Global Warming in Minnesota

IT'S WARMER, ESPECIALLY IN WINTER

The average global temperature has risen about 1½ degrees in the past century. In Minnesota, the average temperature has risen about 2 degrees in the past century. Parts of northern Minnesota have warmed nearly 3 degrees, according to the National Climatic Data Center.

Mostly, the warming has taken place in winter, not summer heat waves, said University of Minnesota climate scientist Peter Snyder. Think about the record-setting March heat in 2012.

"The wintertime signal is the most robust in the data record, particularly as you go north. Northern Minnesota is definitely bearing the brunt of that warming," he said.

One possible explanation for that, he said, is that snow and ice normally cover northern climates like Minnesota in the winter, acting like a mirror to reflect the sun's rays.

"When it's warming, you can get less snow, and the fact that you have less snow, uncovers the surface below it, which might be less reflective, and that causes additional warming, which melts more snow and it goes around and around," Snyder said.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/3669232-climate-change-minnesota-more-heat-more-big-storms