Tidbits from Mark Seeley's Weathertalk ========================================================================= USGENWEB NOTICE:In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. If you have found this file through a source other than the MNArchives Table Of Contents you can find other Minnesota related Archives at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/mn/mnfiles.htm Please note the county and type of file at the top of this page to find the submitter information or other files for this county. FileFormat by Terri--MNArchives Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by: Jyneen Thatcher Submitted: October 2004 Courtesy of Mark Seeley copyright ========================================================================= Weather History tidbits Mark Seeley's Weathertalk From Minnesota Weather Talk, MPR's Morning Edition Program (web site: http://www.climate.umn.edu/cawap/mpr/mpr.asp ) October 8, 2004 Topic: Weather for the Lewis and Clark Expedition 1804-1806 Two recent papers in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society represent studies of the weather experienced on this most famous expedition, but set in the context of climatology. A paper by Solomon and Daniel shows that the careful observations and measurements of Lewis and Clark adequately captured the character of weather on the High Plains of America. Their data and interpretations still fit well with the documented weather behavior in today's environment, except that winters have grown to be milder. Their observations of very desert- like dry air, large daily temperature ranges, and mountain range effects on wind patterns were quite valid. The second paper by Paul Knapp presents an argument that Lewis and Clark were lucky when it comes to the weather. Their expedition took place between two extreme historical droughts across the High Plains, one in 1800 and the other in 1808-09. Thus they benefitted from adequate water flow in the Missouri River so they could navigate their boats relatively unencumbered by low flows and sand bars. A second and perhaps more important stroke of luck was that the precipitation pattern had favored abundant growth of vegetation and plentiful wild game. So for the most part, they were able to harvest food along the way. Sept 3, 2004 Topic: Another cold growing season from Pioneer Days.... Though many are comparing this cold growing season (May-Aug) in Minnesota with some from the early 20th Century (1907, 1915, 1924, and 1927), St Paul weather historian Charles Fisk wrote me to point out that nothing compares with the growing season of 1863 in terms of crop damaging frosts. From the old pioneer era climate records it is evident that Minnesota weather during that growing season would have made most farmers want to give up. May and June saw the onset of drought across the state. The Mississippi River flow was so low that boat traffic was restricted in May. St Paul reported no measurable rainfall in June and rivers were reported at record low levels. A number of prairie fires were reported in June and July as well. Nevertheless stored soil moisture seemed to be seeing the crop through until frosts came in July. Yes, July! The nights of the 11th through the 14th brought various frosts, killing or damaging many corn fields within 25 miles of St Paul. Near Rochester nearly all crops were reported damaged or killed except for small grainswhich were being harvested. In those days when home grown produce was much more important to the family food stores, farmers reportedly lost potatoes, pumpkins, squash, cucumbers, melons, corn, and tomatoes. It was reported that only the cabbage crop escaped serious damage. Additional July frosts were reported near Winona and Mankato but they inflicted little damage. August brought more frosts on the 25th and the 29th, killing most of the remaining crops. This disastrous growing season was a precursor to another most unusual weather event, snow in September. Snow squalls were reported during the daytime hours in St Paul on September 18th. Some other years when snow was reported in the Twin Cities during the month of September also happened to be those with very cold growing seasons as well.... years like 1915 (snow on Sept 15th), 1927 (snow on Sept 19-20), 1985 (snow on Sept 23), 1945 (snow on Sept 26 and 28), 1908 (snow on Sept 28-29) and 1951 (snow on Sept 28). June 4, 2004 Hydrologically for Minnesota watersheds this spring has been similar to that of 1854, the year of the original Grand Excursion riverboat trip on the Mississippi River from Rock Island, IL to St Paul, MN over the 5th to the 8th of June. In both cases, river flows were very low throughout the fall, winter and early spring, then significantly increased by late May heavy rainfalls. This made the Mississippi River navigation channel deeper for the riverboats in 1854 and conincidentally if the rain keeps up in June, there will be the same effect for the 150th Anniversary reenactment of the Grand Excursion later this month.....June 25 to July 4. April 16, 2004 Topic: Anniversary week for Minnesota's most lethal tornado.. One hundred eighteen years ago this week (April 14, 1886) an F4 tornado (winds over 200 mph) traveled 25 miles across central Minnesota, killing 74 people, injuring 213, and destroying over 200 homes. Described by witnesses as alternately a massive 1/2 mile wide funnel and also as a "double spiral" the tornado swept up the water as it crossed the Mississippi River near Sauk Rapids, leaving the river bottom dry for a brief period. Sauk Rapids and St Cloud were devastated, while near Rice eleven members of a wedding party, including the bride and groom were swept away to their death. Though more destructive tornadoes have occurred since this time in Minnesota, none have caused more deaths than this one. March 12, 2004 Topic: Anniversary for Minnesota Weather Service.... Coming up on Monday is the 63rd anniversary of a famous Minnesota blizzard that caused a significant change in Weather Service Operations for Minnesota. On March 15-16, 1941 a severe blizzard raged across northern and central Minnesota. At about 9:30 on Saturday night southerly winds of 10-12 mph shifted to the northwest and increased to 40-50 mph, accompanied by blowing snow. Gusts as high as 85 mph were recorded at Grand Forks, 74 mph at Fargo- Moorhead, and 75 mph at Duluth. Overnight temperatures dropped by 35-40 degrees F, visibility fell to zero, and over 32 people perished in the storm by Sunday afternoon. Outside the Duluth harbor seven men and one woman were stranded on an ice floe in Lake Superior for over 23 hours before being rescued. This storm occurred only four months after the terrible Armistice Day blizzard of the preceding fall. That was the last straw for Governor Harold Stassen and the Minnesota Congressional Delegation, as they appealed to the federal government that the Chicago Office of the National Weather Service should no longer have forecast jurisdiction over Minnesota (up to that time weather service personnel in Minnesota only had observational responsibilities and simply passed on the forecasts issued from the Chicago Office, a rather ludicrous situation). The Minnesota Congressional Delegation made their point, and the National Weather Service granted forecast jurisdiction to the Twin Cities Office to do their own Minnesota forecasts. December 19, 2003 MPR listener question: What have been the snowiest Decembers in the Twin Cities, and with 15 inches already recorded at Chanhassen, will this year be one of them? Answer: Listed below are the ten snowiest Decembers in Twin Cities history (including the old Pioneer records). Year Total Snowfall for Number of days with December (inches) measurable snowfall 1969 33.2 17 2000 30.2 18 1856 30.0 7 1968 28.7 14 1950 25.0 17 1902 24.0 12 1996 23.7 16 1927 22.8 15 1983 21.0 10 1982 19.3 7 As you can see most snowy Decembers are associated with a high frequency of daily snowfalls, exceptions being 1982 and 1856 which included only seven measurable snowfalls. The 1856-57 winter was one of the most severe in Minnesota history, with over 100 inches of snowfall in many areas, including the Twin Cities, and massive spring flooding on many Minnesota watersheds. November 21, 2003 Topic: Twin Cities snowfalls over Thanksgiving weekend Historical data for the Twin Cities (1891-2002) show that measurable snowfall on Thanksgiving Day itself occurs only about 20 percent of the time, but for the four day weekend as a whole, measurable snowfall occurs better than 60 percent of the time. In recent years, Thanksgiving holiday snowfalls have been even less frequent than historical data would suggest. It has snowed on Thanksgiving day only once in the past 10 years, while it has snowed over the four day holiday weekend, five times in the past ten years, though only once in the most recent six. October 3, 2003 MPR listener question: How often does the Twin Cities see snowfall in October? Answer: Historically, going all the way back to 1820 using Ft Snelling, St Paul, and National Weather Service Twin Cities observations, measurable snowfall occurs in October about 35 percent of the time, or a little better than one in three years. In fact it has snowed each of the last two Octobers. The most October snowfall in the modern National Weather Service era is 8.2 inches in 1991 (Halloween blizzard year). The largest amounts in the old pioneer records (19th Century) were 11.0 inches in 1820 at Ft Snelling and 14.0 inches in downtown St Paul in 1873. September 26, 2003 Topic: Two Fall climatic benchmarks...... Anybody remember 1942? September 26, 1942 is a climatic benchmark of sorts in that it marks the earliest fall occurrence of a significant snowfall in Minnesota. Though MSP officially recorded 1.7 inches (most of which fell from 8 pm on the 25th to 8 am on the 26th), many of the city parks reported 2 or more inches. Much of this melted during the day on the 26th, but the heavy wet snow damaged trees and shrubs which had not lost their leaves. Elsewhere around the state the snow was heavier yet and required some shoveling. At Bird Island in Renville County 8 inches fell, while at Sauk Center in Stearns County they recorded 9 inches. Anybody remember 1892? October 1, 1892 brought a very rare heavy hail storm to St Paul, perhaps the worst ever recorded in the month of October. St Paul weather historian Tom St Martin has written about this storm. Hailstones actually piled up in the streets, some being half of the size of hen's eggs. The lightning and thunder which accompanied the storm caused many horses to bolt. An Anheuser- Busch driver was thrown from his wagon by a startled team of horses, while another driver of a grocery wagon was knocked to the street by a bolt of lightning which killed his horse. In contrast, the city of Minneapolis reported little or no rainfall from the storm. July 18, 2003 Topic: : Anniversary Week for Minnesota's Top Rain Storm Today (July 18) is the anniversary of perhaps the most prolonged intense rainfall ever recorded in the state. This thunderstorm complex occurred in 1867 over western and central Minnesota, but was especially heavy in parts of Douglas, Pope and Stearns Counties, affecting the pioneer communities of Osakis, Westport, and Sauk Centre. Beginning late on Wednesday, July 17th, lasting all day July 18th, and into the early morning of Friday July 19th, heavy thunderstorms drenched the landscape with up to 36 inches of rainfall. Unfortunately measurements of the storm were not made by official rain gages in those days, but several people did record measurements via buckets and barrels which filled up. According to Tom St Martin, Minnesota weather historian, George B. Wright, a pioneer land surveyor in the area, documented the event and reported on it in some detail to the Minnesota Academy of Natural Sciences years later (1876). In his account, the Pomme de Terre, Chippewa, and Sauk Rivers, normally creeks at that time of year, became lakes several miles wide. The storm generated runoff caused the Mississippi to rise several feet, washing out bridges and logging booms right through the Twin Cities area. The total number of logs washed away was estimated to exceed 25 million. The mosquito population was reported as the worst ever for the balance of that 1867 summer. June 20, 2003 Topic: The weather and climate for the Grand Excursion of 1854 Last Friday's TPT Almanac program highlighted the planned 150 year anniversary celebration of the Grand Excursion journey up the Mississippi River from the Quad Cities in Iowa to the Twin cities in Minnesota. The planned Grand Flotilla of steamboats will duplicate this historic journey from June 25 to July 5, 2004, with many associated events and celebrations. The original Grand Excursion took place from June 6-10 in 1854 as a promotional trip, touting the virtues of the northwestern territories. It was conceived by Henry Farnam, the builder of the Chicago and Rock Island railroad, the first railroad to extend to the upper Mississippi River Valley. According to the Galena Jeffersonian newspaper, the intent was "to make a thousand more or less, men of capital and influence acquainted with the enchanting beauty, the boundless resources.....of the Great West." President Millard Fillmore and over 1200 citizens, including politicians, artists, writers, reporters, and business leaders took the railroad from Chicago to Rock Island, Illinois, then boarded five steamboats to head up the river toward St Paul, Minnesota. The success of the Grand Excursion was enormous, as shortly afterward, the region attracted millions of investment dollars and thousands of immigrants. I think that the unusual weather and climate of early June in 1854 had a great deal to do with the success. Let's examine a little evidence as taken from the Ft Snelling weather observations, summarized by St Paul weather historians Charles Fisk and Tom St Martin..... The Spring of 1854 came early, with prairie fires noted in March, April and early May. Ice break-up on the Mississippi River started in March, with the last floes observed in early April. The combined April and May rainfall was nearly 7 inches causing a rise in the Mississippi River and probably eliminating riverboat pilot concerns about snags, sandbars, or shallow waters. The river valley landscape was abundantly green and lush by the time of the Grand Excursion departure on June 6th. Area strawberries were ripe and ready to pick by June 2nd, and during the week, weather observers noted that "all the common prairie flowers were in bloom." Just prior to the departure of the riverboats on June 6th, the weather had been unsettled with thunderstorms and three consecutive days with measurable rainfall. History notes that after a short, rainy stay in Dubuque, Iowa on the afternoon of the 6th (Tuesday), the steamboats set off for a night passage to La Crosse. A Canadian high pressure system settled in over night, bringing clear skies, calm winds, low dew points, and cool temperatures. Overnight lows on June 7th and 8th were close to 40 degrees F, too cold for mosquitoes and other insects to be very active. But, days were bright and sunny with highs in the 60s F. It is also noted that on Wednesday (June 7th), President Fillmore's daughter Mary Abigail borrowed a horse and rode to the top of the bluffs near Trempealeau, WI where she marveled at the magnificent views and waved her handkerchief to the steamboat passengers in the channel below. The steamboat pilots blew their whistles at her, the sound echoing across the river valley from bluff to bluff. The Grand Excursion arrived Wednesday night on Lake Pepin. Four of the boats were lashed together and proceeded across the lake as barge tows now do. The high pressure system provided a cool, calm, and beautiful night as the lights from the boats "danced and streamed on the waters." The low dew points and cool temperatures again likely prohibited much insect activity, while a nearly full June moon lit up the surrounding bluffs. It is noted that the night was spent in "dancing, music, and flirtations." The boats arrived earlier than expected in St Paul on Thursday, June 8th. The weather was still magnificent with morning lows in the 40s and highs in the mid to high 60s F. Passengers were treated to visits at St Anthony Falls, Minnehaha Falls, Fort Snelling and Fountain Cave, then a gala dinner and dance. The boats and passengers departed shortly after midnight on Friday, June 9th to return to Rock Island, arriving there on Saturday, June 10th. Again the weather on the return trip was perfect, though slightly warmer, with highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s F, under mostly clear skies. Journalists wrote wonderful stories of the beauty and majesty of the upper Mississippir River landscape, but probably did not realize they had traveled the river valley under the best weather conditions possible at that time of year. Temperatures were 10 to 12 degrees F cooler than normal with comfortably low dew points (keeping the insect activity to a minimum), light winds and beautifully clear skies under a nearly full moon (full on June 10th). The river was deep enough but not too fast flowing for easy navigation and the landscape was blanketed with lush vegetation and flowering plants. Had they stayed a bit longer in St Paul, they might have seen another side of the weather.....the Ft Snelling observer noted on June 15th that "the weather is awful hot these days (dew points in the high 60s to low 70s F with highs in the mid to upper 80s F)...only good for growing crops and mad dogs..." A severe storm on July 4th damaged trees and buildings in St Paul, a hamlet of only 6000 people back then. Nevertheless, the Grand Excursion did accomplish its purpose and there was an influx of money and people into the region. One such person was a pioneer named Ira O. Seeley who explored the Zumbro River in 1853 and settled in Wabasha County with his family in the fall of 1854, just months after the hoopla over the Grand Excursion. He founded the town of Mazeppa and was the first District 12 elected representative to the territorial and state legislature in 1857-58. He was my great-great grandfather. May 23, 2003 Topic: Weather trivia for the Memorial Holiday Day... Begun as Decoration Day (to decorate graves with flowers) with a declaration from General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic on May 30, 1868, this holiday began in honor of those who lost their lives fighting the Civil War. The end of May was good timing for the production of fresh flowers. Congressman John Garfield (later President Garfield) gave the first memorial address at Arlington National Cemetery on that date, as then President Andrew Johnson had just endured a Senate Impeachment hearing. From 1868 to 1971, May 30th was the designated Memorial Day, which over time became a holiday to honor all those who died in service to their country. Since 1971, the holiday has been designated to be the last Monday of May. Speeches, parades, picnics, and memorial services have become standard observances on this date. As such the weather of the day has been taken note of, especially when it has been decidedly uncomfortable or inhospitable for such outdoor activities. In Minnesota, Memorial Day weather has certainly on occasion left its mark. The very first holiday, May 30, 1868 was rainy. In fact, since that day 135 years ago, it has rained on 43 Memorial Days, a frequency of 32 percent of the time (about 1 out of 3 years). On Memorial Day of 1877 it rained cats and dogs, over 3 inches in the Twin Cities, probably washing away some of the flowers left in the local cemeteries. Again, on Memorial Day of 1917 it rained all day, totaling nearly 2 inches. The longest string of dry Memorial Days occurred from 1923 to 1936, 14 consecutive years. Conversely, from 1880 to 1883, and again from 1941 to 1944 the holiday was wet four consecutive years. Average high temperature on Memorial Day is in the low 70s F in the Twin Cities, with a morning low in the lower 50s F. Memorial Day of 1934 was 98 degrees F with a Heat Index value of 113 F, an all-time high for the holiday. Conversely, and as recently as 1992, Memorial Day saw cloudy, cool, and windy weather produce a very chilly day with highs only in the 40s F. May 16, 2003 MPR listener question: My grandmother was from the Iron Range. She used to tell us grandchildren a story that when she was a young girl they made a snowman in mid-May. Do you think that really happened or did she have the date wrong? Answer: It is probably true, and further I would speculate that it was this week (May 15-16) in 1929, 74 years ago! My answer is based on the fact that a strong late Spring storm system crossed the state back then and brought very cold polar air to produced a significant snowfall in northern Minnesota. Many places in north- central and northeastern Minnesota reported between 2 and 3 inches of snowfall with temperatures in the teens and twenties F. April 4, 2003 Topic: Anniversary of largest April snowfall...... Seventy years ago today, April 4, 1933 brought April's heaviest 24 hour snowfall to the state of Minnesota, when Pigeon River Bridge (the immigration station along the Canadian border in Cook County) measured an accumulation of 28 inches of snow. Combined with winter's leftover snow cover, this produced a snow depth of 3 feet, an amount that took until the end of the month to fully melt. Topic: Literary diversions of the old Crop/Weather Reports In the late 19th Century, the USDA and the Weather Bureau collaborated in producing a weekly crop-weather bulletin that unlike its modern counterpart offered a wide range of reading for the subscriber, including poetry, advertising, pearls of wisdom, recent agricultural research findings, crop conditions, and of course weather summaries. Some excerpts from the bulletin of April 15, 1896..... Little drops of water Freezing on the walk Makes the man who steps there Indulge in naughty talk The deep ground temperature outside Paris, France is a constant 53 degrees F, while that of Mammoth Cave in Kentucky is 54 F. The deep ground temperature in St Paul (at 43 feet) is 50 F. A second hand aneroid barometer used previously by the Weather Bureau is for sale....$10 with case.... A farmer says that he first met his wife in a storm, took her to their first ball in a storm, popped the big question in a storm, and has lived in a storm every since. There was an article on principles for establishing and maintaining rural cemetaries....and a 50-acre farm six miles west of Minneapolis was for sale at $50 cash. And finally, no agricultural field activity was reported as temperatures had been too cold....... January 3, 2003 Topic: 130th Anniversary of a famous Minnesota blizzard Next Tuesday, January 7th marks the 130th anniversary of the most lethal blizzard in Minnesota history. On an seemingly sunny, mild winter day, many Minnesotans were out and about running errands, visiting relatives, stocking up on supplies at town stores when a massive cloud system advancing rapidly out of the northwest in a squall line type fashion overwhelmed the Minnesota landscape with wind and snow. Temperatures dropped over 30 degrees F, with howling winds and blinding snow. Visibilities dropped to just a few feet. Snow piled in enormous drifts, burying cattle and farm homes, especially in southwestern Minnesota and northwestern Iowa. The storm raged on both the 7th and the 8th of January. St Paul reported a daily high of 30 F just before the storm on the 7th, but a high of only 5 degrees F on the 8th, followed by morning lows of -15 F and -16 F. Over 70 people died in Minnesota, many from exposure after being caught outdoors and getting lost. Some bodies were not discovered until the following spring. The telegraph lines used to transmit storm warnings by the relatively new Army Signal Corps Weather Service were all blown down across the region and railroad traffic was stopped for days by huge drifts of snow.