Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Lakeshore Weekly News has listed the terrifying consequences of global warming for icy Minnesota – milder winters, wetter, hotter summers, longer growing seasons.
With climate change, Minnesota will not be as we know it
By Hannah Jones hjones@swpub.com
The Freshwater Society and the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office Water Patrol track ice-out dates for Lake Minnetonka. In some places, such as Prior Lake, people watch for ice-in dates, too.
But this annual Minnesota tradition is gradually going to change as Minnesota feels the effects of climate change. Sam Potter, a Minnesota native with a doctorate in atmospheric and oceanic sciences from Princeton University, can tell you just how much it has changed already.
“This is a lot of what global warming is. It’s moving toward a new state,” he said.
Potter said over the last 30 years, the average Minnesota temperature has warmed nearly 2 degrees.
That may not seem like much, and in reality, climate change’s effect on Minnesota life isn’t as cut and dried as the word “warming” would imply. For instance, from 1951 to 1980, in a given month, temperatures could fluctuate from 13 degrees below average to 15 above. For the last 30 years, that trend has shifted. The range is now from 12 below to more than 21 above.
“This is the big fingerprint of global warming — extremes,” he said.
That means a number of things. It means there will be more “tropical” nights when the temperature doesn’t drop below 68 degrees. It means growing seasons will be longer but peppered with more extreme storms. It means winters will be milder. Summers will be hotter. More rain, less snow.
…
Living on the edge of the tropics, I feel qualified to describe life in a warmer climate. The temperature in my hometown hasn’t dropped below 68F for at least two months. Our only relief from this unrelenting 24 hour heat is to drink beer, hold lots of late night outdoor BBQs, to avoid the heatstroke risks of indoor cooking, and when all else fails, to cool off splashing about in our large swimming pools.
Only by acting now can Minnesotans avoid this same awful fate.
The following is a cautionary video prepared by Minnesotans for Global Warming, detailing the consequences of allowing global warming to continue in their state.
Why is the cool period, ending around 1980, the ideal?
I for one have no problem believing the planet is warming, and that mankind is (partly) responsible.
We are putting enormous amounts of heat into the atmosphere compared to even 50 yrs ago.
But what are you going to do about it, stop heating and air conditioning, stop driving or flying.
No chance.
Get rid of half the population,,,which half?
We are lots smarter than the dinosaurs, I’m pretty sure, had they not been wiped out they would never have put a raptor on the moon.
We will survive.
Only small dinosaurs would be able to explore space. Unless they come up with a much better method of propulsion.
@RAYQ MCMULLEN;
To put the “enormous amounts of heat” into perspective, all the forms of energy utilized by man over the course of an entire year is equal to the amount of energy delivered to the earth by the sun in a single hour.
Liberals can take one position, that the recent record cold is normal and natural, when they are taking the position opposite of President Trump. Liberals can then take the exact opposite position when they are defending Al Gore and Michael Mann. The position a liberal will take isn’t dependent upon the science, data or facts, the position a liberal will take is dependent upon who is making the claim. If Conservative believe the facts point to climate change being a fraud, liberals will defend it to the death as scientific truth. Liberals are so oblivious to the facts that The Guardian recently published an article about global warming and defended their position by using quotes that disprove the very position they were intended to defend.
https://co2islife.wordpress.com/2018/01/06/climate-change-double-standard-double-speak-proves-slimate-clience-is-a-fraud/
I posted this in 2013 I need to do an update.
The ice was officially out on Lake Minnetonka on May 2, 2013. This was the 3rd latest ice-out date since records have been taken all the way back to 1855. The only two years where the ice went out on a later date than 2013 was May 5th, 1857 and May 4th, 1859. The earliest ice-out date was March 11, 1879. Last year was the third earliest ice-out date March 31, 2012.
Lake Minnetonka is the Twin Cities largest metro area lake and they have been keeping track of the ice-out dates for over 150 years. As you can see by this chart there doesn’t seem to be any trend one way or the other even with the urban heat island effect.
http://m4gw.com/images/2018/MinnetonkaIceOut-2013.jpg
Lake Minnetonka’s ice out dates since 2013 are:
April 24, 2014
April 5, 2015
March 17, 2016
March 27, 2017
The last couple are of ice out dates are pretty early, 2016 is the second earliest but I have a feeling 2018 will be pretty late the ice is really thick hopefully before the 4thof July.
Incidentally the Average ice out date for Lake Minnetonka is April 15th and the ice has never gone out on April 15th.
I’m ever grateful to the state of Minnesota, first for giving me life, and secondly, (and just narrowly behind) is because it also spawned the Minnesotans For Global Warming video “Hide the Decline”
Aww, thanks Micky.
Well if it gets any warmer in MN we might stray above 0F, that would be awful! (It is actually almost 30F today, so I’m speaking of last week’s temps…)
Oh, it would be awful to be able to grow 100 day corn up here.
Or, to enjoy the abundance of game that mild winters bring.
The HORROR!
In all honesty I would not be surprised if Minnesota winters have warmed 2ºF on average over the last 60 years but on the flip side Minnesota summers seem to be getting cooler.
Chart compliments of Tony Heller AKA Steve Goddard
https://realclimatescience.com/2017/07/hottest-day-in-minnesota/
So if Minnesota winters are getting warmer and Minnesota summers are getting cooler that means our climate is getting what? Anyone… anyone?
Less extreme.
Which is what? Anyone… anyone?
A good thing.
Hence the name of my blog.
http://m4gw.com/images/2018/M4GWShirt2.jpg
And less extreme is always welcome. As mentioned in the comments above, and as experienced by myself in a lifetime of living here, Minnesota is full of extremes. From -50F all the way to 100F with dew points in the mid 70s, it can be an extreme environment.
Why do people choose to live here? I have been asked that question many times. My standard answer is- “Because there is very little else that lives here that can kill me.” No poisonous snakes, spiders, scorpions, Africanised bees, alligators, grizzly bears, etc… So unless I get taken out by an angry moose or an escaped psychopath, (both of which are extremely unlikely…) chances are good I will live a long comfortable life quietly in the woods with only the (soon to be less?) extreme heat or cold to complain about.
Doesn’t sound too bad to me!
Without weather extremes what will Minnesotans talk about? The residents will walk around like zombies with blank looks on their faces. Oh no, a zombie apocalypse. Here you go, Hollywood …. a ready made script and all brought you by global warmcoolwetdrying.
Or maybe the subject of another M4GW video.
I thought it was more cold caused by global warming. At that was the case last week.