Weather perfection today; ‘Tonka ice-out is 6th earliest
Welcome to another unusually warm late March day in Minnesota.
Get set for another day of sunshine and temperatures 10 to 15 degrees warmer than average. Lazy high pressure loiters overhead today. The resulting sun and light winds will make this feel like one of the nicest days so far this early spring. That is unless you're a snow enthusiast.
Southern showers Wednesday night
Southern Minnesota gets clipped by some light rain showers Wednesday and Wednesday night as low pressure brings another soaking to Iowa. A few light showers or sprinkles may clip the Twin Cities Wednesday night. We return to sunshine by Friday.
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Back to the 50s
Today's 60s look like the warmest day until at least this weekend. We cool a bit in the wake of tomorrow's system, but temps approach 60 again by Sunday and Monday. Note the likelihood of above freezing temps even at night in the inner metro (Interstate 494-Interstate 694 loop) core over the next several days, and probably through next week.
Even warmer days ahead?
Looking ahead on the maps into early April, the jet stream still shows signs of a major shift north in early April.
If the upper air map above verifies, it will get noticeably warmer around here by the weekend of April 8-9. Could our first 70 degree days of 2017 be in sight?
NOAA's experimental three- to four-week temperature guidance favors warmer than average temps through mid-April.
'Tonka ice-out occurred Monday
Lake Minnetonka finally gave up her stubborn sheet of sketchy ice Monday.
This marks the sixth earliest ice-out on record, according to the Freshwater Society.
The lake went out a full 18 days earlier than the median date of April 14.
Lake Minnetonka is the largest lake in the Twin Cities metro area, and the ninth largest in Minnesota.
Network climate change coverage tanks in 2016
Here's another reason I'm so glad we air Climate Cast on MPR News every week.
More on the lack of network news coverage on climate change from HuffPost.
Despite being packed with record-breaking weather events, 2016 saw a significant drop in broadcast news coverage of climate change, according to a study released Thursday.
The collective coverage of climate change on ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox News Sunday in 2016 was only a third of what it was in 2015, according to the nonprofit watchdog Media Matters. The year’s coverage of climate change was the least since 2011, the study found.
Media Matters broke down the coverage on Sunday shows and nightly news shows, which Fox News does not have. Overall, climate change coverage on the networks dropped from a combined 146 minutes in 2015 to just 50 in 2016, with none of the networks showing an increase. ABC, with just six minutes of coverage, took the title for least air time on the subject. NBC had the biggest decrease, from 50 minutes in 2015 to 10 minutes last year. The dip is not for a lack of climate change news. Last year was bursting with events linked to global temperature rise, including the announcement of 2015 being the hottest year on record, three “1-in-1,000-year floods,” the devastating Hurricane Matthew, a record-breaking coral die-off at the Great Barrier Reef, and findings that average global CO2 levels had surpassed 400 parts per million for the first time. There was also the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement and ample opportunity to correct false climate claims made on the 2016 presidential campaign trail.
ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox News Sunday did not air a single segment “informing viewers of what to expect on climate change and climate-related policies or issues under a Trump or Clinton administration,” Media Matters pointed out.
Antarctic ice chunk lets loose https://twitter.com/ClimateCentral/status/846594456266657792 Great Barrier Reef in trouble https://twitter.com/ClimateCentral/status/846576606684614656 Trump executive order impacts https://twitter.com/blkahn/status/846559080374288384 https://twitter.com/ClimateDesk/status/846718770450173952 Join me for a special hourlong edition of Climate Cast Wednesday at 9 a.m. on MPR News stations.