The 'Nation's Icebox' Just Melted Its May Heat Records, And That Fueled Northern Minnesota Wildfires
Summerlike heat smashed record highs in parts of the Northern Plains and upper Midwest the past few days, including one city nicknamed the "Nation's Icebox", and that has helped fuel wildfires in northern Minnesota.
On Mother's Day, International Falls, Minnesota, along the border with Ontario, Canada, soared to 96 degrees. That was their hottest May high on record, topping a 95-degree high on May 21, 1964. It was also hotter than parts of the South, including both Houston and Orlando.
Then on Monday, they soared to 90 degrees. But that second straight high in the 90s wasn't necessarily the headliner.
Their morning low Monday was only 70 degrees, easily their record warmest May low and the first time the town had recorded a May low in the 70s in almost 130 years.
International Falls is one of the coldest cities in the U.S., nicknamed the "Icebox of the Nation". Their average low temperatures plunge below zero from just before Christmas through late February. They once plunged to 55 degrees below zero in January 1909.
Their average high in mid-May is 62 degrees, while their average low is around the point we'd expect frost on the ground, 36 degrees.
But the weather pattern the last few days - strong southwest winds, dry ground and a stubborn heat dome of high pressure - sent temperatures soaring in Minnesota, and other parts of the Northern Plains and upper Midwest. Parts of the Red River Valley of North Dakota and northwest Minnesota soared to 100 degrees Sunday, according to the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network.
That extreme heat, together with winds and recent dry weather, helped fuel a trio of wildfires in northeast Minnesota's Arrowhead.
The largest of those fires, the Camp House Fire near the town of Brimson, about 35 miles north-northeast of Duluth, already destroyed at least 40 structures, including some homes and cabins, St. Louis County officials told Minnesota Public Radio. The Jenkins Creek Fire near Hoyt Lakes also destroyed at least one structure and evacuations were issued in parts of St. Louis and neighboring Lake Counties.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called up the National Guard to help battle the fires.
Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
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