Pine River speaker: Highways and allergies show signs of changing climate - Pine and Lakes Echo Journal

Pine River speaker: Highways and allergies show signs of changing climate - Pine and Lakes Echo Journal | News, weather, sports from Pequot Lakes Minnesota

Pine River speaker: Highways and allergies show signs of changing climate

Mark Seeley will give a presentation at the Feb. 17 Back to Basics event in Pine River, talking about observable signs of climate change.

PINE RIVER— Have you ever noticed how roads and highways don't last like they used to? How allergy seasons never seem to end? How the number of fruit and nut trees available to local greenhouses is growing?

Those are topics that Back to Basics keynote speaker Mark Seeley will talk about Saturday, Feb. 17, in Pine River.

Seeley, a meteorologist and climatologist, has been studying the changing climate in Minnesota since he started as a professor and extension educator at the University of Minnesota in 1978.

He retired in 2018, and he remains a respected expert in the state.

Seeley realizes that different people respond differently to different types of evidence, which is how he came up with "Climate Change in Our Own Backyards."

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"I found that engineers and scientists tend to grasp the data and the message behind the data," Seeley said. "For the public, the message resonates through what their own observations are and how they dovetail with the effects of climate change.

So, how is it affecting the availability of irrigation water? Or how it is affecting lake water levels? Or how it's affecting their health and other things," he said.

Seeley tends to research his likely audience before events so he can provide a presentation that is specifically made for those he is speaking to.

At Back to Basics, he plans to provide examples that virtually every Minnesotan can observe for themselves. For example, he will talk about the impact of climate change on public health."All of the medical facilities and researchers in the state of Minnesota have quantified and talked about the impact of an extended mold and allergy season," Seeley said.

Allergy seasons that once stopped in October or November are now continuing to plague sufferers well into December, he said.

Seeley will also discuss transportation insfrastructure.

"Winter has warmed so remarkably, we now have about five times more freeze and thaw cycles in the winter than we used to have," he said.

Seeley said it was once common for the temperature to drop below freezing and stay there throughout much of the winter. In recent years, the temperature may have several extreme ups and downs throughout the year, causing more ice heaves and erosion damage to roads.

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Finally, Seeley will address agriculture.

"We've seen an expansion of the plant hardiness zones in the state of Minnesota," he said. "Now you can grow a wider variety of crops than you used to because zones four and five have expanded."

For farmers, that might mean being able to grow hybrids that mature in 115 days instead of 105. Though more favorable hardiness zones may seem positive, it also acts as a precursor to bigger issues. Wet and dry spells are more extreme.
I never would have expected to have a heat index in Minnesota of 134 degrees, or a straight-line windstorm of 130 miles per hour, or 114 tornadoes in one year or even a blizzard warning and tornado warning at the same moment in time and the same area of the state

When it rains, it might rain more during one storm than is traditional, even as much as 15 inches in one day. But when it is dry, it is very dry and sometimes very hot.

"I never would have expected to have a heat index in Minnesota of 134 degrees, or a straight-line windstorm of 130 miles per hour, or 114 tornadoes in one year or even a blizzard warning and tornado warning at the same moment in time and the same area of the state," Seeley said.

"There are a number of things I've observed in my own lifetime in Minnesota that have totally astonished me that are of an extreme nature," he said.

These changes push farmers to adapt and use different irrigation and drainage systems to ensure they can plant on time in the spring with less concern of excess moisture.

Now in the winter of 2023-2024, it is impossible not to discuss the impact of changing climate on recreation.

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"When I moved to Minnesota in the 1970s, the presence of snow on the landscape from November through March was sufficient and of a long enough duration; and the frozen ponds and lakes in Minnesota were of a long enough duration that you could consistently and reliably plan your winter outdoor recreation," Seeley said, "whether that be ice fishing, ice skating, snowshoeing, skiing or any number of things.

"In the southern half of Minnesota, the traditional snow season has become too intermittent for many Minnesota citizens to plan events and activities reliably," he said.

As a result, more southern Minnesota residents have been planning their winter recreation in central to northern Minnesota. However, unpredictable weather has also impacted the northern parts of the state.

That issue most recently resulted in a new model for the Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza just for the 2024 event, as well as modifications to other traditional winter events in the area.

Seeley hopes to present a broad view of these phenomena as well as data so that Back to Basics attendees may be able to review more than one type of evidence that he thinks should be enough to make a strong case for climate change.

"We have yet to experience all the real extremes that climate change can deliver," he said.

Seeley's work can be viewed in several places. He wrote the second edition of the "Minnesota Weather Almanac" and he writes the weekly "Minnesota Weather Talk Blog" on the University of Minnesota Extension website.

Seeley can be heard on Minnesota Public Radio every Friday. Finally, Seeley writes a monthly column for "Minnesota Farmer Magazine."

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He also recommends a book by his colleague, "The Climate Action Handbook," which may relate to the topics he will address in the Feb. 17 presentation.

Seeley's keynote address at Back to Basics is open to the public, as is the vendor fair located in the Pine River-Backus School commons area.

Back to Basics also features various workshops and speakers throughout the day available with registration. Space is limited. For more information, visit happydancing.org/back-to-basics.

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