Minnesota weather is part of daily life, and it brings with it many “extremes.” This collection presents some of those…from the floods of the Red River Valley, the blowdown in the BWCA, the Halloween Blizzard, to the devasting tornado in St. Peter. But were a state of many meteorological dimensions, not just tornadoes and blizzards. Below are memories of oppressive drought, the creep of flood waters, nature driven fire, and those glorious 50-degree December day anomalies. While these stories may attempt to explain the why, where, and what of various weather events, what is striking is the undeniable power of the human experience in the face of it all.
June 25, 2003 - MPR’s Marisa Helms reports from Buffalo Lake, a small town about 75 miles southwest of the Twin Cities, where an F2 tornado struck on June 24th. Helms speaks with residents as they start picking up the pieces from extensive damage left behind.
January 26, 2004 - Mainstreet Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports on folks in Northeastern Minnesota and Northwestern Wisconsin digging out from a near-record snowfall. After five years of wimpy winters, Duluth had several days of frigid temperatures, and now - lots of snow.
September 15, 2004 - Seth Binau, a forecaster with the National Weather Service, breaks down the flood warnings and rainfall totals in south-central Minnesota. Biau also describes the makeup of front that brought about torrential rain.
September 15, 2004 - MPR’s Erin Galbally reports on flooding in Austin, Minnesota after a massive rainstorm in area.
March 17, 2005 - The boy's state high school basketball tournament is underway, and another tournament storm seems likely in 2005. "Tournament storms" are legendary in Minnesota -- but, it turns out, they aren't much more than that…legends.
March 18, 2005 - MPR’s Steven John checks in with Mainstreet Radio’s Erin Galbally about heavy snow in southern Minnesota. Galbally describes closed roads and blowing snow.
September 22, 2005 - MPR’s Sam Choo reports on storm that rocked areas of the Twin Cities, including Andover, which had severe property damage. Choo interviews residents about what happened in the storm. On the night of September 21, 2005, a series of supercells produced four tornadoes, widespread wind damage (gusts of 75+ miles per hour), large hail (up to three inches), and flash-flooding in east central Minnesota. Three damage was present in tree damage in Maple Grove, Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, and north Minneapolis, with one fatality from a fallen tree branch. In the worst hit areas there were downbursts…such as in Andover, where wind gusts reached 100 miles per hour.
October 5, 2005 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer checks in with Rich Naistat, of the National Weather Service, about the intense rainfall that deluged the Twin Cities. The two compare it with the superstorm that dumped massive amounts of rain in July 1987.
July 27, 2006 - MPR’s Tim Post interviews meteorologist Mark Seeley about the reasons behind the “extreme” drought conditions in northern Minnesota. Seeley states main culprit is the jet stream.
August 25, 2006 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer talks with meteorologist Craig Edwards about a memorable August 24th, which brought destructive hail and tornadoes to southern areas of the state. Edwards details what transpired.