MARCH 2008 WEATHER & PHENOLOGY IN REVIEW

From the North Shore of Little Rock Lake, Benton County, MN

Jim Hovda, Rice, MN  56367-0265   jhovda.rice@juno.com

N  45  44  .862      W  094  09  .603

WEATHER LAST MARCH:       A lot warmer.  The month started out with 14" of snow on the ground.  By the 14th it was all but gone for the rest of the month.     No below zero days compared with seven this year.  Coldest was a +1.2 degree day compared to a -21.3 below zero day on the 8th this year.  The month ended with 32" of snow for the season.  Snow fall for the month was about the same.  If you remember there was a great warm spell at the end of the month, you're right.   High temps of 58.1 to 72.5 were recorded from the 23rd to the 27th.   Tulips were poking up green sprouts at the end of the month.

WEATHER:       Will winter ever end?   With no January thaw, it's been a long winter.     From the 1st to the 11th the warmest low temp was +5.3 degree day with our coldest day of the month on the 8th when the temp dipped to -21.3 degrees below zero.  Low temps for the month never went above freezing until the 30th.   Our warmest day happened on the 12th when the digital thermometer made it to 57.7 degrees.  (The day before it was -6.4 degrees below zero)  I recorded no less than seven days with below zero readings.    My heating bill confirmed that it was a cold month.  By the 12th, it seemed as if the warmer temps had arrived.  Not to be.   The long underwear came out on the 24th with low temps in the single digits for three days. 

       Sort of an interesting moisture month.  Twelve days with snow.  The most snow actually fell on the 31st with at least 5",  HOWEVER, my reporting period for the 31st happens at 7:00 A.M. on the 1st of April.  So, 3.9" on the 18th is the official big snow day.   I just hate it when storms happen on the last day of the month.  The weather service has ways to figure it all out.  It's difficult for me to try to explain to you good readers.  You'll see the 5.8" of this last storm in the April article.  We can still use a lot more moisture.  We ended the month with 1.16" of precipitation giving us a year total of 1.99",  DRY...    Snow, 10" for the month  (should be 15")  for a year total of 30.5".

WEATHER RECORDS (MAR):        Our coldest day here occurred in 1948 and again in 1962 with a reading of -32 degrees below zero.  In out state MN a -50 degrees below zero at Pokegama Dam was recorded.   Our warmest day was an 81 degree day in 1910, while the Greater MN reading was 88 degrees also in 1910 in Montevideo.  (Both on the 23rd)  The most snow recorded here was 51.7" in 1965.  (Lot's of flooding that year.) 

       Other records of interest:   The largest snow cover, 75" (191 cm), 1950 at Grand Portage State Park;  Tornadoes, earliest in season, 18 March 1968 in Truman;  Earliest in season (2 or more) 1998 Southern MN.

PHENOLOGY:        We have a lot of glass facing south.  As a result, the warm sun brought out the dreaded Japanese Beetles.   Jan and I no more than suck up several with the hand vacuum and more appear just a few minutes later.  Where do they come from?    On the 5th the wild turkeys finally arrived.  They could be heard "gobbling" in the woods to the rear of the house.  It turns out there are 15 - 20 making appearances several times on North Freedom Rd.    On the 14th the first swans were observed under the highway #10 bridge where there is a lot of open water.  I'm not sure if they are Trumpeter or Tundra Swans.   They were observed off and on until the end on the month.  There were about seven of them.    On the 15th the creeks at the north end of Little Rock Lake started opening up.  On the 16th the Sharp-shinned Hawk came to the feeder looking for a meal but was unsuccessful in capturing a Junco.   Jim Gilbert (WCCO Nature Notes) will be happy to learn that the first Eastern Chipmunk came out for a meal on the 19th.  On the 30th I observed the first Red-winged Blackbird at the feeder eating seeds. 

       I've started removing some of the bird feeders and heated bird baths from two to one.  With warmer weather just around the corner, lots of nature things will be happening. 

RESIDENT OBSERVATIONS:       Steve & Rose Johnson of Rice spotted their first Robin on the 21st eating berries from a tree.

THINGS TO COME:        April brings the official start of the severe weather season.   Operation Sky Warn training for anyone who desires to be a weather spotter will be held at the Sauk Rapids High School on Tuesday, April 8th at 7:00 P.M.   Interested?  Call "Charlie" at 251-7844 for more info.  This is a really interesting session put on by the National Weather Service.  Lasts a couple of hours.