JUNE, 2007 WEATHER & PHENOLOGY IN REVIEW

From the North Shores of Little Rock Lake

Jim Hovda, Rice, MN  56367-0265   jhovda.rice@juno.com

CAPSULE OF LAST JUNE:       About the same temp wise with more rain.   3.43" compared to only 1.18" this year.   I have to go back to 1997 when we had a like amount of rain measuring only 1.47".   Most Junes are over the 5" mark.  The normal is 4.34".  Last At this point in time, 2006 was dry.

WEATHER:       Temps about normal.  The average low was 55.95 degrees.  Mostly 50's and 60's.  The coldest day was the 4th with a 42.4 degree reading.  On the hi side the average was 80.17 degrees with the warmest day on the 10th  with a peak reading of 88.7 degrees.  No 90's on the north end of Little Rock Lake with the lake cooling the temps significantly.   Lot's of 90 degree days in St. Cloud and Rice though.   At least in the Rice area, we are in a serious drought.  Rainfall has been spotty.   Some heavy rains only a mile or two away accompanied with hail have made differences in some localities.  On the 3rd St. Cloud receive over 2" of rain and we only got .08".  On the 4th, when I measured a measly .18" of rain, Harvey Meinert about one mile east of me received just over an inch with ground covering hail.  Just north of Rice in Morrison County, much more rain.  On the 20th, no rain here but big storms in the Mpls metro area with hail measuring over 4" in diameter causing serious damage.   Later in the month hail hit the St. Cloud area causing the insurance companies head aches with a lot of vehicle damage.    When I planted a small tree the ground was powder dry under the grass.   I fear the trees are in serious trouble if we do not get more rain.   We had rain on twelve days with the most rain falling on the 7th with .19" hitting the ground.  Maybe if we all pray hard we will receive the needed rain for our green things that are turning brown.

WEATHER RECORDS:       Our coldest area temp occurred on the 1st in 1993 with a 32 degree reading while the low in out state was 15 degrees in Big Fork.  Our warmest area temp was a scorching 102 degrees on the 28th with an eight degree increase of 110 degrees in Canby.  105 degrees difference in the month of June............   In the rain department, the most rain in any June occurred in 1920 when we received 10.56".   Fortunately, we did not break the least amount of rain record of .05" set in 1988. 

PHENOLOGY:    Lot's of:  Brown-headed Cowbirds (more than ever),   Baltimore Orioles, Purple Martins and Purple Finches.  Packs of grey squirrels.  Monarch, White Admiral, Red Admiral, Pearl Crescent and Mourning Cloak butterflies.  Not many:  Zero, so far, Black Swallowtail caterpillars feeding on parsley compared to lots last year.  Clouded Sulphurs in short supply and Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies.   Bees/wasps and Yellow Jackets down in numbers.  Is the rainfall having its effect?

       First sightings:   5th - Painted Lady, White Admiral and Eastern Tailed Blue butterflies;  7th - Jim Wainright observed several Brown Thrashers fighting with Robins for territory,  Jerry Perske obs Scarlet Tanager on North Freedom Rd,  18th - marked the return of the Whip-poor-will calling in the evening and hours after dark, 19th - lightning bugs,  21st - mama Mallard Duck with seven little ones arriving at the bowl of cracked corn,  22nd - my first sighting in some time of a Question Mark butterfly along with twelve American Pelicans just off the mouth of Little Rock Creek on Little Rock Lake (were they lost?), the Saw fly larvae appeared on the Mountain Ash trees  and on 28th - Mr. "No Shoulders" the garden snake (only about 18" long).

       At the end of June I was going to list the flowers that were in bloom.  Too many.  Over fourteen different plants were displaying their flowers.  Notable - Hastas, Garden Roses, Tamarisk, Clematis (purple & white) and both regular and Swamp Milkweed.

ODDS & ENDS:    Observed the Shuttle and space station on the 19th just below the moon.  Impressive!  After dripping whatever it was from the maple trees onto the windows and deck, the trees finally stopped on the 25th.  Little Rock Lake has been in the throws of the worst algae bloom in many years.   The stench coming from the lake and backwaters of Little Rock Creek was no less than awesome.  This started in May and has continued to the present.  The DNR says the explanation is complicated and is a statewide problem for shallow lakes like Little Rock Lake.   For information about this issue go the Little Rock Lake Association web site http://www.littlerocklake.org/ to learn more about this issue. 

NATURE FACT:       Shrewdly Cool - We keep our food fresh by keeping it cool.  The short-tail shrew (Blarina brevicauda) does us one better:  It injects a paralyzing neurotoxin into insects so they stay alive but immobile until the shrew is ready to eat them.  MN Conservation Volunteer May - June 2007 pp 59.