https://grist.org/culture/the-midwest-defined-itself-by-its-winters-what-happens-when-they-disappear/
 

Say goodbye to your winters in the Midwest.  
 

Queue the climate change deniers is 3, 2, 1…. 

38 minutes ago, AK440 said:

Gee, wow, Lake Superior water temps have increased over 3°C over the past 100 years. Ice cover has decreased. @Not greg b is an idiot. 
 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262138032_A_Century_of_Temperature_Variability_in_Lake_Superior

Have you considered taking up e-biking?

On 7/12/2024 at 8:02 PM, X2700 said:

Maybe first 90 in twin cities this weekend.

cool summer so far!!

 

Latest first 90° high at MSP since 1967.

1 hour ago, Sled_Hed said:

Latest first 90° high at MSP since 1967.

Better sell your ocean front property 

7 hours ago, racinfarmer said:

Have you considered taking up e-biking?

Don’t be resistant to electric automobiles and powersports toys when that becomes the norm due to emissions regulations. 

1 hour ago, Sled_Hed said:

Latest first 90° high at MSP since 1967.

Sounds like it is warmer here....if you are fucking stupid.

13 hours ago, Sled_Hed said:

Latest first 90° high at MSP since 1967.

Sans 1993 when it never hit 90 at MSP.

5 minutes ago, Mag6240 said:

Sans 1993 when it never hit 90 at MSP.

Apparently NWS edited their post after I saw that yesterday. 

Either way, message is the same.  It isn't warmer...

6 hours ago, Sled_Hed said:

Apparently NWS edited their post after I saw that yesterday. 

Ok you can now keep your ocean front property 

The future of the Midwest: 

https://minnesotareformer.com/2023/11/16/federal-report-forecasts-the-midwests-climate-future/

More ticks. More mosquitos. Less snowmobiling and ice fishing.

Those are just a few of the climate impacts facing Midwestern states in the coming decades, according to the just-released Fifth National Climate Assessment.

The massive, congressionally-mandated report is released roughly every five years in an attempt to track how climate change is affecting the United States, and what policymakers can do to address the issue. 

In addition to national trends, the report also summarizes findings for each U.S. census region. Here are the assessment’s five main takeaways for the Midwest.

Major disruptions to agriculture are coming

The Midwest produces roughly one third of the world’s corn and soybeans, and increasingly erratic weather patterns are going to make that more difficult. The growing season is getting longer, summers are getting hotter, and precipitation is becoming more volatile, with rapid cycling between extreme wet and dry conditions.

Milder winters are allowing various agricultural pests (stink bugs, corn earworms, etc.) to make their way northward, putting further pressure on growers.

But the report credits farmers and policymakers for taking proactive steps to address these problems. Practices like cover crops, no-till farming, and more precise application of fertilizers can help smooth out some climate-driven volatility, making boom and bust cycles less severe. But farmers may have to settle for reduced yields, and reduced profits, as a trade-off.

Ecosystems are degrading

The natural environment is also responding to the changing climate, often for the worse. On land, some cold-adapted species like moose and the monarch butterfly are fighting for survival as warm weather invaders move in. Wildfires are becoming more common, fouling the air and altering the landscape.

Flooding and droughts, meanwhile, are stressing aquatic ecosystems. Popular species like walleye and trout are, in some cases, becoming more scarce as a result. Winter ice cover is diminishing, reducing opportunities for ice fishing and other recreational pursuits. As temperatures rise and ice weakens, winter drownings are becoming more common.

Greater risks to public health

A warming climate is expected to worsen air quality in the Midwest. Higher temperatures mean more production of ground-level ozone, which causes various respiratory problems. A hotter climate also means more wildfiresand more smoke pollution. Extreme heat events will lead to death and hospitalization.

But there will be smaller effects too. Warmer spring and fall temperatures mean more pollen and more intense allergy seasons. Oak pollen alone could drive a 7% increase in asthma-related ER visits by 2050, according to the report. Heavier precipitation events will lead to major floods like the Red River flood of 1997, as well as smaller more localized events that cost time and energy to manage.

Warmer winters mean more ticks and all the illnesses they harbor. Already, Lyme disease incidence across the Midwest has increased roughly fivefold since 2000. Mosquito-borne illnesses like West Nile virus, Zika and others may become more common.

More infrastructure headaches

Changes in temperature and precipitation will place more stress on roads, bridges, dams, power grids and other pieces of vital infrastructure. Increased or decreased river flow on the Mississippi, for instance, will lessen the number of transport ships able to travel on it. “Without coordinated adjustments to monitoring, water releases, and communications along the river, significant disruptions to traffic flow and volume of goods transported are expected,” the report warns.

High temperatures reduce power line carrying capacity at the same time demand for air conditioning increases, raising the odds of grid failures.

Messier hydrology

Total annual precipitation is expected to keep rising across the Midwest, according to the report. But it will come concentrated in major flooding events interspersed with periods of drought. More will fall as rain and less as snow, with predictable consequences for ski resorts, snowmobile manufacturers, and other parts of the winter recreation industry.

The average summer surface water temperature on Lake Superior has already increased by about 5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1980, according to the report. The implications for the overall ecology of the lake are unknown.

 

Another day, and more of Alaskan Karen wishing for something that won't happen.  The only guarantees in his life are more bottles of wiper fluid or antifreeze, and continued conjugal visits to his buddy Frankie

Love how he believes rhetoric based on faith instead of science.

If this is climate change based on one year to the next, this has been an absolute GLORIOUS summer compared to last year!  Keep it coming!!

8 hours ago, Bontz said:

Another day, and more of Alaskan Karen wishing for something that won't happen.  The only guarantees in his life are more bottles of wiper fluid or antifreeze, and continued conjugal visits to his buddy Frankie

It’s happening right now dumbass. 

8 hours ago, Deephaven said:

Love how he believes rhetoric based on faith instead of science.

Faith? You’re too stupid to come up with anything that refutes climate change. 

Dumbass - where have you been the past umpteen years, preaching your climate change cult beliefs?  It took a record year of warmth, which followed multiple years of very good winters, for you to jump on the bandwagon.  As if climate change suddenly kicked in, after one year   It's Armageddon!!  You are a complete moron who's gut hooked by a bunch of money grubbing cultists who think we're dealing with an existential threat.

Here's a hint ... if the money went away, so would your leaders of the climate change cult.  Even a moron like you should be able to recognize that.

4 hours ago, AK440 said:

It’s happening right now dumbass. 

Faith? You’re too stupid to come up with anything that refutes climate change. 

I didn't make the claim it was changing, you did.  The burden of proof is on you.  Real easy to prove you wrong though.  Tell us what about the climate is changing and I'll refute it.  

15 minutes ago, Deephaven said:

I didn't make the claim it was changing, you did.  The burden of proof is on you.  Real easy to prove you wrong though.  Tell us what about the climate is changing and I'll refute it.  

 I couldn’t give a shit less what your opinion is. You never back up anything you write with facts or sources.

You are the one with a fucked opinion, I bring facts but you are scared of them.

32 minutes ago, Deephaven said:

You are the one with a fucked opinion, I bring facts but you are scared of them.

Like the fact that it is colder this year.   You keep promising the opposite, but not what is happening.

But but but!  Glue boy says we will never get to snowmobile again and rejoices since he doesn't have a sled and lives in a state with such bad snow that they have 300 pathetic miles of trail 

I hear sea turtles gave up cocain so plastic straws aren’t an issue any more 

If only Alaskan Karen lived closer!!

8 hours ago, Sled_Hed said:

1979 was not that hot so this just proves global warming is real!