Weather 2013

[cohan]

The Pyrolas (mostly asarifolia, just a few elliptica) are super common here- they don't grow in full sun, but do grow from deep shade under spruce to quite open woods etc. I think in summer they are all fairly shaded, though some certainly get dappled sun. Some of the open areas though have  small shrubs, grasses and forbs which would shade the plants in summer, but not in winter. Out snowfall depths vary hugely from one spot to another (even just a few metres away)-- the spruce and mixed woods can have very light snowcover even when there may be a foot or a foot and a half or more in open and low lying areas, So, some of those spots- especially at the base of a deciduous tree, facing south or west, may have very little snow which easily melts during warm spells leaving the plants fully exposed. Orthilia is common but not as abundant as Pyrola, and I think a similar set of exposures. Moneses is much shier and less common, I haven't seen any exposed, but there are far fewer.
Linnaea here is also super common in a wide range of sites from very shady to nearly full sun- the difference I think is that it probably doesn't tolerate some of the driest sites (under some spruce) where Pyrola asarifolia will grow. I have seen Linnaea exposed in winter as well, though I can't say I've tracked those bits to see if they were damaged by the time spring arrived..
Unfortunately, I don't yet have any of those other nice Ericaceae etc! Not that many Rhodos hardy here, though I have seen some deciduous cultivars hybrids for sale that are supposed to be hardy.

[Hoy]

I have heard you are hit by a tremendous snow storm in eastern USA. How do you cope?

[Gordon]

We are in the midst of the storm here in southwestern Nova Scotia, though it hasn't been as terrible as anticipated (so far). This winter is going to be quite hard on some plants. We usually get a reasonable amount of snow that keeps the ground covered for the whole season, but this winter has been odd! Snow, then the warmth comes for a few days and all traces of the white stuff is gone, then the temperature plunges for a week or so, then the pattern repeats.We have gained and lost all snow cover several times this winter The other morning it was -20 C at 6:00 AM when I woke. One week ago we were skating on our pond, and the next day temperatures rose to +13 C for a day and a half. Most of the ice melted (it was at over 6" thick). Yesterday was the first time I was able to walk out on the ponds again.

We thought about starting a wager on which plants will survive this winter, and which will not. I somehow doubt that Euphorbia 'Tasmanian Tiger' will come back in the spring, and I have my doubts about Acanthus mollis as well. This is going to be a real test for a few other plants as well (Digitalis obscura, Kniphofia triangularis, to name a few). Hopefully the five Lysichiton camtschatcensis that were planted pondside will tough it out and show us what they can do here!

[McDonough]

I have heard you are hit by a tremendous snow storm in eastern USA. How do you cope?

Well Trond, this was quite the storm.  I was at a conference 2800 miles away in Las Vegas, Nevada, scheduled to fly back the same night as the predicted blizzard.  Mid-week, I decided to cut the conference short by one day and managed to book the very last seat available on Delta. So glad I did that, over 5000 flights were canceled due to the storm, I would've been struck in Detroit sleeping on an airport floor for the weekend if I had not changed travel arrangements.

Its hard to tell how much snow we received due to the 50-60 mph winds (up to 75 mph along the coast), it roared and buffeted the house all night long. It looks like we easily reached the predicted 2' (60 cm) of white stuff.  There is a State-wide travel ban in place, with threat of a stated $500 fine and up to a year in jail if caught traveling without emergency reasons; seems way over-the-top excessive, probably put out there as compliance by fear factor.

I know what I'll be doing all afternoon 

[cohan]

Good thing you got home ahead of it, Mark- 2 feet at once is a lot to deal with- we wouldn't be going anywhere for a couple/few days if we got that, since our back roads don't usually get plowed immediately, though highways are usually clear...

Meanwhile we continue with our mild 2013- temps this coming week from just above to just below zero daytime, with nothing lower than -13C at night; average is -3/-16C and we usually expect some spells much colder than that in Jan/Feb (we did have literally a couple of days in Jan that were cold) still plenty of snow on the ground however..

[RickR]

Mark, should I send you my snowshoes?


With that kind of wind, Mark, you might be able to cut snow blocks for igloo building.

[McDonough]

Regarding strict fines on a driving ban, we only heard of it many hours after it had been established.  Had I been without power (400,000 MA residents were without power the morning after the storm started), or en route getting back home from one means or another unaware of such a restriction, without access to such announcements, or a hundred other legitimate reasons, such drivers would be totally unaware of such an edict.  A year in prison for driving in such a case, without considering the circumstances of why a person might be driving, seems ridiculously extreme to the max.  There would be a lesser consequence if one was a drug pusher. Geesh.

All I could think of... what if after some 20 something hours of airport travel and delays, finally managing to get back to Boston, then getting into my car in the long-term parking economy-lot, then starting my 50.2 mile drive from Boston to get home, but to be stopped and possibly imprisoned for 1 year for merely trying to drive home, unaware of any such draconian no-driving edict. One cannot use phone communications in a plane, and constant radio announcements are not forthcoming in mere seconds or minutes even if one were to turn on the car radio and attempt to listen to news vs. music, if I were attempting to drive back from the airport, how would I know of such a ban (never heard of one in the past). There are so many possible circumstances, given the short amount of time, with so many people without power or access to news, that a majority of the population would be unaware of such a restriction. Fortunately, I saw a number of articles the day of the storm stating police were not arresting people in the few cars out there. The State-wide ban was lifted at 4:00 pm.

[Howey]

Hi Mark:  I have every sympathy for your "serious weather event" and feel so lucky to have escaped with only one day of the "Alberta Clipper's rage here.  Thursday was a great day - had to do some driving but no problem on the roads.  Londoners awoke to a "silent" dump of snow Friday morning and it was a day of digging and blowing the stuff out of driveways and off roads and sidewalks.  However, yesterday, everything was back to "normal" and business as usual.  I hear there were 5000 cancellations at the airport in TO and half a million people were without power.  Guess St. John's Newfoundland is still reeling.  Still like living by the ocean?  Fran

[deesen]

Sounds as though we are not the only nation having legislators with little sense!

[Hoy]

Mark, good to hear you are sound and safe!
Such a ban would be impossible here, then nobody could go anywhere during the winter

At the moment I am at the mountain cabin. 2 ft snow, -15 - -20C (5 - -4F) no wind at all (very rare) but not much sun either. Nice crosscountry ski tour today.

Rick, you know, it is much better to dig into the snow than building an igloo if you have to overnight outside during winter   I've slept in the snow several times in my youth.

[Lori S.]

Such a ban would be impossible here, then nobody could go anywhere during the winter

Gee, I keep forgetting how tough those zone 8 winters are... 

[Hoy]

Lori, I take your point but we have our share as well! And sometimes we want to visit our inland neighbours  
Pictues from the county where I live earlier this winter:


http://www.yr.no/nyheter/1.10843619

Or take a trip to the mountains Although this is not far from the coast.


http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/distrikt/rogaland/jaeren/1.10841263

[cohan]

Trond, That's a lot of snow- pretty impressive infrastructure that they can even keep those roads open! No denying our winter is long, and we can have deep cold, but we are set up to handle that cold, so really, our winter is usually pretty trouble free-it's rare that it even takes more than a few extra minutes on the drive to work here after or during a snowstorm! I think somewhat warmer and wetter places seem to have much more turbulent and troublesome winters: ice storms, huge wet snow dumps etc-- tornadoes again in the southern U.S.!

[RickR]

I think somewhat warmer and wetter places seem to have much more turbulent and troublesome winters: ice storms, huge wet snow dumps etc

I think you're right, Cohan.  I'm not liking this zone 5 weather we've been getting the past few years.
  We never used to have ice storms or humid spells in winter.

[cohan]

I hope they don't move any farther north....