From the North Shore of Little Rock Lake

JUNE 2011 WEATHER & PHENOLOGY IN REVIEW

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

Well, here it is, the 4^th of July (Happy Birthday America) and I’m just getting started with this news letter. The festivities have caused me to fall behind. I must admit tho, two fishing expeditions to Camp Ripley for sunfish were part of the issue. Yes, fishing was good. Sunfish tonight.

Noting that May was a really wet month, what did June bring? Well, it started out really dry. In fact, our coffee crew that enters prognostications about the coming months precipitation was concerned that the low guess might win with less than an inch of rain as only .08" fell as of the 14^th. Enter really hot and humid weather on the 6^th and 7^th when temperatures hit the mid-nineties (The good Professor Bob Weisman, SCSU, reported 101 degrees (F) in St. Cloud) and issues of brown lawns became a concern. It cooled off. In fact, from 101 Degrees (F) on the 7^th to a low of 56 degrees (F) the following morning saw a 45-degree difference in temperatures. Then, a nine-day stretch of rain ended moisture concerns.

A bummer, as of the 25^th the days started getting shorter. Lots of warm weather ahead tho. Enjoy the summer while it lasts.

WEATHER LAST MAY: A little warmer and a lot more rain. The average low and high temperatures varied only a couple of degrees while 4.27" of precipitation compared to only 2.99" this year was significant. It rained all month. Rain fell on 19 days and the most rain fell on the 4^th when I recorded .83". It was a great month for growing things. The month ended with a total of 12.39" of precipitation for the year compared to 13.8" this year.

WEATHER: Average lows ranged from the high forties to low sixties while the highs were mostly in the seventies and eighties. The recorded low was 42.9 degrees (F) on the 11^th while 94.2 degrees was my recorded high on the 8^th. Rain fell on fifteen days with the most rain falling on the 16^th when I recorded .83" part of a storm that produced 1.41" of rain in two days. The last six days were rain free and the grass was starting to turn brown again. The month ended with only 2.99" of rain and the year totaled 13.80".

For those of you who love catching fish, the barometer was your friend. The month recorded very stable readings. In fact, I recorded five days showing no change in barometer readings. To put this in perspective, it’s rare to see this for months on end.

WEATHER RECORDS IN JUNE: Locally, the low reading of 32 degrees (F) was recorded in 1993, while in Greater MN the digital thermometer dipped to 15 degrees (F) in 1964. On the warm side of things our local record was set in 1931 when the temperature reached 102 degrees (F) and it was even warmer in Maple Plain in 1934 with a 112 degrees (F) reading.

Locally, the most rain in June fell in 1920 when 10.56" was recorded while the least amount fell in 1988 when only .08" hit the ground. NO SNOW fell in June.

OTHER RECORDS IN JUNE: The most tornadoes in MN in one day (27) was recorded on the 16^th, along with the most tornadoes (38) State-wide in 1968 and 1992 respectively. The most destructive tornados were caused by F5 tornadoes in Tracy in 1968 and Chandler in 1992. For those of you venturing to Alaska, you should know that the record high was a 100 degrees (F) reading on the 27^th in 1915. I’ll bet the mosquitoes were just nuts. They do have a lot of them in Alaska. On the 22^nd of June 2003, the largest hailstone (Circumference) ever recorded fell in/on Aurora, Nebraska. This hailstone measured 18.75" circumference and 7.0" in diameter. Now that would be one heck of a hit on the head if you got nailed by that one. You might even make a visit to the morgue.

PHENOLOGY: Sort of a slow month for critters and plants. The May wet & cool weather slowed the green things up. It sure didn’t slow the weed growing tho. Jan and I spent nearly an entire day pulling up unwanted plants from gardens. Most of the color was produced by the numerous Johnnie jump ups in one garden. The Trumpet vines were in their full orange long booms along with carnations and bachelor buttons.

Birdies & flying things - - Although not a bird, no sighting of brown bats. This is a concern making me wonder what has caused their demise. Numbers are down with Tree Swallows, Purple Martins, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and House Wrens. An attention getter, very few bees of all type. Usually the yellow jackets are busy building their nests especially near places of human activity. NONE this year, at least so far. Many of these insects play an important role in controlling pests that destroy gardens and crops.

The summer solstice occurred on the 21^st. Summer began in the Northern Hemisphere. Four days later the days, if only by a little bit, days started getting shorter.

In the useless information department, I mowed the lawn no less than seven times... So ends this article.

NATURE NOTE: Dragonflies - - Are reported to be dangerous, and they are, but only to smaller insects which they can, and eat on the wing. An adult dragonfly is capable of eating its own weight in food in half an hour. Jim Gilbert’s Minnesota Nature Notes. pp 157.