going....going.... (GeoSphere/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Shrinking Snow Cover. Thursday afternoon's GOES visible image shows where snow is still on the ground. I'm struck by an almost total lack of snow for much of central and northern Minnesota and Wisconsin.
This map depicts where there is a greater than 50% chance of drought persistence, development, or improvement based on short- and long-range statistical and dynamical forecasts during March 18 through June 30, 2021. (NOAA Drought.gov/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Drought Outlook. NOAA predicts drought conditions will persist and expand across much of the western US and High Plains: "Nearly one-half of the country — stretching from the Pacific Coast to the Great Plains and upper Midwest — is currently experiencing moderate to exceptional drought conditions, and that is expected to continue and expand, according to NOAA's U.S. Spring Outlook released today. Drier conditions in the Southwest U.S. associated with La Niña and the failed 2020 summer monsoon have been contributing factors to the development and intensification of what represents the most significant U.S. spring drought since 2013, which will impact approximately 74 million people..."
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Government Interventions, Rather Than Climate Conditions, Primarily Curb COVID-10's Spread, NOAA and International Team Say. Here's an excerpt from a press release by NOAA CPO: "Since the beginning of the pandemic, scientists and the public have speculated that, as with cold-causing viruses, meteorological factors like warm or cold weather may influence the spread of COVID-19. Now a new report cautions that weather and climate conditions, including the onset of higher temperatures during spring, should not be used as a trigger to relax COVID-19 transmission reduction measures. The report is the first from a World Meteorological Organization COVID-19 Task Team—composed of 16 experts from NOAA's Climate Program Office and other meteorological services around the world—assessing whether meteorological and air quality factors affect the pandemic. Government interventions, such as mask mandates and travel restrictions, rather than meteorological factors appear to have primarily influenced COVID-19's spread in 2020 and early 2021, according to the Task Team. Other relevant drivers include changes in human behavior and demographics of affected populations, and more recently, virus mutations..."
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Too Nice for Bugs. We get to enjoy bright sunshine, without the humidity, bugs or allergies. I'm OK with 50s and low 60s in March, before spring green-up, and everything that comes with it.
ECMWF Temperatures for MSP (weatherbell.com/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
GFS Temperatures for MSP (weatherbell.com/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
A touch of April. ECMWF (top) is more aggressive with warm blips and cold corrections in the days to come. By the way, the European model is printing out accumulating snow for Wednesday of next week. Too early for details. Just saying...
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Echoes of Winter. It would be premature to write off cold fronts in the coming weeks. Nothing polar, no more subzero weather is imminent, but a few more days in the 30s with slush? Yes.