FARGO — Most of the Northern Plains region is entirely too wet for spring planting and, for that matter, just about anything else. Much of this same area had been very dry during the winter and particularly so during March. The sudden change from dry to wet has been remarkable. Or has it?
In many ways, it is the very nature of weather to be too dry or too wet about as often as it is to be just about right. Here in the center of the continent, the mood swings of weather are even more extreme. Climate change is increasing the volatility of our weather. Added heat and humidity increases the frequency and intensity of both drought and flood. But to blame this recent switch from dry to wet on climate change is too easy. The reality is, this sort of thing is normal weather. There is an ancient English farmer's proverb, "There is no debt so surely met, as wet to dry and dry to wet."
