SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EVENT

From the North Shore of Little Rock Lake

Jim Hovda Rice, MN. 56367-0265 jhovda.rice@jetup.net

09 - 10 OCT 2009  

Well folks, the SNOW is here.  With a morning wake up temp of 22.4 degrees (F) and snow completely covering the ground it looks and feels like winter.   And, it's only the 10th of the month.  Our weather forecasters say that it will be in the teens tomorrow morning.  This is the earliest that I have recorded measurable snow since I started recording weather in 1990.   I had to use a heavy broom to clear off the 1.2" of snow from the deck and while doing that noted that all the leaves have departed the ash trees.  Yes, I had my winter gloves on.   Anything or plant that was sensitive to frost is history.  For those who scheduled dock removal this weekend will suffer.   When I pulled the lake water pump out a couple of days ago, the water was really cold.   It took a lot of effort to get my hands warmed up.

For you folks who are snowbirds now in the south, I can report that my drive to Rice to PU the mail required total winter protocols.   I immediately noted that there was glare ice on parts of the highways that were protected from the sun.  Some intersections the tires spun trying to grab bare asphalt.   No sand or salt yet.   One had to be alert to the careless driver that might slide thru an intersection.  I kept an eye on the rear view mirror for a rear end crash.  Driving past the back waters of Little Rock Lake ice covered most of the water.    The trees by the highway were covered with snow making it look and feel like a winter wonderland.

Looking out from my desk to see snow on the branches of the spruce trees, snow piled on the side of the bird feeders to make room for food for our feathered friends, many summer plants completely brown, ice early solid in the bird bath because I forgot to turn on the bird bath heater and melting the snow from the rain gage to measure the precipitation told me that WINTER, at least for the next couple of days, is here.   And, it's not even mid October.  What will the coming days and weeks bring?  Remember the Halloween storm of 91?   Yes, it happens every year.  Winter arrives.  Only the date is in question. 

Jim Hovda

Rice Weather Reporter.