Climate Cast

Climate change has amplified the hydrologic cycle in Minnesota. Our more erratic precipitation patterns are driving faster transitions from drought to floods. So, can AI-driven forecasts help predict floods on rivers like the Mississippi? “We need to make innovations in these sorts of models and in our flood forecasting in general,” said Zac McEachran, a research hydrologist from the University of...

Weather data suggests Minnesota has warmed more than three degrees in the past 150 years, and the state’s winters have warmed more than five degrees since 1970. So how are Minnesotans seeing and feeling these climate changes? “Here in Minnesota, we are experiencing climate change predominantly in the winter,” said Kristoffer Tigue, a reporter for the Minnesota Star Tribune. “We base a lot of our c...

Minnesota winters are not what they used to be. The bone-chilling season has warmed more than 5 degrees on average since 1970. Those warmer temps have contributed to another weather phenomenon: more snow — even if it doesn’t seem that way. How do we explain that paradox? Climatologist Kenneth Blumenfeld tracks snowfall trends for the Minnesota State Climate Office. He explained the connection betw...

Minnesota has a goal to move toward 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2040. That will have significant impacts on certain parts of the state where coal plays a major part in the economy — like Itasca County. So, how are people in this part of northern Minnesota adapting? Itasca County Commissioner John Johnson spoke about how the county is planning for the transition. Click play on the audio...

It was another beautiful fall color season in Minnesota, and we know seasonal temperature change is what drives our fall color show. But did you know those trees can react to more subtle microclimates around the state and even within your yard? Tyler Hesseltine is an arborist who works with trees all year long. He talked to Climate Cast host Paul Huttner about how even small landscaping decisions...

Minnesota may be a long way from the ocean, but we have great seafood options. So, how can we choose and prepare seafood that’s delicious and climate sustainable? A new cookbook called “The Blue Food Cookbook: Delicious Seafood Recipes for a Sustainable Future” has some ideas. Minnesota native and four-time James Beard award-winning chef Andrew Zimmern co-wrote the book with seafood expert Barton...

How should Minnesota approach climate change action in the years to come? Minnesotans can have a voice in that process by commenting on the state's latest proposed Climate Action Framework , a comprehensive plan laying out steps Minnesota should take to address climate change and reach a carbon-free future. The last framework was released in 2022 and established a statewide target to reach carbon...

Almost 15 million acres in the Midwest grow corn on the same land year after year. That’s about 20 percent of all Midwest cropland. Growing corn in this way produces more greenhouse gas emissions than crop rotation because it releases more nitrous oxide — a greenhouse gas 300 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. That’s according to a new report from the Environmental Working Group. But cost-ef...

Seasonal migration is underway, and Minnesota's landscape is playing an important role in guiding birds down south. But milder winters across the state can impact the migration process, as well as disrupt food availability and breeding opportunities. “This [is] what we call migratory connectivity,” said Lynn Schofield, a biology instructor and staff biologist at St. Olaf College, “which is to conn...

Federal tax credits for solar projects are expiring at the end of this year, and some smaller towns in rural Minnesota have tapped into the benefits. For Climate Cast this week, MPR News meteorologist Paul Huttner talks to Minnesota Star Tribune reporter Kristoffer Tigue about the skepticism around solar power that many small and local governments had adopted over the years and the economic benefi...

Minnesota continues to bask in warmer temperatures, blurring our seasons together. “If you break it up month by month, the biggest change we've seen is Septembers,” said Pete Boulay, assistant state climatologist with the Minnesota State Climate Office. “September is evolving into an extension of summer.” Average temperatures for the fall season have been warming up about one degree a decade since...

New research  indicates warmer oceans may change ocean currents and atmospheric patterns in a big way. In this episode of Climate Cast, MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner continues his conversation with  John Abraham  of the University of St. Thomas about shifting currents in the Atlantic Ocean and the importance of measuring ocean temperatures.

Climate scientists have known about connections between oceans and the atmosphere for decades, but new research indicates warmer oceans may change ocean currents and atmospheric patterns in a big way. MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner talked with John Abraham of the University of St. Thomas about shifting ocean currents in the Atlantic Ocean. The following has been lightly edited for clari...

The jet stream, a fast-moving river of air thousands feet above Earth, steers storms and weather systems around the globe. Scientists have been studying how climate changes impact the jet stream for decades. Now, one study in the scientific journal Nature , discovered a jet stream behavior change. “The jet streams are shifting,” said Larry Di Girolamo , professor and climate researcher with the Un...

Summer is in its waning weeks and weather at the Great Minnesota Get-Together has been fair — for the most part.  MPR News meteorologists Paul Huttner, Sven Sunggard and Mandy Thalhuber hosted their annual Climate Cast conversation in front of an audience at the Minnesota State Fair.  Together, they reflected on weather patterns from all four seasons. Audience members shared their questions, too,...

Fireflies across the U.S. have seen a robust surge in growth this summer in part to a wetter weather pattern. But those fiery little critters — which some call lightning bugs — might be in a steady decline. “Insect populations are known to vary from year to year,” said Eric Berger , a freelance journalist for The Guardian. “A one-year increase is not enough to indicate that there has been a revers...

The smoky summer of 2025 has produced a near record number of air quality alerts for Minnesota. Most of this summer smoke has drifted in from these massive Canadian wildfires where more than 16 million acres of forest has burned in Canada this year. MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner talked with Matthew Taraldsen, a meteorologist with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), about poo...

The Trump Administration has claimed that greenhouse gases don’t endanger people . And last month, the Environmental Protection Agency said it intends to rescind a landmark 2009 legal opinion — effectively ending all its climate regulations. This all comes on the cusp of a rapidly-warming planet fueling extreme weather events. A hotter planet poses an existential crisis on multiple fronts, said Al...

Despite efforts from some governments to slowly pull away from climate regulations and actions, one writer discovered a climate revolution through a combination of technology, science and community. “I was looking for our realistic hopes, when we're standing at an existential brink,” said Alan Weisman, author of “ Hope Dies Last: Visionary People Across the World, Fighting to Find Us a Future. ” “...

Minnesota’s clear, cool lakes are heating up over the summer, and those warmer waters can produce a toxic agal bloom. “Blue-green algae is bacteria,” said Kim Laing, a surface monitoring manager with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. “It often looks like pea soup [or] green paint; sometimes it might have a smell to it. It thrives in warm, shallow, nutrient-rich lakes.” Water that’s warmer th...

President Donald Trump’s massive budget bill eliminates tax credits and incentives for small and large scale solar and wind projects in Minnesota. It’s also projected to increase electricity bills across the state. The clean energy industry in Minnesota is now trying to figure out a new path forward in the wake of the massive federal budget bill where credits will dry up at the end of the year. “T...

Will Minnesota become a climate refuge for business? A survey conducted by MIT Technology Review Insights, in conjunction with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, asked 300 senior level executives in 14 industries how climate change is impacting their company’s bottom line. The overwhelming answer was that many companies have been harmed, to some degree, by climate change. And nearly ha...

An increase in water vapor in the atmosphere is driving more extreme weather around the world. How is that playing out here in Minnesota? John Abraham, thermal sciences professor and mechanical engineering program director at University of St. Thomas, shared more about the little-known but growing climate concern. To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to...

This week brought another significant tornado outbreak to parts of Minnesota. Downtowns for the Twin Cities, Rochester and Duluth were spared from any storm damage, but are cities safer from tornadoes than rural parts of Minnesota? Does the urban heat island effect spare urban residents from a tornado tearing through their cities? “The urban heat island probably would not save you if the storm wer...

Electric vehicle use in Minnesota boomed over the past decade due to the popular fleet of Tesla vehicles driving into the market. However, the Q1 auto sales report from earlier this year, showed a drop in sales for Tesla’s EVs. The indication that there might be a slowing popularity for the brand had some experts blame the company’s CEO Elon Musk and his relationship with American politics. Even G...