JANUARY 2008 WEATHER & PHENOLOGY IN REVIEW

From the North Shore of Little Rock Lake, Benton Co. MN

Jim Hovda, Rice, MN   5636709265     jhovda.rice@juno.com

N  45  44  .862'      W  094  09  603

CAPSULE OF LAST JANUARY:       Warmer.  By nearly ten degrees  with the average low a + 7.15 degrees compared to a -3.06 this year.  Only ten days with below zero readings compared to eighteen this year.  The coldest day of the month was a wimpy   -13.9 degree day on the 16th.  The warm average was 25.26 compared to 20.67 this year.   Snowfall nearly the same at .24".  Our annual snow season totalled only 5.9" compared to 13.9" this year. 

WEATHER:       An uneventful month except it was so darn cold.   Comparisons to last month tell much of the story.  From the 14th to the 26th the low temps were below zero with the coldest day of the month the 20th when the digital thermometer dropped to a   -24.7 degrees.  The 27th and 28th the lows reached +1 degree then back below zero for the rest of the month with two days below -21 degrees.  On the 30th winds gusted to 38 mph.  Wind chills varied from -25 to -55 degrees (F).    Snowfall, pitifully little.  Only one inch that fell on the 11th.  Precipitation for the month measured .14".  We could use some more snow to insulate the ground.   We ended the month with 4" of very hard snow on the ground.   The snow we received at the beginning of the snow season has produced at least a couple of big benefits.  First, the septic systems have been protected from freezing.  Second, the massive ground "heaving" on the lake shore we experienced last year is nonexistent this year.  All due to the insulation the snow has provided.  

WEATHER RECORDS (Jan):       None broken this year.  The local coldest temp was a -43 degrees in 1977 while the out-state reading was colder at -57 at Pokegama Dam.  On the warm side of things a reading of 56 degrees was recorded at St. Cloud in 1981 while Montevideo saw a 69 degree day the same year.  The most snowfall locally occurred in 1975 when we received 32.6" of the white stuff.   Many here should remember that. 

       There were a number of weather records set in greater MN in January:   The longest dry spell ended on 26 January 1944.  A 79 day period of no precipitation that began on 09 Nov 1943 in several MN counties - - The most snow in 24 hrs in Lake County, 36" in 1994 - - The most snow in one storm also in Lake County, 47" in 1994.  The most fatalities in a winter storm occurred on 12 - 13 Jan, 1888 when up to 200 good MN folks perished.  In the "Other Records" department,  the highest pressure, 31.11 inHg (1053.5 mb) on 21 January 1922 - - the lowest wind chill was recorded in "Northern MN" at -71 degrees (F) using the new formula on 09 & 10, 1982.  If you wonder where I get all this information, it's off the net.

PHENOLOGY:        Birds - - Only one appearance of the Red-bellied Woodpecker.  Numbers of Harry & Downey Woodpeckers are down.  The Wild Turkeys are absent.  Pileated Woodpeckers are active and I think total three coming to the feeder.  More active are the Sharp-shinned Hawks tho one did a Kamikaze into the picture window much to the pleasure of the finches and juncos.  Three Mourning Doves compared to seven last year.  At the end of the month a large Red-tailed Hawk has been visiting the suet.  (He takes really big chunks)  My neighbor, Duane Cekalla reports this bird at his suet also.  American Crows have started working on the suet also.  Is there a shortage of food for them or is the cold weather an issue?

LITTLE ROCK LAKE:       According to our lake observer Randy Fernholz, the water remains clear, with visibility at about 10'.   Ice conditions at the start of January merited a lot of caution.  Ice thickness has improved to 28" - 30"  at the end of January.  Randy needed the entire length of his ice auger to get thru the ice.  Still, there are areas of thin ice.  Especially near creeks and near the highway #10 exit of the lake.   As with any lake,  one needs to use caution and heed the guidance of local anglers.   Remember, large schools of carp can move into an area and reduce ice thickness to only an inch or so.  There was a notable reduction of fish houses on the lake this year.

NATURE FACT:       Some bird species use a type of controlled hypothermia to survive cold nights.  They lower their body temperatures by as much as twenty degrees,  allowing them to make it through  the night on far fewer calories.