Rain, rain, go away

It has been raining almost daily here since summer started. While we humans are simply tired of the swampy, sticky humidity of it all,  we do get to escape into air conditioned homes or offices when we need a break. It is the trees I am starting to worry about. Their roots have been sitting in fully saturated soil for almost two months. Imagine sitting in a bathtub for two months?  I get a weekly newsletter from the Minnesota DNR, they too are concerned about the “wet feet” of our trees. We seem to be whiplashing between drought years and flooding years. We are all on high-alert, looking for signs of climate change. But the truth is, extreme weather has always been a hallmark of the upper midwest. The question is…is this more extreme than normal? And by how much? It’s time to revisit the data.

mid-summer elm leaf and hibiscus leaf with raindrops