Mi-No-Snow-Ta
The snow slowly melts away on the last day of January. Birds are chirping and the smell of lake superior is already in the air. Photo by Tes Kaardal.
When you think about Duluth, Minnesota, the last word that comes to mind is the ocean.
My original writing prompt for this article was about how to combat the winter blues, which feel absent when February in Duluth feels like an April heatwave. There are significant factors that play a role in this absurdly strange weather, and one of the biggest is thousands of miles away.
2024 is the sixth consecutive year that the ocean has broken the high-temperature records. This rapid warming is further amplified by the process of ENSO — El Niño Southern Oscillation. An El Niño winter results from the variable warming and cooling of the eastern Pacific Ocean's surface. When warm water travels east from the Philippines to the coast of South America, El Niño takes place. During periods of cool water upwelling on the same coast, La Niña winters occur. The water shifts every 2-7 years.
The effects are felt in Minnesota because the wind picks up the atypical air temperature and carries it east — all the way to Minnesota. This year has been a particularly intense El Niño causing the oceanic temperatures to rise to 0.5 degrees Fahrenheit in half a year.
The energy this takes is incomprehensible. It has been reported that warming the ocean at that speed would take 15 zetajoules of energy. John Abraham, a professor at St. Thomas University in St. Paul explains that this amount of energy is synonymous with setting off six atomic bombs every day for a year.
Although this weather is odd, El Niños has caused grave changes before. In 1997 and 1998, the Midwest described its strange weather patterns as “the year without winter”. Midwestern states experience extreme weather caused by the Great Lakes, record-high temperatures and a lack of precipitation. Minnesota ranked the highest in a departure from normal temperatures at a staggering 11.6 degrees Fahrenheit warmer.
How much of this warming is due to El Niño vs greenhouse gasses is hard to say. Although extreme weather is seen with El Niños, the temperature of the ocean has been warming consistently. Despite the cause, the outcome appears to be the same. Wildlife will suffer and local businesses that depend on winter sports for sales are struggling. Although the lack of false car starts and slippery roads can feel like a welcomed change, Minnesota and snow are meant to be together.