota had given up.

Weather

A winter without the windsled?

Bob Collins January 30, 2013, 1:05 PM Jan 30, 2013

If, as I wrote on Monday, the warmer-than-normal temperatures don’t allow the ice to thicken on Lake Superior between Bayfield and Madeline Island this year, this baby won’t be putting in an appearance. It’s the windsled that replaces ferry service in the area in the winter. It hasn’t been used since 2011.

Weather

Sometimes, a warming planet can be good for business

Bob Collins January 28, 2013, 1:50 PM Jan 28, 2013

The Madeline Island Ferry might have its first back-to-back winter without ice disrupting operations on Lake Superior.

Weather

Science and cold weather

Bob Collins January 24, 2013, 2:43 PM Jan 24, 2013

If summer is so great around here, where are all the videos of the cool science experiments you can do with it?

Weather

Ya, sure, we don’t care about the cold

Bob Collins January 24, 2013, 10:50 AM Jan 24, 2013

It was probably great for the Minnesota ‘brand’ that CBS waited until today — when the cold wave hit the East Coast — to run a national piece on last week’s pond hockey tournament in Minneapolis, thus reinforcing the myth that we don’t even notice such trivial things as subzero temperatures.

Weather