From the North Shore of Little Rock Lake in pristine Benton Co.

SEPTEMBER 2011 WEATHER & PHENOLOGY IN REVIEW

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

With no trouble at all, we can say that this was a month without rain. Well, almost. In mid-month a four-day stretch of rain, produced 1.12" of the wet stuff. It was a local rain. Most parts of the state received less than one half inch of rain setting records in many localities. Yes, it was time to get the hose out to rescue the grass and gardens.

It was a month of temperature extremes and some daily records were set. On the 14^th it snowed in Isabella. We were “chugging” along just fine with temperatures in 50 - 80 degrees (F) range. Then the bottom of the thermometer fell out on the 15^th & 16^th when the low temperatures dropped to 27.5 degrees (F). It was a killing frost for many plants. The cold snap was short lived like the mid-month spot of rain. However, it took a day or two to forget the 1/3" OF ICE in the bird bath. The “crazy” weather made me wonder what October would bring.

WEATHER LAST AUGUST:

A far cry from this year. Cooler for the high average and a LOT more rain. The low temperature was 36.8 degrees (F) on the 23^rd and I recorded 80.1 degrees (F) on the 2^nd. The average low was 45.4 degrees (F) and the high was 64.14 degrees. Only two days saw temperatures reach the 80-degree mark and only seven days produced 70 degree readings.

It rained on fourteen days. The most rain fell on the 2^nd when I recorded 1.15". Rainfalls of 1.07" and .99" on the 16^th and 24^th respectively accounted for most of the rain. Like this year (though we are now in the possible snow season) NO SNOW... We ended the month with 4.35" of rain and a year total of 29.3" compared to 27.87" this year.

WEATHER:

I’ve alluded to most of the weather earlier. We started the month with 80 degree (F) readings and ended the month on the same note. The warmest recorded here on the N end of Little Rock Lake was a balmy 86.9 degrees (F) on the 11^th. Total rainfall was a measly 1.16" that did not help our total rainfall which has fallen about two inches from last year. Will October bring another Halloween Day blizzard?

WEATHER RECORDS IN SEPTEMBER:

Our record cool temps are going down. The local record low is a chilly 18 degrees (F) while the out state record is even colder at 10 degrees (F). Our warm records have St. Cloud sweltering at 106 degrees (F) while Beardsley made it to 111 degrees (F). We would have had to have 9.57" of rain to break the 10.72" we received back in1926. Yes, not so long ago (1995) our local record snow of .2" fell in the St. Cloud area.

OTHER SEPTEMBER RECORDS:

The earliest measurable snow fell in International Falls when they received .03" on the 14^th.

PHENOLOGY:

Little Rock Lake water temperatures were up and down due to the changing air temperatures. 58 degrees (F) at the beginning of the month then high temperatures peaked the water at 71 degrees (F) on the 11^th then it dropped to 54 degrees (F) at the end of the month. That, I’m sure, confused the fish. (Fishing has been terrible on Little Rock Lake.)

Birds - - - As our seasons change, summer turns to fall, one of the first birds to leave were the Northern Orioles. They were gone, just like that on the 4^th. Would you believe that they left last year on the 5^th? On the 17^th the hummingbirds were active at the feeders and very vocal in the nearby trees. It is surprising how loud they can be. By the end of the month they were gone also. Canadian geese have been observed in their “V” formations heading south along with some ducks. The last half of the month, the birds just seem to have disappeared. Hardly a one at the feeders or bird bath. Just a few woodpeckers, Blue Jays and a few Mourning Doves.

Odds & ends - - - Leopard Frogs on the decline. Probably digging themselves in the mud for the winter. I hope they return in the same record numbers they had this summer. The squirrel population that was just driving me nuts eating me out of house and home with the sunflower seeds are now near zero. There must be a hawk working on their numbers or maybe a disease of some type. With sunflower seeds costing what they do, I’m glad they are not at the feeders. At Benton Beach Park, this has been a bumper crop for acorns. The deer and what is left of the squirrel population should go there. There were still a lot of butterflies checking out the fall flowers. Monarch, Red Admiral, Clouded Sulphur and a Tiger Swallowtail were observed. October will bring more changes.

NATURE NOTE:

Jim Gilbert, noted naturalist and “critter” observer checked out the migration of Monarch Butterflies. He reported that it takes 800 of them to make one pound. WCCO Radio, 09 Oct 2011. His program Nature Notes airs on Sundays from 7:15 - 7:30 AM. He passes a lot of interesting information along with his callers.

PICTURE:

A Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly on a cone flower.

Photo by Janice Martin, Rice MN.