AUGUST, 2007 WEATHER & PHENOLOGY IN REVIEW
From the North Shores of Little Rock Lake
N 45 44 .862' W 094 09 .603'
Jim Hovda, Rice, MN 56367-0265 jhovda.rice@juno.com
CAPSULE OF LAST AUGUST: Warmer (no 90's) all the way around and an inch more rain. 3.77" fell bringing the year total to 16.99 compared to 14.23" for this years total. Most years our total rainfall is in the twenty inch bracket this far into the year. The drought was present last year too. Some of the birds left on nearly the same dates.
WEATHER EXTREMES NOT SO FAR AWAY: August continued to be a dry year here in Central MN. The storms and record rainfall in the Twin Cities never made it past Rogers, MN. Record rainfall since records were kept were broken. The Minneapolis area recorded over 9" of rainfall for the month of August. (Average is 4.05" for the month.) One storm on 11 August, left 250,000 folks without power. 70 - 100 mile per hour winds to our south and north were recorded. Roads were flooded leaving cars stranded with water up to the door handles. NOA weather radio sounded several storm alerts for our area, but all the bad weather fizzled out. All we got was a lot of rain. There were several storms during the month that dropped a lot of rain just to our south and north.
WEATHER: Temp-wise, a normal August. Lots of days with temps in the high 80's. St. Cloud had more than fifteen days than with temps in the 90's. High humidity seemed to be common too. Our high temp was a 92.8 degree day on the 10th. We did have a really cool couple of days on the 19th and 20th when the thermometer never got above 59.1 degrees. Even the furnace kicked on. The coolest morning occurred on the 30th with a 43.1 degree reading. It did warm up nicely during the day tho. The average low for the month was 54.51 and the high was 78.15 degrees. I know that Rice was a lot warmer because I live on the north end of Little Rock Lake and the water has a dramatic effect on the high temps as there is usually a south wind.
In the rainfall department we did get more rain than last month. (about an inch more) It rained on eleven days with the most rain falling on the 11th when we received .81". This was part of the storm that did a lot of damage in the Twin Cites. On the 14th we received another .76" with lots or really heavy weather to the west. Even with this rain, contractors tell of very dry soil only a foot down. We really need lots more rain. The creeks near here showed little or no increase in rate of flow. We ended the month with 2.58" of rain for a years total of 14.23".
WEATHER RECORDS: The low record for the area was a chilly 33 degrees in 1974 while the out-state reading dropped to 20 degrees just three years ago in 2004 in none other than in Embarrass. On the warm side we recorded a 105 degree reading in 1936 in St. Cloud while an even warmer reading was recorded in Montevideo when the temp climbed to a 110 degree reading. Rainfall records for the area include 9.28" for the month in 1900 - .42" the least in 1933 - 4.47" in one 24 hour period in 1956. This is the last month with NO SNOW. Sept starts the possible snow season.
PHENOLOGY: Birds first. Big numbers this summer for: Northern Orioles (Baltimore) - - Brown-headed Cowbirds - - Red-winged Blackbirds - - Purple Finch - - Rose-breasted Grosbeak - - Purple Martins - - Pileated, Downy & Hairy Woodpeckers - - and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Low numbers for: House Wrens - - Robins - - Wood Ducks - - and Eastern Blue Birds. I thought that the Purple Martins left on the 2nd and so informed Jim Gilbert (WCCO) but I was wrong. They reappeared off and on until the 22nd when a couple arrived, stayed for a couple of hours then vanished. None since. This has been the most active year for the Orioles. They have been going thru hummingbird feed and grape jelly like never before. At least eighteen jars. On the 30th there were lots in the morning but in the afternoon their numbers dropped drastically. By the 31st only a couple of Orioles were left. The only things eating the grape jelly and hummingbird nectar were the "hummers", lots of bees, yellow jackets and hornets. Ma Mallard and her seven (used to be ducklings) grown ducks are still coming to the cracked corn feeder along with several bunnies and squirrels. On the 13th Harvey Meinert observed the Tree Swallows bunching up on the power lines. They are also grouping on boat lifts. Fall is near.
Other living things: Few Monarch and Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies. Observed zero larvae for them even tho I have lots of milkweed and the same for Black Swallowtail larvae compared to lots last year on the parsley. Red Admiral butterflies were abundant. Tho their numbers are up, Leopard Frogs are still in short supply. And, I have not seen the garden snake. I think a lawn mower got him/her. My sunflowers reached a height of ten feet and had the most beautiful large round flowers. The fall flowers are budding and giving serious thought to blooming. The rain we received towards the end of the month has the grass growing enthusiastically.
Clouds prevented me from observing the total lunar eclipse that occurred on the morning of the 28th. It rained/misted for two days.
RESIDENT OBSERVATIONS: My old friend, Dr. Ray Merritt, observed no less than four Pileated Woodpeckers near his house at one time. Ray tells me that they have been in the area all summer. My wife Jan says bumble bees in record numbers are on some of the wild flowers. Jim Wainright tells me that this summer he has seen a larger variety of songbirds than ever before. He did name a number of them.
INTERESTING NOTES: WATER FACT - - In MN there is one recreational boat for every six people, a higher percentage than any other state. MN Weatherguide Calender. Loons sometimes dive 240 feet deep. They can swim 400 yds and stay underwater for up to five minutes to escape danger. Loons can live 20 years or more. MN Conservation Volunteer May - June.