It is rare that I write two posts in two days, but I feel called to right now.
Evidently, there is still a "thing" out there that Northern Minnesota/Duluth is (or will be) relatively climate change-proof. All along, I've thought that this was a rather strange notion. This is one world, and the process of re-balancing and purifying what has gone amiss will happen all over the world, not just in certain places. I suppose what appealed to some people was the idea that historically, this part of the world has relatively cool summers. Perhaps it was hoped that winters would also become a little milder, making the area more livable.
Now, you'll have to find actual statistics elsewhere, but this winter's freakishness goes well beyond a little upward temperature nudging. Except for the ten days or so of traditional "frigid Duluth winter" back in January (which I wrote about), the period since November 1 has been exceptionally dry. We have had less than 20 inches of snow in total, of which there is basically nothing left on the ground. And we have had no rain. The grass is brown (we continue to get nights under freezing), crisp, and looks just "wrong", and is already a fire risk, in and out of the city. For the last six or seven weeks, daytime temperatures have often been 10, 20, even 30 degrees F above normal. When in a usual winter, the high for the day might have been 0 degrees, it has been 20 or 30. On and off over the last few weeks, when the normal might have been 20 degrees, it has been 40 or 50. This is not a slight rise in temperatures, this is exceptional.
Since the lake never froze, the water is nowhere near as cold as it might normally be, which means that the "cooler by the lake" effect will be diminished or nonexistent. With no significant precipitation falling, I assume Lake Superior water level will also be lower than usual, which has a host of domino effects.
I guess that's all I will say right now. We are a culture that seeks salvation; if any of us seek such relief by moving, at least we need to remember that we may be trading one climate extreme for another.
