Collection
Wait 10 Minutes - Minnesota's historic weather events
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.
194 Collection Items
- Locals endure monthslong emotional grind of living beside flooding Rainy Lake
MPR’s Dan Kraker visits residents along Rainy Lake, as they battle extreme local flooding. Kraker talks with individuals about the monthslong emotional grind of battling the rising floodwaters.
- 'Pure devastation': Rainy Lake residents fill sandbags, fight exhaustion as floodwaters rise
MPR’s Dan Kraker reports on record water levels on Rainy Lake, where homes are flooding, docks are under 5 to 6 feet of water, and roads and campsites are closed along the Canadian border as residents continue to battle rising floodwaters.
- Climate Cast: Drought explainer
On this edition of Climate Cast, Paul Huttner talks with Jennifer Francis, a climate scientist with the Woodwell Climate Research Center, about drought and it’s connection to climate change. Can you say jet stream?
- Heat wave adds to drought misery
MPR’s Riham Feshir reports on how a heat wave has added to the intensity of extreme drought encompassing much of Minnesota. Feshir interviews various officials about coping in the dry and hot weather.
- Drought hits farmers, ranchers hard
MPR’s Dan Kraker profiles framers and ranchers in north central Minnesota as they battle against the toll of severe drought conditions. Kraker also talks with climatologists about dry weather.
- Snowbound...Stranded in southern Minnesota
MPR’s Marianne Combs reports on gusting winds and drifting snow that trapped hundreds in areas of Minnesota. Combs interviews some of those that were trapped and officials who rescued them.
- Minnesotans deal with the unexpected in extreme cold
MPR’s Matt Sepic reports on the various ways Minnesotans are dealing with the brutal cold snap that hit the state. Amid some of the coldest weather in a generation, the Postal Service stopped delivering mail, schools closed, homeless sought shelter, a rail on the Blue Line cracked, Twin Cities hospitals saw a jump in frostbite cases, and there were broken water mains. Report is followed by an interview with John Storkamp, a runner in the Arrowhead 135 race.
- Gales of October: Lake Superior roars with rain, high winds, big waves
MPR’s Dan Kraker visits Duluth’s Canal Park and finds himself soaked as he witnesses 20-foot waves crash along the shore of Lake Superior.
- Was 1997 Red River flood an anomaly or new normal?
MPR’s Elizabeth Dunbar reports on the repeated flooding conditions found in the Red River Valley. Dunbar interviews several scientists who have studied climate and hydrology in the Red River basin.
- Mega-rain leaves Willmar overflowed
MPR’s Tom Weber interviews Sean Christenson, Willmar's city engineer, about how the city is dealing with historic deluge on August 10, 2016…one he considers a 1,000-year rainfall event.