NOVEMBER
WEATHER & PHENOLOGY IN REVIEW
From
the
Jim
Hovda,
N
45 44 .862' W 094
09 .603
CAPSULE OF LAST
NOVEMBER: Temp
wise, about the same. One day with a below zero reading compared to three
this year. The coldest day was a -1.9 degree reading on the 30th and the
warmest was 66.3 degrees on the 8th. 2006 was also dry
sporting only .42" of precip. The normal for a November is
1.94". All the snow (.5") fell on the 12th. The month
ended with no snow on the ground.
WEATHER: Temps
for the month, about average. At the end on the month we had three
days with below zero readings. With strong winds out of the west and
north our first wind chills were reported as lot as -18 degrees. The
coldest reading occurred on the 28th with a -2.8 degrees showing on the
digital thermometer. The first half of the month gave us some early
fall-like days. The warmest day was on the 13th with a 57.7 degree balmy
day. Many days in the first part of the month were in the
50's. Fourteen days gave us rain or snow. However, only four
of those days gave us measurable precipitation that totaled .05".
Eleven of those days the white flakes descended with only trace amounts
except on the 10th when I measured .10" of snow on the ground. A
pitiful amount of precipitation, to say the least. As I write this, lots
of snow is forecast for the beginning of Dec.
We'll see!!!
WEATHER
RECORDS: No
records were broken this month. Temp records for the area and
out state were: -23 degrees here and -45 degrees
in Pokegama Dam. On the hot side 75 degrees and 84 degrees in
PHENOLOGY: November
usually brings us from fall to serious winter. Many of our
"critters" and birds get into their winter modes. Pocket
gophers active at the beginning of the month were pretty much done digging according
to Mr. "Stormn" Norman Meinert by the 20th. A few flowers
did their best to just "hang in there" Monkshood, parsley, and a
few roses were in late bloom on the 15th. In mid-month I put
out the suet much to the pleasure of a number of birds, especially the
woodpeckers. They included: Red-bellied, Downy, Hairy and a
couple of Pileated. Cedar Waxwing and American Robins cleaned
off all the berries from my Mountain Ash tree. Getting the
electric heaters in the two bird baths did wonders for attracting the
birds. And, moving one from close to a couple of Arborvitae trees
and a Yew bush into an open area did wonders for attracting more
birds. I think they were worried about being ambushed. Now it
is rare to see a bird bath without a bird on it. Yes, the pesky
squirrel even hops up for a drink much to the disgust of both our
cats. My first sightings in several years of Golden Eagles
occurred on the 14th when I observed three hovering in the air near the
Some
firsts: Snow flurries on the 6th, temps in the teens on the
22nd, Tundra Swans in Little Rock Lake on the ice next
to open water, on the 24th LITTLE ROCK LAKE FREEZES OVER only to open the
next day, anglers ice fishing on the 26th and 27th saw the
first below zero reading.
RESIDENT
OBSERVATIONS: Ms.
Evie Kirchner (Rice) reports black squirrels in her yard and at her
feeder. It is the first time she has ever seen them. Resident long
time angler Randy Fernholz reports the first folks drilling thru the ice
(not very thick either) occurred on the 19th and the first fish house a week
later. Even with the below zero temps and bitterly cold wind chill
temps, Little Rock Lake still has a large portion of open water in the center
of the lake. Fernholz reports many areas of the big part of the
north end of the lake have 3.5 - 4" of ice. And the lake is really
clear. The algae that plagued us this summer is gone. I
suspect the constant wind is the reason that the lake is still
open. It brings caution to those who venture out on the
lake. The ice is not safe yet. And, with snow coming and open water
in the center, hazardous ice conditions may remain for quite some
time.
NATURE
FACT: The