Currently in the Twin Cities — September 22, 2023: A welcome rain to ease the drought

The weather, currently.

The latest drought monitor spells more bad news for Minnesota. While drought decreased slightly from 98% to 94% of the state, thanks to improvements in northeast Minnesota conditions, extreme drought increased and expanded to include almost all of north central, east central, into southeast Minnesota, including most of the Twin Cities now.

The upcoming weekend storm could bring some beneficial rain. The blend of the models (essentially an average) gives the Twin Cities one inch or more of rainfall over the course of Saturday into Monday. There could even be severe weather in southwest Minnesota Saturday afternoon.

— Sven Sundgaard

What you need to know, currently.

It’s my extreme thrill to announce a partnership with Science Friday’s book club series: During the month of October, Science Friday will be doing a series of events focusing on my book, The Future Earth.

You can RSVP for the book club discussion livestream here, and enter to win your free copy of the book — which will arrive just in time that you don’t miss a thing!

If you haven’t read The Future Earth yet, there’s an excerpt here, the book also features a series of thought experiments and small group exercises at the back, so it’s going to be really exciting to do all this with the huge audience that Science Friday will bring.

I wrote this book because I truly believe a better world that works for everyone is possible, and I wanted to imagine what it would be like to live in that world. If you’re in need of a bit of realistic hope-grounded-in-justice right now, I wrote this book just for you.

— Eric Holthaus

What you can do, currently.

Currently Sponsorships are short messages we co-write with you to plug your org, event, or climate-friendly business with Currently subscribers. It’s a chance to boost your visibility with Currently — one of the world’s largest daily climate newsletters — and support independent climate journalism, all at the same time. Starting at just $105.

One of my favorite organizations, Mutual Aid Disaster Relief, serves as a hub of mutual aid efforts focused on climate action in emergencies — like hurricane season. Find mutual aid network near you and join, or donate to support existing networks: