Heat wave may be the final straw for struggling blueberry fields in Stillwater
STILLWATER, Minn. -- A weeklong streak of highs above 90 started Monday, and it's only going to get hotter as the week goes on. The heat is already causing an impact on local farmers and their crops.
Blueberry Fields of Stillwater may have just closed for the summer, with the heat expected to spoil the ripe berries. While Tuesday dawned beautiful for those who came out early to pick berries, owners had to set up makeshift misters to help everyone stay cool.
Temperatures warmed up quickly, as well. So fast, in fact, that the owner of the fields basically launched a closeout sale, giving bigger discounts for people picking bigger buckets.
Owner Summer Kuehn says that the fields have been challenging after the long winter, the brief spring, and the third consecutive summer of drought conditions. The heat this week is almost certainly going to destroy the berries that are ripe right now, and will force the field to close for the next couple of days to reassess the situation.
"I have a prayer that I hope is answered, that our fruit that is still green and pink can actually weather the heat storm. I don't know the answer to that," Kuehn said. "We will post an update on Friday."
There's not much the fields can do to protect the crops from the sun.
Tuesday's high will be around 95 in the Twin Cities. Wednesday and Thursday are both NEXT Weather Alert days, with a high of 97 each day and dew points close to 70, creating feels-like temps that will be well over 100 degrees.
The Salvation Army announced it will set up cooling stations around the Twin Cities metro this week.
A group of international scientists say the extreme heat waves across the northern hemisphere this month are the result of human-caused climate change. Analysis by the World Weather Attribution initiative says if humans hadn't heated the planet by burning oil, coal and gas, these kinds of blistering heat waves would be extremely rare.