March 14, 2001 -
March 20, 2001 - At 7:31 this morning we mark the passing of the vernal equinox, one of two times each year when the amount of daylight and darkness are equal. Though it would be hard to tell by our still snow-covered landscape, the vernal equinox marks the official beginning of spring. I visited the Lowry Nature Center and took a hike through the woods with Interpretive Naturalist Dianne Rowse, to see if we could find any signs of spring. She says LAST year, those signs came early.
March 21, 2001 -
March 22, 2001 - Minnesota River is looking at potential flooding. National Weather Service's Gary McDevitt is interviewed about the situation.
March 26, 2001 - MPR’s Bob Kelleher reports on the effects low water levels in Lake Superior are having on shipping. Great Lakes freighters will be loading lighter than ever to stay above the bottoms of harbors and rivers between the lakes.
March 26, 2001 - The Department of Natural Resources is predicting an increase in tent caterpillars this spring. The caterpillars munch their way through Minnesota's northern forests, stripping the leaves off trees as they go. Last year, the insects consumed two (M) million acres of forest -- this season's devastation could cover twice that. Mike Albers is a Forest Health Specialist with the DNR. I asked him what causes the invasion:
March 27, 2001 - Mark Broderson and a few other ice climbers built their own ice waterfall. It is 42-feet high and three telephone poles are supporting the structure. They are also able to control the safety of the ice structure.
March 29, 2001 - Mainstreet Radio’s Chris Julin talks with Lee Murdock, a folk singer who sings about Lake Superior and the Great Lakes. Murdock has made his career singing songs of the Lakes, from 200-year-old sailors' work songs, to his own compositions based on Great Lakes folklore.
March 30, 2001 - Rolling blackouts and rising electricity prices in California have brought new urgency to efforts in Minnesota to keep the state's power supply affordable and reliable. Proponents of moving electricity generation closer to consumers are holding a conference in St. Cloud today Mainstreet Radio's Jeff Horwich reports.
March 30, 2001 - A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, ON THIS DATE, IT WAS 73 DEGREES. THE ICE WAS GONE OFF OF LAKE WACONIA, AND LAKES CALHOUN AND HARRIET IN MINNEAPOLIS. TODAY, THERE'S STILL ABOUT EIGHT INCHES OF SNOW ON THE GROUND, AT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN CHANHASSEN....UP TO TWO FEET STILL REMAINS AT THE TIP OF THE ARROWHEAD, AROUND GRAND MARAIS. JUST HOW LONG WILL THE SNOW HANG ON? MARK SEELY CAN'T ANSWER THAT QUESTION THIS MORNING, HE'S IN GREAT BRITAIN. STILL STATESIDE IS PAUL DOUGLAS, CHEIF METEORGIST WITH WCCO TV.