We can always see the plume of steam from the district energy plant but in the winter it is more pronounced. The colder it gets the denser the plume. Sometimes it hides the library or the heating plant itself. District energy provides the hot water that heats much of downtown St. Paul. It is a biomass plant. Sometimes the air around it smells vaguely like cedar.
According to the calendar, we have more than a week of fall left but it definitely looks and feels like winter.