On this edition of Climate Cast, Paul Huttner talks with Jennifer Francis, a climate scientist with the Woodwell Climate Research Center, about drought and it’s connection to climate change. Can you say jet stream?
Dry conditions in 2020 set up a scenario for a major drought in Minnesota during 2021, as persistent moisture deficits combined with above-normal temperatures across the state. Some areas saw the most severe drought situations in 40 years. By mid-August, 8% of the state was designated in Exceptional Drought, and an additional 42% of the state was in Extreme Drought.