From the North Shore of Little Rock Lake

MARCH 2010 WEATHER & PHENOLOGY IN REVIEW

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

 

                  

          As the saying goes for March, “In like a lion and out like a lamb” could not have been more accurate.   In the middle, really exciting.  For some folks, very stressful.

          March started out with below zero temperatures and ended up with near record setting highs at 63.8 degrees.  It was much warmer in Rice because they did not have the cooling breeze coming off the cold water.

          After six days of dry - the rains came.  NO SNOW.  Rain for seven days that totaled 1.26".   Had that been snow we could have had well over a foot and a half of snow.  Our snow cover left on the 13th.  With warmer temps I was concerned that the ice on the Mississippi might breakup early up stream and cause an ice jam by the Gordon Bridge. 

          On the 15th the temps rose to a balmy 64 degrees and I received reports from friends up river that the ice was flowing in very large chunks and causing some ice jams.   With the local creeks back to normal level I was confident that we were out of the woods.   There would be no high water in Little Rock Lake. (LRL)

          On the 18th, I received a phone call from Maureen Graber in a sort of frantic voice that there was a really large ice jam by the Gordon Bridge (the outlet of Little Rock Lake to the Mississippi) and that water was coming into the lake like Niagra Falls.  She was more than right.  This was a huge ice jam.   As far as I could see south, nothing but ice.  My confidence in low water for LRL was destroyed.   If this ice jam could not be broken, very serious flooding would occur.   I was afraid that I would be getting to my lake home at the north end of LRL by canoe.   For the next several hours the water in LRL rose at a rate of nearly an inch an hour.  I was convinced that this ice jam would take a couple of days to break up.  It was ulcer time for sure.   As the water inched toward Benton County #2  I started removing items from the house for storage on higher ground.  I was in crisis management.  That evening I received the most welcome phone call from Ken Graber.   “Hey Jim, guess what?  At 6:30 P.M. the ice started flowing out of LRL back to the river.”  It was the most welcome news I could have ever received.  It was down hill from there.  The crisis was over.   Some homes were damaged by water, but it could have been a lot worse.  The month ended with early summer weather.

 

WEATHER LAST MARCH:   Colder with (of course) more snow and a lot more rain.    Six days below zero with the coldest day -20.6 degrees below zero on the 13th.    The average temp was ten degrees cooler.  Although I recorded 6" of snow, the end of the month produced 3.51" of rain.  This caused a dramatic raise in the lake water level.  The most rain fell on the 23rd when 1.56" fell.  We ended the month with 51.4" of snow for the snow season and 5.62" of precipitation for the year.

    

WEATHER:     With the exception of the early summer weather at the end of the month, it was a mundane weather month.  When we started out the month with below zero temps, I thought that we were in for an extended winter.  Not to be.    Our Coldest temp was on the 1st and 2nd with a -.4 degrees below zero while on the warm side of things I recorded a 64-degree reading on the 15th.  The average low temp was 23.82 and the high 48.05 degrees.  We recorded the third warmest March ever. 

          I found it surprising that we ended March with NO SNOW.   This has not happened since 1878, the year “without a winter.”   Anyone remember that???   We did get a lot of rain mid month with small amounts later.  We ended March with 1.37" of precipitation for a year total of 2.93", well below average.  The snow season stands at 30.2" also below normal.  Will we get more snow in April?

 

WEATHER RECORDS:       Our local record low for a March was no less than -32 degrees below zero on the 11th in 1948 while our out state record was -50 degrees below zero on the 2nd in Pokegama Dam in 1897.   I’ll bet those pioneers thought the winter would never end.    On the warm side of things (a positive note) our warm temp was a warm 81 degrees while Montevideo basked in a balmy 88 degrees.   That folks, is no less than 138 degrees difference in temps.   If you want change, MN has it in the weather department.    

          From zero snow this year, our record 51.7" of snow in 1965 seems out of touch with reality.  Precipitation wise, the record 4.53" set in 1897 still stands.

 

OTHER RECORDS:       The most snow in one month 66" in Collegeville in 1966.   Earliest tornado, the 18th of March 1968 in Truman while the longest continuous path, 67 miles on the 29th of March in Southern MN.

 

PHENOLOGY:       The winter birds are getting ready for summer as the dark colors of the gold finch gradually are turning to yellow.   Mourning doves, juncos, finches, our four varieties of woodpeckers and tons of blue jays adorn our feeders.   New arrivals at the end of the month include a brown-headed cowbird, a red-winged blackbird, four loons stopping for a rest in Little Rock Lake and some grackles.   Jan and I were pleased to see the return of the wild turkeys in the front yard.   Nineteen to be exact but no Toms.

          The most notable observation was on the 21st when our lone bunny hopped to our cracked corn feeder.   It was munching away, not a care in the world when a blue jay landed a couple of feet away.   A few seconds later a male and female red male red cardinal landed almost next to the blue jay.   The range of colors - magnificent.   It was a Kodak moment with no camera handy.

          M.I.A. for a few weeks, the return of the flying squirrels to the tower sunflower seed feeder were welcome.   I must agree with Jim Gilbert that observing them is really difficult.   They seem to stay at the feeder for only a short time then leave.   They are really easy to miss.

          One sure sign of spring was the return of the Japanese beetles.  Those darn bugs just seem to come out of nowhere.   The hand vac makes short work of them but it is a continuous task when the sun hits the large picture window.  The little buggers really have a nasty bite too.  I should mention that they really stink if you try to pick them up.   Spring - two local golf courses opened on the 17th.

          I would be remiss if I did not mention the green things that are poking their heads up.   Too many to mention with the exception of the beautiful white and lavender crocuses that decorate parts of our flower garden.  Yes, spring is on the way.

 

OBSERVATIONS FROM FRIENDS:    On the 9th, Dr. Ray Merritt reported (From Georgia) that the python snake season had opened and there was no limit...  On the 11th, Emil Williams hearing what he thought was a bobcat backing up in the woods learned that this was a Northern Saw-whet Owl.  They have a very distinctive call.  It sounds like the alert tone that a large truck or bobcat makes when backing up.  Emil also reported his first bluebird song on the 23rd and a Northern Flicker on the 31st.   Lowell and Cecil Huston reports a pair of red-tailed hawks have a nest in their back yard and are nesting.   No little ones visible yet.   Dave Notsch was blessed with the first mosquito bite on the 31st.

 

THINGS TO DO:       Stock up on grape jelly for the orioles, make sure the hummingbird feeders are ready to go, and get the lawn mower serviced and the snow blower ready for storage.