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February 21, 2012

Is it winter yet?

What is usually Febrrrrrruary may be 7.5 degrees warmer than average this year

Lisa Trigg The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — Tulips and daffodils can’t read a calendar to know that it’s still February, so across the Wabash Valley, spring flowers have appeared because temperatures have been averaging about 7.5 degrees higher than usual.

It’s been a mild winter so far in Indiana with the state average being about 5.6 degrees warmer than normal.

While this has not been a record-setting winter, the higher temperatures are getting noticed by weather watchers, farmers and gardeners.

And with higher temperatures expected to continue through the end of February, this winter season could have an average temperature of 35.6 degrees, said Jesse Walker, WTWO meteorologist.

Walker said the average temperature during a meteorological winter — Dec. 1 through Feb. 29 — is about 31.1 degrees in the Wabash Valley.

Last year, the average temperature was 28.1 degrees, so the winter season of 2010-11 was 3 degrees lower than normal.

“With this winter being about 7.5 degrees warmer, that’s a huge difference,” Walker said.

The last time Indiana recorded such a warm winter was in 2001-02.

Taking a look back at winter numbers, Walker said, in the past 10 years only the winters of 2004-05 and 2005-06 were above normal in temperature. Since the 2000-01 winter season, this is only the fourth winter more warm than the norm.

“That’s probably why this one sticks out more,” Walker said.

Comparatively, every winter season in the 1990s was above normal.

On average, the Wabash Valley has about four nights each winter where the temperature dips below zero. This season, the lowest temp has been 10 degrees.

The first measurable snowfall of winter came Dec. 27, ruling out a White Christmas.

Memorable this winter was a six-day period when two bouts of severe weather occurred, along with a brief ice storm. The storms occurred Jan. 17 and 23. The ice showed up briefly on the evening of Jan. 20.

“Ironically,” Walker said, “even though it’s been warm, there have been no record highs.”

The warmest winter on record occurred in 1889-90 when the high was recorded at 40.9 degrees. In recent memory, the warmest winter was 100 years later in 1989-90 when the high reached 38.1 degrees. That is still about 3 degrees warmer than the current winter.

The cause of the warm weather, according to meteorologist Joe Skowronek with the National Weather Service in Indianapolis, is the La Niña weather pattern.

The jet stream has settled higher across North America than in past years, trapping cold weather in Canada and Alaska. That could bring near 40-degree temperatures into Indiana in early March, Skowronek said.

“It’s just a matter of where the jet stream sets up for the winter,” he explained.

Now, how does that translate to the agricultural environment?

Purdue Extension Educator Jim Luzar said the warmer than usual temperatures have shown up in a couple of ways for farmers, mostly through a lot of early spring activity being done in late winter. The winter wheat crop is in good shape because of the mild winter, he said, and a lot of people are out getting their fence rows cleaned up earlier than usual and doing other outdoor maintenance to their properties.

Luzar said that on Monday he was driving past one farm between Lafayette and Terre Haute where field tile for improved drainage was being installed.

But soil moisture will still be the guideline that farmers follow for getting their crops into the ground.

The spring of 2010 was one of the driest in terms of moisture, allowing farmers to get their crops planted early, he said, while April 2011 was one of the wettest springs.

“This year may be more average in moisture because of the extremes of the last two years,” Luzar said.

Luzar said the mild winter may not have harmed the over-wintering insects such as flea beetles, and that could result in more pests in the coming months. But the temperatures do not usually affect the disease organisms that attack crops, or even people.

Dr. Arvin Uppel, an otolaryngologist at Terre Haute Regional Hospital, said that a shorter warmer winter does not usually affect people with allergies, and it doesn’t take a cold harsh winter to eliminate mold allergies in the outdoor environment.

Rain can wash out pollens in the air, bringing relief to people with pollen allergies, he said. But as for people with mold allergies, the dampness that lingers in piles of old leaves or that seeps into basements will continue to affect people whether the temperature drops or not.

“I don’t think the milder weather is having an affect on people with allergies,” Uppel said.

On the gardening side of life, the warmer temperature may prompt people to clean out accumulated leaves and debris sooner than usual in hopes of getting vegetables into the ground early. But, the bottom line will still be that frost can occur into the first week of May.

“We gotta look at the calendar,” Luzar said of planting schedules. “This is still the 20th of February, and not the 20th of April. But we can enjoy that the ice and snow aren’t here.”



Lisa Trigg can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or lisa.trigg@tribstar.com.

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