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.
September 23, 2010 - MPR’s Elizabeth Baier reports on flooding conditions in Owatonna and Medford, where heavy rains and flash flooding inundated streets, as residents and officials prepared for more torrential rains overnight.
December 13, 2010 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer interviews Bill Lester, executive director of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, about the status of Metrodome after roof collapse from heavy snow on December 12, 2010.
May 23, 2011 - MPR’s Tom Crann interviews Sarah Heller, who lives in the Webber-Camden neighborhood in northwest Minneapolis, where a deadly tornado struck. Heller recounts the actual tornado and the wreckage it left in its wake.
May 23, 2011 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer and Brandt Williams discuss the scene in North Minneapolis the morning after a tornado struck that part of the city. Williams describes the damage and other impacts he’s witnessed in the devastated neighborhood.
May 23, 2011 - MPR’s Rupa Shenoy visits the scene in North Minneapolis just after a tornado went through and speaks with residents about their experiences as the storm struck. Report also includes comment from Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Ryabak.
May 23, 2011 - MPR’s Jess Mador reports on the tornado that struck North Minneapolis, leaving a wide swath of destruction in its wake. City officials and residents try to absorb what happened and what to do next.
May 27, 2011 - MPR’s Lorna Benson presents a minute-by-minute look at how the tornado warning system in Minnesota worked during last Sunday's tornado and storms that hit hard in north Minneapolis.
July 20, 2011 - While the Twin Cities finds itself in the midst of a brutal heatwave, MPR’s Cathy Wurzer interviews Michael Tortorello about his support of fans over air-conditioning. The detail to success seems to be what kind of fan.
May 15, 2012 - MPR’s Curtis Gilbert presents part one of a Special Report on storm preparedeness in the Twin Cities. The reports follows a simulated tornado track through the metro. The massive tornado outbreak that struck the Twin Cities area in 1965 is used as an example of what could occur again.
May 15, 2012 - MPR’s Curtis Gilbert presents part two of a Special Report on storm preparedeness in the Twin Cities. The reports follows a simulated tornado track through the metro. The massive tornado outbreak that struck the Twin Cities area in 1965 is used as an example of what could occur again.