Twin Cities Meteorological Society Affiliated with the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association TCMetSoc.org ~ Like on Facebook ~ Follow on Twitter September 2013 Newsletter Volume 35, Issue 1 Editor: Jarrod Schoenecker [email protected]

Your Society Officers President: ...... Mike Griesenger ...... [email protected] Vise President: ..... Jim Marusak ...... [email protected] Secretary: ...... Chris Bovitz ...... [email protected] Treasurer: ...... Jim Taggart ...... [email protected]

In This Issue The September Meeting ...... Page 1 Member Birthdays ...... Page 1 Notes from May Meeting ...... Page 2 President’s Corner ...... Page 2 Winter Weather Contest ...... Page 2 TCMetSoc Logo Contest ...... Page 3 Newsletter Facelift ...... Page 3 Flash-Drought Part III ...... Page 4 Weather on A Stick: State Fair Weather History (Part One) ...... Page 5

The September Meeting It is that time of year again when we put the heat of the summer behind us, stare down the looming cold and snow of winter in front of us, and gather once a month with our fellow weather enthusiasts to learn about new topics in the field of meteorology, and related subjects, at the Twin Cities Meteorological Society monthly meetings! The September meeting will be held Tuesday the 17th at 7pm in the office in Chanhassen. Guest speaker journalist Eric Holthaus, lead meteorologist and weather editor for WeatherMob.me, will be with us. Eric was the meteorologist for the Wall Street Journal from 2010 thru 2013, including during Hurricane Sandy. He has also been an contributor for the Capital Weather Gang blog for the Washington Post and is starting to write regular pieces for Quartz, qz.com, a project of The Atlantic magazine. Mr. Holthaus will cover topics associated with covering weather events for print journalism.

Who: Journalist Eric Holthaus What: September TCMS meeting When: Tuesday, September 17th @ 7:00 pm Where: National Weather Service 1733 Lake Drive West Chanhassen, MN 55315

Member Birthdays Please wish these members a happy birthday this month: Kenny Blumenfeld, Brad Nelson and Tina Taggart.

Notes from May Meeting A fabulous buffet of pulled pork sandwiches, chips with homemade salsa, and Rice Crispie bars was served for the annual elections meeting. Because a quorum of at least two officers and five non-officers was not present, no official business was conducted. Winners of the Winter Weather Contest and a free year of TCMS Membership were: Brad Nelson – Snowfall Total Lori Bovitz – Minimum Temperature Anthony Stender – Minimum Temperature There was discussion about making TCMS an official registered non-profit, which would open the group up to opportunities not previously available. More information and research is still needed to be pursued to make a decision. It was discussed and agreed that we need to increase our membership and try to pursue avenues available to do so. We will make more use of Facebook and also use Twitter, which is now live, as our social media outlets. As well, pictures and more graphic-oriented media will be used more frequently. Election results for board members concluded in the days after the meeting and are posted within.

President’s Corner by Mike Griesinger I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to another TCMS chapter year. We had a great year last year, with a wide variety of speakers and I believe myself and the other officers have been working hard to offer another great set of meetings for the group this year. Wondering how you could help out the group this year? Well, besides helping get our name out there by judging at science fairs, there are a couple of areas where you can help us out. First, do you have a little bit of an artistic side looking for a way out? Well, then we have a project for you! This year we would like to design a simple logo for the group and we will be seeking input from members on what they would like to see. So if you have a moment of brilliance while watching the Vikings on a Sunday, sketch it down and see if you can’t leave your mark on the TCMS! Lastly, don’t forget that the biggest ambassadors for our group are you the members. The best way you can help the group not only sustain itself, but also grow is to encourage co-workers or other acquaintances you have that may be interested in weather/climate/hydrology/etc. to come check us out. See you on September 17th and invite new potential members!

Winter Weather Contest by Chris Bovitz Although we're still officially in summer, it's not too late to start thinking about our annual winter weather contest. This conversation-driving event has been quite popular in previous and it's back again this year. There have been enough questions and comments in the past that we've finally decided to create an official set of rules. While most of the things that we've done in past years have simply been written down, there are some things that are different from the way we've previously done it:

• You must have your dues paid up on the first and last day of the contest for you to receive your prize. • You can only get one prize (free membership in the group) each year. If you sweep the contest, you still only get one year. If you win more than one category, you must pick one category in which to claim your prize, and the runners up in the other category (or categories) will vie for the prize, but you still retain bragging rights to being closest. • The storm-total snowfall contest is the tiebreaker, but we do have provisions if that doesn't break the tie.

If you're not sure when your membership expired, visit the members page. After each member's name is the month and year when that person's membership expires. If yours expires between December 2013 and May 2014, you might want to ensure you renew your membership if you plan to play the contest. More information about how to enter the contest will be available later. TCMS Logo Contest by Jarrod Schoenecker Since inception of the Twin Cities Meteorological Society local affiliate, we have not had a visual representation of our organization. Having a logo is a vital part of our recognition by the community and helping us grow as an organization. This is why we are now hosting a logo contest in which any person, member preferred but not required, may submit their creative logo that will be the face of the organization. Contest rules are below. TCMS LOGO CONTEST SUBMISSION 1. Must be submitted as a 600px by 600px square-sized graphics 2. Must be presented/given in gif or jpg form and with original Photoshop files attached. 3. Must be presented in ONLY two forms a. Black and White b. Two-Color 4. Files must be labeled as follows a. Black and White = lastnamefirstnameBWLogoTCMS b. Two-Color = lastnamefirstnameCOLORLogoTCMS 5. Logos will be narrowed down to three different logos at the November 2013 meeting by all attending members. Final logo will be chosen out of the three by the TCMS officers and presented at the December 2013 meeting. 6. Must be submitted at least one week prior to the November 2013 meeting 7. Logo chosen will become full property of TCMS 8. Submissions should be sent to [email protected] including: a. One black and white logo (gif/jpg & psd) b. One two-color logo (gif/jpg & psd) c. Your name, e-mail address and phone number in the subject of the e-mail Any questions about the contest can be directed to Jarrod Schoenecker at [email protected].

Newsletter Facelift by Jarrod Schoenecker A major facelift will be given to the TCMS Newsletter in the coming months. In addition to cosmetic upgrades, we are looking to find some great regular and guest contributors to make the newsletter a more useful tool and an interesting and diverse read. Contributing can be as simple as submitting photos of unique weather phenomenon or as complicated as an in-depth story, with graphics, explaining a specific weather event. With that said, if you would like to be a contributor or know of someone who would, please send a message to [email protected] with your interest and ideas.

Drought in 2013

Drought Monitor Drought Monitor Drought Monitor January 1, 2013 July 2, 2013 September 10, 2013

Flash-Drought Part III by Mike Griesinger One of the big concerns many people in the area had coming into 2013 was the drought we inherited from a hot and dry summer and fall in 2012. These fears were drowned away in the first half of 2013, which featured a very wet second half of winter with near record wet spring followed by a wet start to the summer. By the end of June, most of MN and WI had large precipitation surpluses on the calendar year. Places like Rochester and Eau Claire were more than on pace to have their wettest year on record, and then the rains stopped. July featured a predominately Northwest oriented jet stream, which brought plenty of pleasant temperatures and almost fall-like at times. This northwest flow also brought an abrupt end to the wet conditions that had made the 2012 drought a distant memory. Eau Claire most exemplified the dry July with only 0.64” of rain, second driest July of all time. It was also only the fourth time Eau Claire observed less than an inch of rain in July. Unfortunately, the only thing that changed in August was the temperature, which turned very hot for the second half of the month. With the summer precipitation deficits mounting, these warm temperatures allowed a landscape that had nearly no drought at the beginning of July to go to one with moderate to severe drought by the middle of September. If the trend of a dry second half of summer and fall feels familiar, you’re not crazy. MSP followed up a hot and relatively dry summer in 2012 with the sixth driest fall (Sep-Nov) of all time. Of course you only had to go back one year to find the driest fall on record in the Twin Cities in 2011!

From Wet… …To Dry

Weather on a Stick: Minnesota State Fair Weather History Part One (1854-1904) by Jarrod Schoenecker The Minnesota Territorial Fair was started in 1854 and ran through 1858, when Minnesota became a state. Since 1859, it has been known as the Minnesota State Fair. The Fair did not have the same location every year until 1885 at its current location in St. Paul. It moved around from various locations such as Owatonna, Rochester, Minneapolis and St. Paul. These locations would ultimately play a small role in how weather defined the fair.

Grasshoppers, the Rocky Mountain Locust specifically, affected the attendance greatly in 1874 and 1875. With farmers’ crops in Minnesota and throughout the central United States being ruined by them, many did not have the funds to expend on such a lavish trip. It is estimated that the insects caused nearly $200 million dollars in crop damage from 1873 to 1877. Modern tilling and irrigation for the time is believed to have made the insect extinct with the last known siting being in 1902

In 1883, the Fair was held in Owatonna, MN. This particular year had a outbreak in and parts of Wisconsin on July 21st that affected the Fair significantly and Rocky Mountain Locust Cartoon Circa 1880 by William Smith. ultimately was the start of the in Photo courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society. Rochester. The New York Times stated, “All the buildings of the fair ground, which were being refitted for the approaching State fair, were blown down and completely destroyed. A number of persons were in the main building at the time and some very seriously injured.” As well, within in the county, a train was blown completely from its tracks and many buildings were heavily damaged throughout the county. It was one tornado that was “part of a family of tornadoes” that occurred that day. Rochester, MN, was struck by an estimated F5 tornado with a path of 25 miles, starting near Hayfield, MN. People said they were warned of the tornado by the enormous roar of it. This tornado killed 37 people left many injured. Doctors William Mayo and his two sons, William and Charles, along with Mother Mary Alfred Poplar plank blown through a 14” diameter oak tree from the 1883 Rochester cyclone. Moes of the the Sisters of St. Photo by J. C. Cook and courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society. Francis, cared for the injured in Rommel Hall (dance hall), which was being used as a temporary emergency room. They cared for 34 patients on site and extended care to “233 families and 101 men,” as well. At the time, there were only three hospitals in Minnesota outside of the Twin Cites, none of which were near Rochester. The incident caused them to realize the need for a hospital in Rochester. They then created St. Mary’s Hospital, which eventually lead to the creation of the Mayo Clinic and what was known as the “Tornado Guild,” something that I could find no record of beyond this event. In the following years, various small notes are made on how weather affected specific events. 1888 – “Strong on horses” and the “Grand Pagaent” was abandoned due to light rain. 1889 – The roof was done on the main building to “rainproof it.” In 1890, an “Annual Weather Review” section is noted in the annual report for the first time that includes a state-wide report of this past year’s weather. Horse races were postponed due to slippery conditions from rain. Notably, an “air and waterproof paper” was used for building the ice box. As the fair continued to become more organized throughout the early years and ever increased in popularity throughout the nation, it also drew in the best minds of the time period. A lot of research was presented at the Minnesota State Fair and was also documented within annual reports. In 1891, “The Forest Tree Manual”, states, “The smoke of forest fires will cloud the atmosphere of half our empire, making it unfit to live in, and will press upon the thoughtful observer to conviction that, in some respects, our boasted progress lags behind; that we are most incompetent to utilize and manage properly our bountiful resources that, as a nation, we are deficient in some of those traits which distinguish civilization from savagery-forethought, method, husbandry, economy. In the treatment of the forest resources, Americans have been worse than savages.” Additionally in that same manual, it was reported from an 1880 nation-wide census that, 16% of the 2,983 forest fires were started by locomotives that were “entirely preventable by the use of spark arresters and proper attention to fire boxes.” Nearly 50% of fires were from clearing or annual firing for clearing land for pasturage. Finally, 10% of fires were from malice and 25% were due to careless hunters, campers, smokers, et cetera. During this same year, it is noted that Canada had begun controlling the forest loss by issuing licenses for clearing lumber with restrictions while Minnesotans cut and burned forest freely. The forest manual even states that, “The continued depletion of the Northern Minnesota forests will drain the Mississippi of proportions of water significant enough to carry out manufacturing purposes.” This note comes out of the notion of thinking that by removing forest removes areas where a lot of water from spring and summer rains would be held and slowly filtered out throughout the watershed through the year rather than drying up quickly. Clearing trees too far apart from each other was also stated to affect their ability to withstand “heat and cold blows” by mutually supporting each other in times of weakness, such as in drought or the ice cold of winter. Furthermore, the manual reports that a loss of farm value with rains washing away valuable soil into the river system by improper management of forestry. Research of Straw driven into wood from the 1883 Rochester cyclone. the time also Photo by J. C. Cook and courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society. showed that it was believed that forested areas were never hit by hailstorms. Thus, the hailstorms hitting farmers who had no insurance in Minnesota could be solved by “letting nature take its course,” or letting trees grow back, had said Mr. Becquerel (unknown association). Part of the justification for the hailstorms not occurring in forested areas was because of “great woodlands divide and considerably weaken the force of these storms.” M. Sainjon, president of the Meteorological Commission of Loiret (France), and M. Baille confirmed the statement of Mr. Becquerel by saying, “It is maintained that the branches of trees are so many lightning rods, conveying to the ground the electricity of the atmosphere, and neutralize this agency as well as the hail.” It is also stated from the Swiss Geographical Society by Herr Riniker, the chief forester of Aargan, Canton, that a blow down occurred in a heavily forest area known as “Lindenberge” about twenty-five years prior. Immediately after, hailstorms followed. Herr Riniker then notes that about 5-6 years later, when forests had rebuilt themselves, there were no more hailstorms. The following year, 1892, talk of forestry and how it affects adverse weather continues in the “Forest Tree Planters Manual.” This manual states different things on a trees ability to regulate certain atmospheric conditions. One portion states: “Fifth – it is very generally admitted that trees have the power of absorbing and storing up latent heat, and again giving it out in times of extreme cold. If this is so, and we fully believe it is, how fine is the modifying influence that may be exerted on our climate in its depressing moods? Again, it is believed that the tree has the power of absorption of moisture, and in time of severe drought again giving it out liberally through its trunk and its branches and leaves in the summer time. This influence ascribed to the tree has the effect of cooling and moistening our dry atmosphere during the heated term.” Later on it states: “Sixth – The distribution of electric fluids in the air. The subject of electricity is a mysterious question that we cannot fully understand. Yet we know that the vast treeless plains of our continent are frequently visited with those destructive influences and the deadly lightning bolt. The great prairies of the West are annually visited by these alarming displays of nature to their serious loss and the discomfiture of the people. In tree-growing regions these displays are less frequent and less severe. Our advice, therefore, is to plant trees Balloon ascension with early parachute equipment. Circa 1900. Photo courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society around your fields and around your dwellings to ward of the influence of destructive lightning.” Furthermore it states: “Ninth… Trees by means of their influence on the atmosphere increase the amount of condensation of moisture and precipitation…. But, again, forests, by means of their abundant foliage, evaporate or throw off enormous quantities of moisture into the air, and this, after being carried about by the , is condensed by coolness of evening, and falls plentifully upon the neighboring country in the form of pearly dew.” Their observations, although some sound fairly silly, prove to have some validity, such as the evaporation of water from plants or transpiration. Continued in 1892, the fair reports on the weather conditions for the state during the year for the third year. An excess of 4.73” of rain from average was recorded with 31 , seven aurora activity days and only two hailstorms for the year. These were common items recorded and reported during this time period. The year 1893 was an interesting year because it had been agreed not to hold a fair as to not take away from and in fear of low attendance due to the World’s Fair being held in , IL. In fact, many fairs throughout the country were cancelled this year for the same reason. However, the board remained active in improving the fairgrounds. Renovations were done with many trees planted throughout the grounds. This proved expensive as the area was hit by drought from July-September and they had to use water carts to dampen the soil around the trees to keep them alive. J. H. Burwell, then current board president, suggests that the City of St. Paul extend its water mains to the fairgrounds to provide means of more adequate fire protection as well as providing drought protection. Continuing for the third and final year of its notation in the annual report was the “Forest Tree Planters Manual” in 1893. Within the manual, a section is titled, “Deforestation and Cyclones,” or tornadoes. It raises the question of whether or not cyclones, especially involving hailstorms, have any connection with deforestation.

In making reference to observations in France, Franklin B. Hough, then current Chief of the Forestry Division, again makes the statement that: “Hailstorms become more frequent as woodlands are cleared away, and that although such storms may occasionally pass through a forest of small extent, they will sometimes change to rain over a woodland, and again to hail beyond; but oftener they will turn aside, or divide as they come to a large wooded area. This may be accounted for from the fact that the moist air that hangs over a woodland from the evaporation of the leaves becomes a conductor of electricity, and thus lessens the effects of these storms.” The earlier mentioned M. Baille states, “…hailstorms seem to move in zones… Build up long and wide belts of trees in the storm zone so as to divide them, or at least wean their force of destruction.” It was a very well believed idea that trees were able to control or affect the nature of thunderstorms. A later section, “Snow Drifts,” discusses the best placement of different types of forestry and the distance of that forestry in relation to the house would be the most beneficial in providing proper windbreak so that snow drifts will not “bury the house to the eves.” The year of the 1895 fair, the secretary was ordered in the month of June to have the lightning rods repaired. It can also be noted that the City of St. Paul had not yet extended its water mains. In means of fire prevention, due to a lack of sufficient water mains, the floorboards of the Main Building were wetted. Superintendent for the Main Building, D. R. McGinnis, explains that the “dampening and thorough sprinkling of the (wood) floors, especially throughout the very warm days, lessened the danger from fire to a minimum.” Little was said in following few years in regards to weather. 1896 - Attendance was low due to a rainstorm starting the 5th day of the fair and continued until its Fairgoers walk with umbrellas on a rainy day in 1903. closing. Photo courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society. 1897 - It was “excessively hot the first four days and rainy the remaining two.” By 1900, the City of St. Paul had still not extended their water main to the fairgrounds and the impending danger of a large fire finally happened. On August 3rd, a barn near the office building, which kept the Agricultural Society’s teams, burned with a year’s supply of hay and other material. As well, the Thursday before the fair, a fire was discovered in the machinery section. The nine buildings owned by “prominent exhibitors” and the exhibitiors personal property within burned. By Tuesday, the second day of the fair, the area had been replaced with tents and new exhibition material for the fair. The fair noted: “During each of these fires the lack of water for the fire protection had a costly demonstration. If the wind during the second fire had been toward instead of away from the main buildings a general conflagration could not have been averted. It is urged that the legislature do not leave this splendid property longer without suitable fire protection.” In listing the major improvements needed for the ground they say later, “New buildings should be made of stone or brick, so as to be less inflammable than present structures, and should be modern in all aspects.” In 1901, Vice President Theodore “Teddy” Rosevelt utters the famous words on Labor Day Monday at the fair, “speak softly and carry a big stick” during a speech. In 1902, there’s talk of different types of sheep where one fleece is tight and the sheep can shake themselves and the rainwater goes right off an another type that has a looser fleece and the rainwater, or “storm” as they call it, goes right in. In 1903, the state fair talks of “The Weather Bureau” in their report for the first time, showing collaboration. According to “History of Weather Observations”, prepared by Gary K. Grice and Peter Boulay, the Weather Bureau was opened in 1890 and weather observing functions were started/transferred to the bureau in 1891.

Most information derived from the Minnesota State Fair digital archives at http://news2.arcasearch.com/usmnmsfcd/

Look for part two of Minnesota State Fair Weather History in the October’s newsletter.