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Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News
Paul Huttner

Hard freeze up north; national parks already showing dramatic climate impacts

Go Deeper.

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I'll start with weather. Then I'll move on to some interesting climate stories.

Hard freeze up north

The season's coldest air mass pours south into Minnesota Friday. By Saturday morning, a hard freeze takes hold in much of northern Minnesota. Temperatures plunge into the 20s across northern Minnesota and Wisconsin by Saturday morning.

9 27 dlh

Frosty south

Southern Minnesota flirts with the freezing mark Saturday morning. I still think the inner Twin Cities metro core will escape freezing temperatures Saturday. But patchy frost is possible across most of southern Minnesota.

Throw a sheet over those summer annuals just in case.

9 27 msp3

We'll see a mix of sun and clouds this weekend, with a few spotty rain showers possible Saturday night or Sunday.

Temps recover next week

Southerly winds boost temperatures next Tuesday and Wednesday. Models still differ on the magnitude of the warmup. But mid to upper 60s seem reasonable for the Twin Cities. If we make it through Saturday there is little threat of frost in the Twin Cities next week. Your favorite Supertunias may last another week.

9 27 www
NOAA via Weather Bell.

Snow getting closer

I always watch the Black Hills this time of year for early snowfalls. Here we go.

Milder in October

There are some indications that the upper-air pattern may evolve into a milder phase by the second week in October. I don't think we're heading into the cold zone permanently just yet.

9 27 500
NOAA

National Parks already seeing climate impacts

Many of our most beautiful national parks are in climate-sensitive zones. I've written about my first-hand observations on some of our national parks like Yellowstone and the changes I saw in the Black Hills.

Yellowstone Black Hills deforested hillside
Black Hills deforested hillside. Image via Paul Huttner/MPR News.

The tree loss attributable to climate change in the American West is staggering.

Black Hills pine beetle

An eye-opening study this week shows that national parks are warming twice as fast as the nation as a whole.

Threat and opportunity

Most people can see that climate change poses serious threats. Bright minds that think about our technological transitions can see that climate change is a huge economic opportunity. Some can already see that climate solutions are the next economic moon-shot opportunity.

Denmark is building a project that will bring together some forward thinking idea on climate solutions and opportunities. It's called the Climatorium.

1290-klimatorium-Lemvig-Water-view-Horizontal
Climatorium. Image via 3XN.

Renewable energy job boom continues 

Jobs in renewable energy continue to grow in the U.S. A full 25-percent of Minnesota's electricity in 2017 was generated by renewables. Climate Central elaborates on the trend.