From the North Shore of Little Rock Lake

APRIL 2011 WEATHER & PHENOLOGY IN REVIEW

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

I promised myself that I would not complain or whine about our never ending winter when the horrific weather in our Southern States produced tornados that claimed hundreds of lives and destroyed countless homes. Dealing with the cold/wet weather is a lot easier that trying to find the remainder of your house spread over several acres.

I must say tho, I think this is the winter that will never end. Especially considering that I recorded snow on four days totaling more than three inches. On May 1^st, waking up in Baudette to a couple of inches of snow on top of my boat did not make me a happy camper. Oh, well.

WEATHER LAST MARCH: Much warmer and less precipitation. The significance in temperature difference is reflected in both the high and low averages. Low: 35.28 degrees (F) compared to 29.23 degrees (F) this year while the average high was a very comfortable 65.73 degrees (F) compared to only 53.36 degrees (F) this year. To make that happen, many days sported highs in the 60's and 70's. NO SNOW..... Because the temperatures differences were so stark, the migrating and green things all came alive and active compared to this year. The first dock went in on the 4^th vs the 26^th this year when Vic Hengel put his dock in.

It was a dry month with the exception of two days with significant rainfall. On the 13^th a T-storm produced .91" of rain and on the 25^th off and on rain filled the rain gage to .70". The rest of the month (6 days) only produced .24" of the liquid stuff. The month ended with 1.85" of rain and total precipitation for the year stood at 4.78". On to weather.

WEATHER: Cool and fairly wet. The lows were in the mid 20's and low 30's. A lot of days produced ice in the bird bath. The coldest day was the 21.9 degrees (F) on the 5^th. Six days saw temps in the 60's compared to 18 days in the 60's with 7 days sporting 70 degree (F) readings last year. The warmest day was a 69.8 degree (F) reading on the 26^th. The month ended on a cold note with a trace of snow. Seemed like we could not get two days of nice weather in a row.

Nineteen days produced precipitation with the most falling on the 30^th when .43" collected in the rain gage. Seven days produced SNOW totaling 3.2". The most snow fell on the 20^th when I measured 1.7" of the white stuff. We ended the month with 2.47" of rain totaling 6.16" for the year.

WEATHER RECORDS IN APRIL: Temps first. Our local record low was a chilly -3 degrees below zero (F) in 1948 while the out-state low was a really cold -22 degrees below zero (F) in Karlstad. (That was a bummer!) Locally, the record high was a HOT 96 degrees (F) in 1980 while a reading of 101 degrees (F) was recorded in Hawley the same year. The most rainfall locally occurred in 2001 when we received no less than 8.42" of rain for the month. The record snowfall measured right here at the N end of Little Rock Lake was 15.7" in 2008. Other weather records recall the devastating tornado that claimed the most fatalities of any tornado in MN. It was the one that touched down in Sauk Rapids and Rice claiming seventy-two lives and destroyed hundreds of buildings on the 14^th of April 1886. Record floods in both Moorhead and East Grand Forks in 1997. For you snow buffs, the most snow in 24 hrs in North America occurred in Silver Lake, Colorado when 76" fell on 14 - 15 April 1921.

PHENOLOGY: I’ll do my best considering the cool weather. First, LITTLE ROCK LAKE ICE-OUT on the 13^th and the first dock in was Vic Hengels dock on the 26^th and I removed the birdbath heater the same day.

The bird department - - Tree Swallows arrived on the 4^th. The first Brown-headed Cow Birds arrived on the 9^th and I heard the call of the Saw-whet Owl. On the 10^th the first worms were on the driveway from the rain. On the 15^th I counted seventeen Common Loons on the lake. On the 16^th I counted 150 American Pelicans and the next day more than 300 were swimming and eating fish out of Little Rock Lake. On the 17^th I saw the first Northern Flicker. He stayed around for several days. On the 19^th the first “meowwwww” of the Grey Catbird was heard and on the 22^nd I observed a Wood Duck going into the house on my large maple tree. By the 23^rd, all the pelicans were gone. Headed north to Lake of the Woods. On the 25^th the first Purple Martin scouts arrived and were busy checking out the houses. They were gone the next day when it turned really cold. On the 29^th while fishing in the Rainy River, Baudette, MN the Purple Martins arrived only to be gone the next day when it turned really cold and lots of rain.

The growing things started sprouting and really greening up. On the 6^th (it was still really cold yet) the Johnnie Jump ups were in bloom in sunny areas. On the 8^th crocus’ were in bloom and more throughout the month. On the 20^th the pocket gophers started making their mounds in the grass on slopes facing south. On the 22^nd, I pulled the first WOOD TICK off my neck and on the 25^th the mosquitoes were back in full force. They were gone when the cold weather returned the next day.

RESIDENT OBSERVATIONS: On the 4^th Don Weyer observed his first Blue Birds while cleaning out their houses near his home. On the 6^th Einar Anderson reported that the lake water level was dropping and that one of the large flood gates at the Sartell dam was open. On the 11^th, Sue Cekalla and Vince Goering had loon sighting on the lake. Fred Segler heard the first wren making a terrible racket in his garden on the 26th. Was spring on the way? I can’t recall the dates, both Dr. Ray Merritt and Emil Williams both reported Eastern Phoebe’s checking out nesting spots.

NATURE NOTE: Scientists believe the common loon is long-lived, estimating the life span at 15 - 30 years. One banded individual was still alive eighteen years later and loons have the least wing surface in proportion to body weight of any flying bird. Jim Gilbert’s MINNESOTA NATURE NOTES pp104.