From the North Shore of Little Rock Lake

JANUARY 2010 WEATHER & PHENOLOGY IN REVIEW

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

Our weather continues with a roller coaster pattern. Wet, then dry, wet then dry. Professor Bob Weisman noted that January was the 5^th lowest January snow total when he measured only .9" of snow. This was the same amount I measured. Normally we receive about 13.5" of the white stuff. As we venture into February, snow and cold are our guests.

WEATHER LAST JANUARY: A lot colder with less snow. In fact, if you happened to compare your last years heating bills to this year, you will think you gas meter forgot to measure the gas this year. I counted no less than 28 days when the low reading was below zero (F). The coldest day occurred on the 16^th when the digital thermometer bottomed out at a very cold -34.4 degrees below zero. I totally forgot how cold it was last year. The average low temp was -14.59 degrees below zero (F). Although we had more measured snow, we had a lot less precipitation. (Rain this year.) We started the precipitation year with .55" and the snow season at the end of the month stood at 35.90".

SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EVENT: I’m stretching this to call it s SWE. I’m referring to the six days of mostly rain (just a touch of snow) that occurred from the 21^st to the 26^th that produced .84" of precipitation. Only .9" of snow fell. Had this been snow, we could easily have received 8" - 10" of snow. This storm accounted for all the precipitation for the month.

WEATHER: Cold, but not as bad as last year. The temperatures were a roller coaster too. We started the month with the first 12 days below zero, then 14 days when we stayed above zero (lows) then we ended the month with five days with below zero readings. To me, it seemed like the cold weather would never end. The coldest day was on the 23^rd when the temp dipped to a chilly -26.6 degrees below zero. (My birthday present!!!) This cold weather had a disastrous effect in Florida. On the 18^th Gainsville, FL recorded a temp of only 18 degrees. Believe it or not, it did get above freezing when I recorded the warm temp for the month at 38.6 degrees (F) on the 18^th.

I would be remiss if I did not relay information send to me by my good friend Dr. Ray Merritt. He went south to enjoy some “warm rays” in Florida. He reported that the temps were so cold that the water temp in the ocean bays dropped below 40 degrees. Sea turtles who depend on warm weather to lay their eggs were in trouble. Ray said volunteers rescued hundreds and placed them in warm water aquariums. The volunteers hope to save 70 - 90 percent of the turtles.

I’ve pretty much covered the precipitation in the SWE I mentioned earlier. We started the month with 8" of snow on the ground and ended with 6.5". Snow total for this snow season stands at 21.2" compared to 35.9" this same time last year.

On a side note - on the 8^th a winter blast of snow and wind hit Southern MN closing I-94 from the SD border thru most of MN. Wind chills dipped to -57 degrees below zero and the MN State Patrol reported more than 476 car crashes.

As long as this is a weather-produced phenomenon, I must mention the brilliant and beautiful hore frosts that occurred in the middle of the month. Fog and just the right temperatures allowed the frosts to remain for several days. Upon close examination the ice crystals that formed on the needles of evergreens and branches of shrubs and trees were just magnificent. To view the ice formations, you had to get really close to see this beautiful wonder of nature.

WEATHER RECORDS: Starting with the temperature readings, our local cold reading was a -43 degrees below zero in 1977 while our greater MN reading was -57 degrees below zero in 1901 and again in 1996 in Northern MN. On the warm side of things our local reading was a balmy 56 degrees in 1981 while Montevideo recorded 69 degrees in 1981. The most snow for any January was 32.6" in 1975. That was a lot of shoveling!

OTHER RECORDS: The longest dry spell in MN history ended on 26 January 1944 after 79 days with no precipitation of any kind in SW MN. The most snow in 24 hours fell in Lake County measureing 36". That storm also produced the most snow from one storm, 47" that occurred from 6 to 8 January 1994. A sad record was the most fatalities from a single winter storm happened State wide when up to 200 persons lost their lives in 1888. The last record to report was the highest pressure on 21 January 1922 in Collegeville when the barometer topped at 31.11 inHg (1053.5 mb). When I looked at my barometer I observed that it only measures to 31.0 inHg.

PHENOLOGY: Birds first. The heated bird bath has been a big hit all month. The colder the weather the more the birds flock to get a drink of water. (No baths tho) Lumping the bird sightings together, on the 31^st I observed twelve species of birds in less than one hour. Included were one Bald Eagle flying low over Little Rock Lake and a pair of mourning doves. Suet, a variety of seeds and cracked corn seem to bring them in. Cecil Huston of Rice reports that a pair of red-tailed hawks are gathering nesting materials.

When his yard light went on, Jerry Perske of St. Cloud observed a great horned on the ground with a rabbit in its clutches. The light and opening of the patio door scared off the owl saving the bunny who was sure to be a meal for the owl. That was the luckiest day a bunny could have ever had.

There have been some “critters” too. On the 10^th my squirrel population jumped from the usual four to ten. Then, for some unknown reason, back to four or five. On the 20^th during the “warm” spell a very large racoon was walking down North Freedom Rd. Jim Gilbert noted that they will venture out during warm spells in the winter. I’m really happy to report that Jan and I finally observed a flying squirrel at the sun flower feeder. They have very large eyes and they reflect back from the beam of the flashlight. We thought they had abandoned us.

A couple of “spring” things - the gold finches are starting to show their very first bits of yellow and Jim Gilbert of WCCO fame reports that on 10 January the first spring songs of the Red Cardinal were heard and red foxes can be seen in pairs - one sure sign that spring is on the way.

POINTS TO PONDER: February is a good time to trim and prune oak and other trees. The fishing season ends for some species and fish houses will have to be off the ice. Leaving litter and trash on the ice is a disgusting thing to do. It is against the law. If you see some litter, be a good Samaritan and put it in your trash bag. Help keep all of our lakes’ litter free.