Why we should listen to Katharine Hayhoe

The thundershowers forecast for this afternoon have begun. Some might consider the current downpouring a deluge. This morning we were about six inches below "normal" precipitation for the  year to date. Even with our drought, I hope we don't overcompensate and wipe out (wash out?) the deficit this afternoon.

more storms ahead

Photo by J. Harrington

The extended forecast on my smartphone shows no rain after today for more than the next week and temperatures are expected to climb back up into the upper 80's and low 90's. Typical summer weather except less rain and less frequent rain. And no one seems to have a good handle on what our Anthropocene climate is expected to deliver for weather events except that, overall, we can expect warmer, wetter weather BUT

Looking into the future, most climate models show at least a slight increase in projected annual precipitation across the state. Models also show stable or decreasing summer precipitation. That means that our hot summers will likely be drier, and our warmer winters will be snowier (or wetter).

These models probably don't reflect the fact that, as of this past February, “Climate Commitments Not On Track to Meet Paris Agreement Goals” as NDC Synthesis Report is Published. Nor are they likely to reflect that Climate Change: Even Worse Than We Thought -- Things to get very gnarly by 2040, IPCC writes. These reports compound the implications of Minnesota's continuing failure to meet its own goals for reducing greenhouse gases.

If this has your attention, and you want to know the most important thing you can do to fight climate change, to help create a better future for all of us, follow this link and listen to what Katharine Hayhoe has to say. "Her efforts to engage with communities who are cautious, doubtful, or even disengaged when it comes to climate change have led to her being named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People and a UN Champion of the Earth, and receiving the American Geophysical Union’s Climate Communication Prize and the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award."

Travelling Storm

Mark Van Doren - 1894-1972

The sky, above us here, is open again. 
The sun comes hotter, and the shingles steam. 
The trees are done with dripping, and the hens
Bustle among bright pools to pick and drink. . . . 
But east and south are black with speeding storm. 
That thunder, low and far, remembering nothing,
Gathers a new world under it and growls, 
Worries, strikes, and is gone.  Children at windows 
Cry at the rain, it pours so heavily down,
Drifting across the yard till the sheds are grey. . . . 
A county father on, the wind is all—
A swift dark wind that turns the maples pale, 
Ruffles the hay, and spreads the swallows’ wings. 
Horses, suddenly restless, are unhitched,
And men, with glances upward, hurry in; 
Their overalls blow full and cool; they shout;
Soon they will lie in barns and laugh at the lightning. . . . 
Another county yet, and the sky is still; 
The air is fainting; women sit with fans
And wonder when a rain will come that way. 

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