Minnesota WeatherTalk

Persistent rain in May: Over the calendar period May 15-22, some Minnesota climate observers reported rainfall every day (8 consecutive days), and a large number of them reported rainfall on 7 of the 8 days. In addition, on some individual days the rainfall was slow but persistent, lasting for as much as 12-14 consecutive hours. Over May 15-22 within the Minnesota daily climate observation network there were 36 new daily rainfall records set. Some examples include: 2.96” at Hokah (Houston County) on May 16; 1.95” at Red Wing Dam (Goodhue County) on May 17; 2.09” at Morris (Stevens County) on May 18; and 1.32” at Milaca (Mille Lacs County) on May 21st. Total rainfall for the month of May is well above normal in most places, and in some areas is approaching values close to the historically wettest May. Many areas of the state report 4 to 7 inches of rainfall so far this month. This is the 6th time in the past seven years that May has been wetter than normal across the state.

Stormy Week: Monday through Wednesday of this week (May 15-17) brought severe weather to the region, including strong thunderstorms, large hail, flash flooding, and tornadoes. The tornadoes occurred in western Wisconsin (Polk, Barron, and Rusk Counties) on May 16th , with the most damage coming from an EF-2 storm (winds 111-135 mph) that passed through Chetek, WI destroying a mobile home park, injuring over 20 people, and causing one death. On the same date large hail was reported from many eastern Minnesota communities, including 2.5 inch diameter hail near Northfield. On May 17th two short-live tornadoes were reported in southeastern Minnesota, one near Plainview and one near Elgin. Both caused some minor damage. A summary can be found at the NOAA-NWS-La Crosse, WI web site. Many climate observers reported new daily record rainfall amounts this week. Some examples include: May 15; 4.94" at Altura (Winona County), 3.43" at Elgin (Olmsted County), 2.96" at Ho

National Adaptation Forum in St Paul: The St Paul River Center hosted the National Adaptation Forum this week, with well over 1000 people from 49 states attending. There were many panel discussions and presentations about climate adaptation related to transportation, energy, water, agriculture, public health, natural resource management, architecture, and extreme weather, as well as city and rural infrastructure. It was my privilege to give out awards for outstanding examples of leadership in climate adaptation advocacy and practice: Among our Minnesota award winners were: Dr. Olivia LeDee, from the DNR-Fish and Wildlife Division University of Minnesota-Morris Sustainability Office for institutional leadership Climate Generation for their work in greater Minnesota in finding and showcasing community solutions Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate for being proactive about the health risks of climate change and educating health care providers Murphy Warehouse for movi