Minnesota
Allergies and climate: Pollen in Minnesota comes earlier with warmer temperatures
Minnesota is now in peak tree pollen season. If you feel like your allergies have gotten worse in recent years, you are not alone. Studies have linked warming temperatures to longer and more intense pollen seasons in the U.S. And in greenhouse studies, higher concentrations of carbon dioxide have also been found to lead to more pollen production.
Indeed, according to a quick analysis of local data, higher temperatures in March and April do correlate with the tree pollen season starting sooner right here in Minnesota.
Between 1993 and 2020, the years for which data is available, the earliest the tree pollen season began was March 12. That was in 2016 when the average low temperature in March and April was 36 degrees — around five degrees above average.
The latest date a tree pollen season started was nearly seven weeks later on April 29. The average low temperature in March and April that year, 2013, was around 26 degrees — about five degrees below average.
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Making matters worse for allergy sufferers, at least according to national studies, pollen season is both starting earlier and lasting longer. Locally, average low temperatures in March and April increased by around three degrees from 1993 to 2020.
While the length of the tree pollen season varied considerably over that same period, from 28 days in 2018 to 113 days in 2011, the overall trajectory according to our analysis was an increase of five days over the 26 years.
Notably, the earlier onset of warmer temperatures isn’t the only factor affecting plant growth and pollen season length. Precipitation as well as temperature changes after pollen season begins can also impact the season’s length.
Local tree pollen data has not been available for the past few years, according to reporting from KSTP. Pollen forecasts available through many weather apps are modeled from weather and climate data.
But we do know that, so far, this spring is off to a relatively warm start, with an average daily low temperature in March and April of 34 degrees (three degrees above the recent average).
Looking at years with similar average low temperatures in the past, we might predict that tree pollen season started sometime during the first couple weeks of April.
Unfortunately for allergy sufferers, it will probably continue for at least a couple more weeks. The earliest that tree pollen season has ended in the past quarter-century was May 14 in 1998. That year, grass pollen season started one week later.
Influenza drops decisively, RSV remains low
Influenza hospitalizations in Minnesota dropped again in the most recent weeks’ worth of data, closing any suspicions that the state’s lingering flu season might never come to an end.
The Minnesota Department of Health’s latest data show that hospital admission rates due to the flu are not as low as they are for respiratory syncytial virus, but they appear headed in that direction.
U.S. COVID-19 Hospitalizations reach lowest numbers since pandemic’s start
The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy’s latest “Osterholm Update” podcast reports that U.S. hospitalizations for COVID-19 are now at the lowest point in the pandemic, even lower than last summer.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is no longer requiring hospitals to report COVID-19 admissions as of May 1.
Ending the reporting requirement may further cloud our ability to detect possible future changes in COVID-19 activity. For example, new COVID-19 variants are once again on the rise, with the recently dominant JN.1 now giving way to so-called “FLiRT” variants such as KP.2 and KP1.1.
It is unclear whether these newer strains, which the CDC now estimates as comprising one-third of the COVID-19 in circulation nationally, will result in an uptick in hospitalizations. But the new reporting rule will make it more difficult to tell.
We asked officials at the Minnesota Department of Health whether that change would impact COVID tracking here, and they indicated “we will continue to receive and report the information on our website related to [COVID-19] Hospitalization Trends, Hospitalization Rate by County of Residence, and Demographics (Age Groups, Sex, Race/Ethnicity).
What will discontinue is data on hospital capacity (currently COVID-19 and Non-COVID-19 Hospitalizations, Overall Beds Available and Beds Available Over Time).”
Wastewater monitoring remains another important source of COVID-19 monitoring, and the latest data out of the University of Minnesota’s on-going Wastewater Surveillance Study shows more good news: COVID-19 levels are down statewide over the most recent week, including drops in all seven of the study’s regions.
Measles: Continued global and U.S. spread, but nothing new here in Minnesota
The Minnesota Department of Health has not reported any new cases of measles in the state since the third case this year was reported back in February.
Nationally, however, the CDC is reporting seven new cases of the highly infectious disease over the past two weeks, bringing the yearly total to 128. This already makes 2024 the highest year of U.S. measles infection since 2019, when 1,274 cases were identified over the whole year.
The National Weather Service confirmed that at least five tornadoes touched down in southeastern Minnesota on Friday, including four that hit Olmsted County. At least another three twisters were confirmed in southwestern Wisconsin.
The NWS was still analyzing data and other information to determine if more tornadoes occurred in the area.
The storms started Friday afternoon, with the first tornado touching down north of Sargeant in Mower County around 1:45 p.m. The short-lived EF0, with top wind speeds of 80 mph, traveled about 3 miles northeast into rural Dodge County near the unincorporated town of Oslo. It lasted for about five minutes in total, the weather service says, and caused minor damage to a grain silo before dissipating.
A new tornado formed a few minutes later, less than a mile away south of Oslo. The storm was also considered an EF0, with wind speeds around 80 mph. Lasting less than 10 minutes, it traveled 4 miles into Olmsted County, causing light damage to farm outbuildings and trees.
The line of storms seemed to pick up intensity as it entered Olmsted County.
Around 2:17 p.m., the EF2 tornado that would later hit Marion Township first touched down just northeast of Stewartville. The weather service estimates that the twister had wind speeds of about 130 mph and traveled nearly 10 miles northeast, before dissipating around 2:31 p.m. Multiple homes were severely damaged with roof removal and partially collapsed exterior walls.
An EF1 tornado was also confirmed to have hit near Potsdam around 2:30 p.m.
The first portion of the tornado was weak, the weather service said, with mainly EF0 damage. On the second portion of the 12-mile track, the tornado intensified to produce approximately 100 mph winds with tree and farm outbuilding damage. It lifted around 2:54 p.m.
A second EF2 tornado was confirmed in Olmsted County around 2:46 p.m. about 5 miles east-northeast of Viola and traveled about 7.5 miles, ending in Wabasha County, a few miles south of Plainview, around 3 p.m. Maximum wind speeds were around 125 mph. The storm affected mainly rural areas and damaged trees and outbuildings. One farmhouse lost a roof and a garage roof, the weather service said.
No injuries were reported in the Minnesota-Wisconsin outbreak.
Friday was a historic day for the NWS La Crosse office, which issued 26 tornado warnings – the most for any one day since the office opened in 1995.
Minnesota
Minneapolis city leaders say law enforcement, community members making Uptown safer, but more must be done
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Police Chief Brian O’Hara and other city leaders outlined ongoing efforts to improve safety and livability in the city’s Uptown neighborhood during a news conference Tuesday morning.
The discussion focused on a series of public safety initiatives, including expanded patrols by the Minneapolis Police Department and the planned growth of the city’s Community Safety Ambassador Program in Uptown.
That program is already in place elsewhere in south Minneapolis, on East Lake Street and Franklin Avenue. Officials said Tuesday it will come to Uptown in November. One dispatcher and up to eight ambassadors will be available to perform safety escorts, wellness checks, first aid and more.
Officials say efforts to increase safety in the area have been ongoing since December, when dedicated police patrols were introduced.
“Uptown is experiencing a comeback, but we need to be doing the work to make sure that it happens faster. We’ve all got these beautiful, nostalgic memories about what Uptown was six, seven, eight years ago. Twenty years ago,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said. “What’s certain is the Uptown of the future is going to be dramatically different than the Uptown of the past.”
In March, dozens of people lined up for a community meeting discussing safety and livability concerns in the Uptown neighborhood. Data from the city shows there are more assaults, car thefts, robberies and calls for gunshots in the neighborhood compared to the same time last year. Community members, business owners and others have come together to launch community initiatives — like United Uptown — to get the area back on track.
Leaders describe the city’s approach as a coordinated strategy that combines public safety resources, infrastructure investments and partnerships with community organizations. City Council member Elizabeth Shaffer said the goal is “an Uptown that is safe, welcoming and enjoyable for everyone.”
Frey, O’Hara and Shaffer all highlighted drug use as a serious problem in the area. Shaffer and Frey said law enforcement has been helpful in curbing the issue, but more needs to be done.
“We need to be stepping up to be honest about it, to do something about it, to provide the supports for people who need it and yes, also make sure that we’re enforcing the law,” Frey said. “That’s part of the comeback that we’re going to see in Uptown.”
Minneapolis police suspect a driver was under the influence when he hit and killed a bicyclist on the city’s southside early Monday morning.
Officers responded to the crash at the intersection of Hiawatha Avenue and East 35th Street around 3 a.m., according to the Minneapolis Police Department.
Upon arrival, police found a man in his 50s suffering from apparent life-threatening injuries. Officers provided immediate medical aid, including CPR, before the man was transported to Hennepin Healthcare, where he later died.
The Minneapolis Police Department says that preliminary information indicates the driver, a 23-year-old man, had been traveling south on Hiawatha Avenue in a Ford Edge when he struck the bicyclist.
Officers arrested the driver and took him to the hospital, where police say “a search warrant for evidence collection was carried out.” Police later booked the driver into Hennepin County Jail on suspicion of criminal vehicular homicide.
The incident is still under investigation.
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