As the Canadian wildfires in Manitoba and Ontario continue to burn, another air quality alert has been issued for much of western and north-central Minnesota. The alert, in effect from 10 a.m. today until Friday at 9 p.m., includes the Bemidji area, as well as the tribal nations of Leech Lake and Red Lake. The…
An air quality alert initially scheduled to expire yesterday afternoon was extended for the northern half of the state until later tonight, with another alert expected Thursday behind a cold front. Smoke from Canadian wildfires is cycling through weather patterns, and since these wildfires are in extremely remote portions of Ontario and Manitoba, they will…
Minnesota’s drought continues to worsen, with more than 22 percent of the state in extreme drought, an increase from last week’s 18.5 percent. Rain predictions show about an inch of rain across northern Minnesota this week. The extreme drought includes most of Beltrami, Hubbard and Clearwater counties, with fire danger remaining very high. Surface water…
Just after last week’s heavy smoke from Canadian wildfires, more smoke came into the area this week behind northerly winds. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s air quality monitor in Red Lake recorded an index of 397 last Tuesday, a then-preliminary record with an “extremely unhealthy” air quality. Air quality monitors in St. Cloud and Brainerd…
Featured photo courtesy of Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office The National Weather Service confirmed three tornadoes swept through Beltrami County during Monday’s severe storm. An F1 tornado struck Red Lake, damaging the college, the humanities center, and other structures. A second tornado just east of Redby did considerable tree damage, also with 95 MPH winds. A…
Haze over Lake Bemidji on July 20. Nearly all of Minnesota is under an air quality alert as Canadian wildfire smoke moves into the area behind a northerly wind. The only portion of the state not under alert is the North Shore. Smoke is expected to remain over the area into Friday. The air quality…
Featured photo courtesy of the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office A tornado-warned storm swept through Beltrami County Monday evening. Damage was reported at the Red Lake Pow Wow grounds and there are numerous reports across Beltrami County and the Red Lake Nation of tree damage and large hail. The Beltrami Electric Cooperative reported over 900 customers…
The surprisingly hot weather in store for later this week and into the weekend has prompted reminders about how to endure the heat. Beltrami County Emergency Management Director Christopher Muller speculates that this weekend is the best chance to reach triple digits in this area for many years, with heat indexes of greater than 100…
The Grand Forks National Weather Service determined an EF-1 tornado touched down near Nevis last week, and a brief touchdown of an EF-0 was near Park Rapids. According to a release from the Hubbard County Emergency Manager and Sheriff’s Deputy Brian Halbasch, the storms caused widespread property damage but there were no injuries reported with…
The Bemidji Fire Department warns of a near critical fire danger today, with a forecast showing low humidity and high winds. According to the National Weather Service, the near critical fire danger is present for Lake of the Woods, Beltrami, Clearwater, Hubbard, Becker and Wadena Counties. Winds will be from the north at 20 to…
