From the North Shore of Little Rock Lake

FEBRUARY 2010 WEATHER & PHENOLOGY IN REVIEW

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

It seems as if we have departed from a roller coaster ride of every other month wet, then dry. We are starting our third month of being dry. We began the winter with a lot of snow which we have managed to keep on the ground. There was no January thaw. In fact, no thaw at all. And, listening to the St. Cloud Weather Guru, Bob Weisman, Professor of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Department (now that’s a mouthful) weather forecast it appears that copious amounts of snow and rain are not in the immediate future. Will we get the eleven inches of snow the good professor says is normal for March? How many of you readers remember the St. Patrick’s Day storm that occurred in the mid 1960"s? I was living in Minneapolis and my VW Beetle ended up on top of a snow drift on the way home from work. I had to recover it the next day.

Some new information in “other records.” I found some weather records from different parts of the world that I found interesting. I think you will too. Our weather, in some respects, is really mild in comparison. I’ve noted the records in the month they were set.

WEATHER LAST FEBRUARY: Warmer and more snow. Only twelve days with below zero readings compared to seventeen this year. February ended up really cold. The 28^th saw a low temp of -19.2 degrees below zero (F). The low temp was -20.6 Degrees below zero (F) on the 5^th and the warm reading occurred on the 1^st when the digital thermometer displayed 45.8 degrees. (Above zero) The first nine days were snow free then warm temps on the 10^th saw .39" of rain fall. This turned out to be the most precipitation (rain) while the most snow fell on the 27^th when 5.9" covered the ground. At the end of the month the snow season total stood at 45.4" of snow compared to only 30.2" this year.

WEATHER: Cold (at least for me) and nine inches of snow. All the precipitation occurred during the first nine days. From the 9^th to the 28^th only trace amounts of snow. We ended the month on a cold note. The last five days posted below zero readings tho the afternoon temps did make it to the low 30's. Weather wise, it was a mundane month. We ended the month with .72" of precipitation for a year total (from 01 Jan) of 1.56" while the snow total was an even 9" bringing the years snow season total to only 30.2" of the fluffy stuff.

WEATHER RECORDS: Our local coldest was a brisk -42 degrees below zero in 1896 while the -60 degrees below in Tower in 1996 really tested the antifreeze in the cars and furnace capabilities in homes. The warm side of things, a comfortable 58 degrees was recorded in 1932 locally while Pleasant Mound recorded 73 degrees in 1896 allowing for no jackets and short sleeves as the norm. The most snow for a February fell in 1962 when we received 21.8" of the white stuff.

OTHER RECORDS (FEB): The coldest temp in Asia, -90 degrees below zero (F) occurred on the 6^th in Oimekon, Russia in 1933. In North America the temp dipped to -81 degrees below zero in Snag, Yukon, Canada on the 3^rd in 1947. In Africa it dipped to only -11 degrees below zero on 11^th in Iframe, Morocco in 1935. Greatest amount of snow in one storm, 189", Mt. Shasta Ski Bowl, Calif, 13 - 19, 1959.

PHENOLOGY: I must first tell about the observation adventure Jan and I had with the flying squirrels. Late on the 27^th, midnight or so, we were watching TV. There was almost a full moon and with all the snow on the ground it was quite bright. I commented to Jan, “It must be really windy as the tower bird feeder is going back and forth.” It just didn’t seem right. There just should not be that much wind. I checked the wind gage and it was sitting on zero.

An investigation was in order. Who, or what was making the feeder swing? I camped myself in front of the picture window, only ten feet from the feeder. It took about ten minutes before I saw something small dart from the maple tree to the feeder. A few seconds later another streak of something dark landed on the top of the feeder and jumped to the base where the sunflower seeds were. It had to be the flying squirrels. With the field glasses glued to my eyes, sure enough, it was the little creatures that naturalist Jim Gilbert has said were very common, but very difficult to observe.

Over the next half hour Jan and I were rewarded to be able to observe five of the little critters on or near the feeder at one time. What surprised us was how fast they move. Unlike the day squirrels that just hop around, the “flyers” move like greased lightening. Without the aid of the bright moon, observation of their behavior would have been very difficult.

For those of you who have never seen a flying squirrel, they are about the size of a chipmunk, maybe just a little larger. They have huge eyes, facing front, and are brownish in color. It was a wonderful opportunity granted Jan and I to be able to observe them for so long. They seem to prefer sunflower seeds and cracked corn for their diet. They only feed at night as far as I can tell. To learn if you have them in your area, after dark, put out some seeds well off the ground, near a tree and check to see if the seeds have been eaten during the night. I think you will be surprised to learn that the flying squirrels are your neighbors too.

An unusual phenomena “hore” frost occurred on several mornings that had high humidity/mist leaving the trees and shrubs coated with a beautiful white coating of frost. I think that there were at least four mornings that this occurred. For photographers, a dream comes true for photo opportunities.

One bird observation. All at one time, a large male Pileated a wood pecker and blue jay on the suet and on the tray feeder just below, a blue jay and male red cardinal. What a beautiful sight and range of colors. All at the same place and time.

Vacationing in Georgia, my good friend Dr. Ray Merritt reports that while on the golf course on the 10^th the cardinals, mockingbirds and their feathered friends were singing up a storm. Nests are being built and a lot of courtship is the order of the day. Spring is arriving in the Gulf Coast.

USEFUL INFO: For fun information about the birds and critters, tune into Nature Notes with Jim Gilbert, noted naturalist on WCCO, 830 on the dial, 7:15 A.M. Each Sunday morning. For good weather information presented in a really interesting format, tune into Our Weather Forecast on KNSI, 1450 on the dial (M - F) featuring weather person and weather guru Professor Bob Weisman at about 6:15 A.M. and again at (about) 7:15 A.M..