>> Eric: IT'S MID-JULY AND SO FAR MINNESOTA SUMMER HAS BROUGHT US A SKY FULL OF SMOKE, HEAVY RAINS, HOT STEAMY WEATHER AND NOW SOME RECORD-TYING TEMPERATURES.

PAUL DOUGLAS, YOU'VE GOT SOME EXPLAINING TO DO.

WHEN PAUL ISN’T ON OUR AIRWAVES, YOU CAN CATCH HIS PREDICTIONS IN THE "STAR TRIBUNE."

IN HIS SPARE TIME HE RUNS HIS OWN WEATHER COMPANY, PREDICT-IX.

I KNOW YOU'VE HAD SMOKE GET IN YOUR EYES.

>> IT HAS!

WAY TOO.

>> Eric: WHAT'S GOING ON?

>> WELL, IT'S BEEN A YEAR COMPARABLE TO 2023 AND A LOT OF PEOPLE RIGHTFULLY COMPLAINING ABOUT WILDFIRE SMOKE, WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT HIS?

YOU HAVE THAT IMAGE OF A PERFECT MINNESOTA SUMMER AND IT'S MARRED BY THICK SMOKE.

>> Eric: I LEARN BEST WITH PICTURES AND CHARTS.

>> OKAY.

CUE THE PICTURES.

ALL RIGHT.

YES, ANOTHER SMOKY MINNESOTA SUMMER, COMING IN WAVES.

AND, YES, WILDFIRE SMOKE FROM CANADA.

SO HERE WE GO.

ALL THOSE RED CIRCLES ARE FIRES BURNING OUT OF ONTROL.

300-PLUS FIRES, 81 OF THEM BURNING OUT OF CONTROL.

AN AREA THE SIZE OF NEW YORK STATE HAS BEEN SCORCHED ACROSS CANADA THIS YEAR.

AND THE SUMMER'S HALF OVER, AND ALL THAT SMOKE, MOST OF IT HEADING DOWNWIND, WE ARE DOWNWIND.

A LOT OF FACTORS, A WARMER, DRYER CANADA, HEATWAVES EARLIER IN THE SPRING, THUNDERSTORMS WITH LIGHTNING IGNITING MOST OF THESE FIRES, AND, YES, FOREST MANAGEMENT IS PART OF THE DEAL, RAKING THE FORESTS.

BUT AGAIN, CHATGPT 4.0 TOLD ME THERE ARE SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 300 AND 500 BE BILLION, WITH A "B," BILLION TREES.

HOW DO YOU RAKE HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF TREES?

SO IT'S A QUANDARY.

IT'S A PROBLEM.

AND HERE ARE THE TRENDS.

THIS IS WILDFIRE SMOKE NATIONWIDE IN THE U.S. YOU CAN SEE THE AVERAGE, THE GRAY LINE AT THE FAR BOTTOM, THAT'S THE AVERAGE.

2023 WAS SO FAR A RECORD IN TERMS OF WILDFIRE SMOKE REACHING THE U.S., AND ACCORDING TO THE MINNESOTA POLLUTION CONTROL AGENCY, WE ARE ON TRACK FOR ANOTHER RECORD YEAR.

THIS IS THE DATA SHOWING THE NUMBER OF AIR QUALITY ALERTS GOING OUT FROM THE MPCA SINCE 2008.

AND YOU CAN SEE THAT UPWARD TREND, THE DARK RED, THOSE ARE -- THAT'S WILDFIRE SMOKE.

AND AGAIN, ACCORDING TO DAVE BROWN, IT'S EQUIVALENT TO SMOKING 8 TO 10 CIGARETTES.

WHEN YOU HAVE A DAY WITH AN AQI OF 200 OR GREATER, YEAH.

THE GOOD NEWS, AND THERE IS GOOD NEWS, PAUL, THE DROUGHT HAS EASED.

IT HAS FIZZLED.

GOOD RIDDANCE.

SUFFICIENT RAINS, HOPEFULLY A BUMPER HARVEST FOR FARMERS THIS YEAR.

STILL SOME POCKETS OF DROUGHT UP NEAR ROSEAU AND HALLOCK.

AND IF YOU LIKE IT WARM I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO BE IN LUCK.

I DON'T SEE ANY SIZZLING HEATWAVES DAY AFTER DAY IN THE 90S BUT ALL THE MODELS INCLUDING NOAA'S MODELS KEEP US WARMER THAN AVERAGE RIGHT THROUGH OCTOBER, AND, YES, FALLS ARE TRENDING WARMER.

WE GET 70s, EVEN SOME 80s INTO EARLY OCTOBER.

THE OTHER THING THAT'S ON MY MIND, THE HORRIFIC FLOODING.

WE'VE HAD OVER 3,000 FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS NATIONWIDE.

THE RECORDS GO BACK TO 1986, OVER 3,000.

I'M STILL RUMINATING OVER WHAT HAPPENED IN TEXAS WITH THAT INCREDIBLE FLASH FLOOD.

THEY LITERALLY GOT 6 TO 12 MONTHS WORTH OF RAIN IN THE SPAN OF A DAY OR TWO.

A STORM STALLED, WE HAD A TROPICAL REMNANT, TROPICAL STORM THAT HIT MEXICO, STALLED OVER THE HILL COUNTRY OF TEXAS.

A 500 TO 1,000-YEAR FLOOD.

AND THE WORST OF THE FLOODING CAME WHEN PEOPLE WERE SLEEPING.

WEE HOURS OF THE MORNING ON THE FOURTH OF JULY.

AND SO WHAT DO YOU DO?

>> Eric: YOU HAVE A LIFESAVING DEVICE RIGHT HERE.

>> REMEMBER IN THE OLD DAYS YOU'D TURN ON YOUR RADIO.

AND MANY RADIO STATIONS AS WE KNOW ARE AUTOMATED AT NIGHT OR DON'T HAVE A LIVE HUMAN BEING THERE.

SO THEN WHAT DO YOU DO?

>> YOUR PHONE IS A GOOD SOURCE.

MAKE SURE YOU GO TO NOTIFICATIONS AND SETTINGS AND MAKE SURE YOU CAN GET THE EMERGENCY WEATHER ALERT THAT'S GO OUT FROM NOAA.

YOUR PHONE WILL SQUEAL, BUT I WOULDN'T RELY ON THAT.

THE KEY IS REALLY TO HAVE A BIG BASKET OF DIFFERENT SOURCES OF DATA.

TV, RADIO, INTERNET, AND HIS!

[ WEATHER RADIO PLAYING ] >> NOAA WEATHER RADIO.

AND THEY COST 30, 40 BUCKS FOR A HIGH END ONE.

THIS ONE HAS S.A.M.E.

TECHNOLOGY AND I THINK ALL OF THEM DO.

>> Eric: THIS IS THE WON WHEN I BEAT CATHY IN THE WEATHER QUIZ.

>> Cathy: HE GAVE IT TO ME SO IT'S MINE.

>> YOU CAN PLUG IT IN FOR JUST YOUR COUNTY SO IT'S NOT GOING OFF AT ALL HOURS.

EVERY BUSINESS, NURSING HOME.

>> Eric: HOW MUCH DID YOU SAY IT IS?

>> 30, 40 BUCKS.

>> OH, JEEZ, BARGAIN.

I'M GOING TO TAKE THAT ONE HOME.

>> I WALK AROUND WITH THIS, IS