the Snowless Winter?

On my other blog site I wrote a post about Minnesota having a brown Christmas. Since then we've had very unseasonably warm weather - highs in the 40s* / 4*C and lows in the 20s* / -7*C. I think there was one or two days when it was 13* / -11*C. And no snow in sight. Yesterday we hit 50*F / 10*C.

This is not normal.

Reactions to this balmy, snowless winter range from love to hate. I can understand why some may love the safe travels to far off places for Christmas and whatnot, and not having to bundle up in countless layers until you look like the kid brother in A Christmas Story.

 

And of course those who hate this winter weather are skiers, snowmobilers, ice fishers, winter carnival planners, and the like. I mean, some people look forward to a good Minnesota winter so they can do those things.

But I think there will be an outcome to this strange winter other than safer travel and empty ski resorts. What about the effects to the environment itself? Now don't worry, I'm not going to get all eco-freakish on you. What I think many people don't realize is that we are in a serious drought.

Whether you love it or not, snow is actually very important.

1. It acts as a giant blanket, insulating and protecting the soil and plants from the dangerous sub-zero temperatures we see in a standard winter. Think of wearing a nice, puffy down coat as you run to warm up your car on a -24* morning with a biting 10 mph wind.
2. The winter months are actually a time of drought. Oh, sure it snows, but how is the rock-hard frozen soil going to use a pile of frozen water? The snow melt in spring is what replenishes the water tables, rivers and lakes.

Remember last fall? We had very little rainfall, a drought was declared, as well as fire hazards. I watched numerous ponds dry up. The ground was dry, powdery and cracked. Lawns dried up. The Minnesota River is currently at least 20 feet below its banks.

Now we have no snow.

The warm temperatures aren't helping either. One of our maple trees already has leaf buds swelling. If it continues to stay this warm, it's very possible the trees could leaf out in February!

My biggest fear is if we suddenly get the sub-zero temperatures that January and February are famous for with no snow cover. Remember Point 1 about snow being a blanket? Getting sub-zero temps without that blanket would be as dangerous to the plants as it would be for you to sit outside in the same weather wearing only shorts and a t-shirt. And equally as fatal.

Here's what I think will happen if we get sub-zero temps and no snow:

1. Any swelled leaf buds will die. The trees and shrubs will either set more and leaf out considerably later in summer, or not set anymore at all which will cause the plant to be weaker and more susceptible to diseases and insects.
2. The root systems of plants (trees, flowers, lawns) will be damaged significantly, making them weaker and slower to grow in the spring, or just outright kill them.
3. No snow melt will cause a spring drought, adding even more stress to the plants already damaged by the excessive cold.

Many people are singing the praises of this very mild winter. I disagree; we are potentially in a very dangerous situation. If this weather continues, those same people will complain the loudest about the inevitable drought.