From the North Shore of Little Rock Lake

FEBRUARY 2011 WEATHER & PHENOLOGY IN REVIEW

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

 

          Like January, February started out with below zero temperatures.  While I’m on that subject, I recorded below zero temperatures on fourteen of the twenty-eight days.  It was just plain cold.   Excluding the six days in mid-month when we had a respite from the cold, our average low temperature was a -5.85 degrees below zero (F).  For me, it was  depressing.   The LP gas truck had a well worn path to our gas tank that required monthly filling.  That equated to a lot of $$$$$.

          It was not only cold here, a record cold temperature was recorded in Bartisville, Oklahoma when those poor citizens experienced a -31 degree below (F) reading that broke a record cold of -27 degrees below zero (F) that was set in 1930.  (They’re several hundred miles south of us too.)  I should mention that I got a phone call from a friend of mine in Carson City, Nevada (Steve Erickson) that it was snowing.  Something that does not happen there very often.  Similar complaints from friends in Texas complaining about ice and snow.  Even south of Dallas.

          On the 13th, our break in the cold started.  In the beginning, I had hopes that this would be a February that I could look back on and say that the winter wasn’t so bad after all.  It even got to 53.9 degrees (F) on the17th.   Snow was melting and our roof was losing snow fast.   Even the birds were happy.  All the creeks were open,  and Zuleger Creek was up by more than a foot.   I should have known that this would not continue.  Before I whine and cry too much about this February, there have been several other years when the low average was below zero. 

          On the positive side of things, only two inches of snow fell for the first twenty days.   With catastrophic predictions of flooding, snow was not something we needed.

          Well, when you read the significant weather event, when the snow came, it really came.  A positive note to it all, only .65" of liquid was produced from the more than 15" of snow.  It’s winter in Minnesota, I should be used to it.  I’ll look forward to a mild March.

 

SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EVENT:       Well folks, all the weather stations and even the good Professor Bob Weisman of St. Cloud State said there would be a lot of snow.  The only question was where it would fall.  Predictions were all over the place.  Well, it fell here!  Minneapolis also got hit with a lot of snow.  Minneapolis had to declare their eighth snow emergency.  Strangely, St. Cloud received less than eight inches.  There must have been a tent over the St. Cloud weather station...

          It started on Sunday afternoon (20 Feb) at 4:10 P.M. with sort of sleet that turned to snow right away.  Snowfall increased all night.  When I measured at 7:00 A.M. the snow depth totaled 12.9” of snow and .56” of precipitation.    It continued snowing the next day.  Visibility was less than a mile much of the time.

The last time I measured more than a foot of snow in a 24 hr period was 4th of January 1997 when I recorded 12.75" that totaled 29.75" for the month.  When the current storm ended I measured 16.4" of the white stuff.

          I should not forget to mention the folks who drive the snow plows.    Yes, the yellow flashing strobe lights of the Burski Construction truck busy plowing out North Freedom Road woke me up at 6:15 A.M..   These good folks deserve a big “THANK YOU” from all of us in the Rice area.  There was so much snow in my driveway I had to get Burski back with their bobcat to remove the snow from my driveway.  I have to move all the snow from a double driveway to one side.  It was piled so high that the snow blower would not throw it over the top.   When I called Burski’s informing them of my plight, it was Mr. “Dusty” to the rescue.  The big truck with the bobcat arrived in less than an hour.   Four minutes with the bobcat and the driveway was clear.  My wife Jan could finally get her little yellow VW Beetle out of the garage.  This was a first.

 

WEATHER LAST FEBRUARY:       Colder and a little dryer...   For all my whining this year, I was surprised to see that last February the average low was colder at  -1.66 degrees below Zero (F).  No mid-month warm-up and seventeen days with below zero readings did it.   The warm reading was a 43.7 degree day on the 28th.  Thirteen days of snow produced 9.0" and .72" of liquid.  The precipitation season ended with 1.56" of precipitation (From 01 Jan) and 30.2" of snow for the snow season.

 

WEATHER:       Some temperature facts - our low temp average was .11 degrees ABOVE zero (F) with the cold day on the 10th when the digital thermometer greeted me with a -27.7 degrees below zero (F) display.  Our warm average was 25.91 degrees (F) and we were blessed with a balmy 53.9 degree day on the 17th.  Creeks were flowing and the critters were hoping for more of the same.  Yes, it turned cold again.  We started and ended the month with below zero readings. 

          Seven days produced snow that totaled an even 20.0" that produced only .96" of liquid.   Precipitation measured 1.98" (since 01 Jan) for the season and 48.5" of snow for this current snow season that started back on the 23rd of November...  There was ten inches of snow on the ground at the end of the month. 

WEATHER RECORDS:       Records reflect we are still locked in winter.  Our coldest local temp was a -42 degrees below zero (F) in 1896 while the warm temp was a moderate 56 degrees in 1981.  In greater MN in 1996 (I remember this) Tower MN recorded the record lowest temp ever at -60 degrees below (F) while a record high of 73 degrees in 1986 happened in Pleasant Mound.  That folks, is a whopping 133 degrees temperature difference in a single month.  Incredible!  The local snow record was 21.6" in 1975.  (We came close this year) 

 

PHENOLOGY:       YEA!  We’ve gained more than 2:19 minutes of daylight since with winter solstice.  Light at the end of the tunnel.   

          The saga of Mr. Thrasher is ongoing.   He’s still here.  Braving the cold and snow he’s usually at the feeder working on mixed seeds and suet.   I can’t believe that this bird will have successfully wintered over.  I hope he finds a friend this spring and has a lot of little thrashers willing to brave the cold and snow.

          A variety of feeders, suet and the heated bird bath attract a wide variety of our feathered friends.  Juncos, Chickadees, a variety of woodpeckers, lots of Blue Jays, a couple of American Crows, some Purple Finches, eight wild turkeys wandered thru the yard, several Red Cardinals, three Mourning Doves and, if you can believe it, a very large Red-tailed Hawk feeding on the large chunk of suet.   The hawk stayed there for more than fifteen minutes.   I think that my flying squirrels have left.  I’ve not seen them in more than a month.

 

RESIDENT/OBSERVER SIGHTINGS:       My neighbor Vince and daughter Maykenna have a pair of Bald Eagles that visit their large willow tree on a regular basis along with a pair of crows.    

          I received several e-mails.  One from Ann Mikkelson in Xalapa, Mexico telling me sightings of hummingbirds, brown jays, some parrots and warblers.  Tom Krieg (winters in Texas - what a wuss) told of a large quail that flew into one of his windows nearly breaking it.  It recovered and finally flew away.  He also sighted a couple of roadrunners and several hummingbirds.  John Perske also from the Dallas area, reports Mourning and White Winged Doves and Great Tailed Grackles.

          My good friend Dr. Ray Merritt, an avid nature person who is wintering over in Georgia, reports he saw many monarchs going across the golf courses of the Florida Panhandle heading north on the 23rd.  Alligators have also appeared from their winter hibernation.  The Gulf water temp is now 62 degrees.  That means the spring fishing season is about to start.   Ray should be heading north in a week or so to Rice MN.