To: MPR's Morning Edition From: Mark Seeley Re: Topics for MPR's Morning Edition, Friday, Jan 21, 2005 HEADLINES: -Heavy lake-effect snows this week -New seasonal climate outlook -New state record low temperature set on January 17th -Remembering the blizzard of 1917 -The Metro Area's coldest morning ever on this date in 1888 -Consecutive hours with below zero F temperatures -Minnesota places with polar-like -50 F temperatures -Almanac for January 21st -"on the chute" -Outlook Topic: Heavy lake-effect snow in northeastern MN.... Starting on Wednesday night this week, ENE winds off Lake Superior brought heavy snow to parts of Lake, Cook, and St Louis Counties. These conditions persisted most of the day on Thursday. Snowfall rates of up to 2 inches per hour were reported by some observers. The Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center outside Finland, MN (Lake County) reported over 15 inches of snowfall and a snow depth of over 50 inches.. need to break out the snowshoes there.... Topic: New Seasonal Climate Outlook.... On January 20th the NOAA Climate Prediction Center released the new seasonal climate outlooks, including the period from February through April. For Minnesota the climate outlook suggests equal chances for above or below normal temperature and precipitation during the coming three months. The recent outlooks do favor above normal temperature and precipitation for the balance of January however. Topic: New state record low temperatures set early in the week.. Embarrass (St Louis County) reported morning lows of -48 F on January 16th and -54 F on January 17th, Sunday and Monday of this week. These values are new all-time state lows for those dates, surpassing the -47 F reading at Thorhult on January 16, 1977 and the -52 F reading at Tower on January 17, 1982. The readings at Embarrass this week were also the coldest in the 48 contiguous states on those dates, only surpassed by a low of -60 F at Chandalar Lake in Alaska on January 17th. Minnesota has reported the coldest temperature in the 48 contiguous states six times so far this month. file:///G|/2005/WeatherTalk_2005_01_21.txt[9/22/2015 3:59:38 PM] Topic: The blizzard of January 21, 1917 This blizzard struck the state on a Sunday and was somewhat well forecasted, so that many were expecting it and prepared. It snowed heavily for a long period of time from about 8:00 am until 6:00 pm. Winds blew with ferocity in western Minnesota, as gusts up to 48 mph were reported. Tracy, MN reported 24 inches of snowfall (on their way to a monthly total of 41 inches), while Redwood Falls reported 22 inches (on their way to a monthly total of 34 inches), and Glencoe reported 16 inches. Roads were drifted shut for days, and trains were delayed. Topic: Perhaps the coldest morning ever in Southern Minnesota.. January 21st, 1888, roughly one week after the famous Children's Blizzard, saw an arctic air mass settle over southern Minnesota and sink temperatures to all-time record lows. The core of the arctic high pressure sytem stood at 30.9 inches on the barometer (1046 mb) roughly equivalent to the cold outbreak of February 2, 1996. In addition there was abundant snow cover present with many communities reporting 30 inches or more of snow depth. Record setting temperatures in the present Twin Cities Metro Area and southeastern Minnesota included.... -46 F at Ft Snelling -41 F at the Signal Corps Office in St Paul -42 F at William Cheney's house in Minneapolis -47 F at Le Sueur -47 F at Excelsior -52 F at Delano -58 F at Rush City -47 F at Carelton College in Northfield -46 F at Red Wing -50 F at St Cloud -44 F at Winona Topic: Remark on consecutive hours below zero F..... The National Weather Service reported that both Duluth and International Falls recorded nearly 5 consecutive days of below zero temperatures following the arctic outbreak of January 13th. Though this pattern is unusual, it is by no means record setting. From mid January to late February of 1936 Moorhead, MN reported 36 consecutive days of below zero F readings, while Hallock reported 38 consecutive days. That is truly equivalent to living in a polar climate! MPR listener question: Earlier this week it was reported that Embarrass, MN recorded a low of -54 F and Babbitt, MN a low of -51 F. How many places in the state routinely record temperatures of -50 F or colder? Answer: Not many. In fact, I hesitate to use the term "routinely" file:///G|/2005/WeatherTalk_2005_01_21.txt[9/22/2015 3:59:38 PM] with a temperature of -50 F. Even for Minnesota's coldest places a temperature reading that cold is at least a bit unusual. Dozens of Minnesota communities have recorded a temperature of -50 F or colder sometime in history. The reading of -51 F earlier this week at Babbitt was a new all-time record low for that station. The following list shows the weather stations in Minnesota that have recorded temperatures of -50 F or colder the most number of times....please bear in mind that they have variable periods of record (from 10 years to over 100 years) so a comparison is unfair. Pokegama Dam 30 times Tower 12 times Leech Lake 9 times Embarrass 8 times Itasca State Park 6 times Big Falls 5 times Detroit Lakes 5 times Roseau 4 times Twin Cities Almanac for January 21st: The average MSP high temperature for this date is 23 degrees F (plus or minus 14 degrees F standard deviation), while the average low is 6 degrees F (plus or minus 15 degrees F standard deviation). MSP Local Records for January 21st: MSP weather records for this date include: highest daily maximum temperature of 48 degrees F in 1900; lowest daily maximum temperature of -7 degrees F in 1954; lowest daily minimum temperature of -29 degrees F in 1970; highest daily minimum temperature of 35 degrees F in 1934; record precipitation of 0.81 inches in 1917; and record snowfall of 16 inches in 1917. There have been 26 measurable snowfalls on this date since 1891. Greatest snow depth on this date was 24 inches in 1982. The worst wind chill conditions occurred in 1936 with a reading of -47 F. Average dew point for January 21st is 6 degrees F, with a maximum of 38 degrees F in 1934 and a minimum of -35 degrees F in 1970. All-time state records for January 21st: Scanning the state climatic data base: the all-time high for this date is 62 degrees F at Canby (Yellow Medicine County) in 1942; the all-time low is -58 degrees F at Rush City (Chisago County) in 1888 (with 3 feet of snow on the ground). The heaviest snowfall statewide on this date occurred in 1917 at Tracy (Lyon County) when they recorded 24 inches. The state record for precipitation (liquid equivalent) on this date is 2.20 inches at Tracy and Redwood Falls from the same storm in 1917. Words of the Week: "Mercury on the chute" This is an expression rarely used anymore, but in the first 50 years file:///G|/2005/WeatherTalk_2005_01_21.txt[9/22/2015 3:59:38 PM] of the National Weather Service it was used to describe the onset of a cold wave, when temperatures fall rapidly and reach levels that are a threat to agriculture and commerce. Often times when the mercury in the thermometer was dropping rapidly, meteorologists would report that the "mercury was on the chute." We have already had two episodes of mercury on the chute this winter in the Twin Cities Metro area, one during Christmas week when temperature dropped 36 degrees over a 24 hour period and the other earlier this month from the 12th to the 13th when it dropped by 41 degrees F. Outlook: Some lingering snow flurries in eastern sections on Saturday morning, with blowing snow elsewhere. Saturday's temperatures will likely stay colder than normal, with some moderation on Sunday. Warming trend continues on Monday, with a chance for mixed precipitation by Tuesday in the southeast and light snow elsewhere. Temperatures should remain on the mild side most of the week. file:///G|/2005/WeatherTalk_2005_01_21.txt[9/22/2015 3:59:38 PM] To: MPR's Morning Edition From: Mark Seeley Re: Topics for MPR's Morning Edition, Friday, Jan 28, 2005 HEADLINES: -National Weather Service on display -Snow depth stabilizing soil temperatures -Preliminary January climate summary -question about snowy Februarys -Almanac for January 28th -the Jevon's effect -Outlook Topic: National Weather Service at Mall of America.... This weekend the Mall of America will host the Annual Government on Display Expo showcasing the technologies and services provided by over 40 of our federal agencies, including the National Weather Service. Their booth will be located in the Sam Goody Rotunda. The NWS booth will feature a Mini-Dopplar Radar, a tornado simulator, NOAA Weather Radio, and a mock up of a river control model. If you have an interest in weather this is the place to go either on Saturday or Sunday. Topic: Snow depth has stabilized soil freezing depth.... The recent snowfalls have sufficiently blanketed most of the Minnesota landscape to help stabilize the depth of freezing in the soil. Some recent frost depths taken around the state range from 22 to 40 inches, with the shallower depths in areas that have had deeper and longer snow cover so far this winter. The following are reports of frost depth earlier this week..