yup. snow.

[mellowtigger]

For 3 days last week, every time I checked, the temperature in Minneapolis MN was higher than in Austin TX. After historic hot temperatures here (we've never had a heat wave like that in April), we have snow this morning. We went from 31C/88F to -1C/31F in half of a week. The predicted snow accumulation by now didn't happen (it'll hit Wisconsin instead of Minnesota), but we still have some light continuous snowfall predicted here until 9pm this evening.

In related news, the river surges are finally happening, but cities seem to think they are prepared for flooding this time. Scroll down this page to look at the "Minnesota River at Morton" time-lapse video to see a surge happen. Here are some nice photos of the thaw of Bde Maka Ska, a lake in a nice part of Minneapolis near downtown, taken by a local photographer.

I brought all of my sprouts indoors from the patio last night. They'll have to survive a few days with me trying to watch the temperature and put them back at the porch window only when the temperature is above freezing outside, which will be inconsistent this week.

Not to turn this into a Moody Monday post, but this April heat wave happened even before we reach official El Niño conditions. This, after last month was the 2nd warmest March globally, and the obvious trend for this summer is hot. We may reach 1.5C global warming in 2024 when El Niño finally arrives later this year. Don't even get me started on east coast USA and European climate when ocean circulation (YouTube explanation) changes.