Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => General Forum => Topic started by: Roma on November 23, 2017, 10:42:26 PM
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About 11am today. The flakes were huge but it didn't last long and melted quickly.
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It has settled here on the Western Isles - a rare occurrence. Feeling decidedly chilly today. Maybe we will get that big freeze they've been predicting?
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We are just suffering from Trench Foot Roma it has been sooooo wet. My night-time lullaby is the sound of rain dripping off the greenhouse into the butts, but even they are overflowing.
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Some snowy pictures today
Ponies in the snow
Snowdrops
Gentiana acaulis
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Roma when I had my ponies they would love to roll in the snow.
Love the snowdrops.
Angie :)
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The view from Angie's yesterday... from elsewhere in this forum ....
[attachimg=1]
Ian Young's snowy video from yesterday ....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcsNlB38iqA&feature=youtu.be (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcsNlB38iqA&feature=youtu.be)
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Just as well that you put jackets on the little white furries or you wouldn't see them at all in all that snow ;D
cheers
fermi
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Aren’t those doggies so cute. Snow melting so they won’t have so much fun tomorrow.
Angie :)
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All I am seeing is a white-out Maggie. I.e. a blank screen in your posting above?
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Photo from Angie and video link showing here on Firefox, Brian.
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Just your 1 line and blank space on explorer.
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Link to youtube in large space using Firefox. Mistake for Firefox read Chrome.
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post made as usual - nothing different done from here, Brian. Try refresh and/or restart ?
Edit to add.... Ian says some videos do not show in his i-pad, only the link. That's in Safari, I think.
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We had three short flurries of big flakes yesterday. Nothing like yours although perhaps a record for our area in November.
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Sorry, out for the evening.
After restart, of Win 7. In Firefox shows the video, in Chrome just the link, in Explorer nothing.
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We're having winter conditions here today - a huge rain band is hitting the east coast with flooding in some areas and temps in the mid-teens. May have to switch the air-condition back to heating mode ;D
cheers
fermi
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From Hartside Nursery -
"A covering of snow today, but Galanthus 'Three Ships' is showing its flowers above the snow and there are plenty of buds on petiolaris Primulas in a sheltered position, they will be open soon. Our first trade stand is in a few weeks time at Dunblane for the SRGC Early Bulb Show."
[attachimg=1]
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It snowed here on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Less than 1/2". It was gone by mid-morning. Rain, rain and more rain. Wish I could send some to California.
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OK, so we have the winter. Somewhat too late. Last night temp min -10 C. Now 11pm and -10 C, too. But the forecast is -5 C(???) I will see if the temp will go lower then -15 C over the next few nights.
I hope it is late enough (I mean the length of the day as opposed to night) and the temperature will not go below -20 C, as it would certainly do in January. On the other hand, plants are clearly prepared for spring and may be prone to damage - we have not had stable winter so far. I will report temps and damage. I foresee buds and open flowers of Viburnum bodnantense Dawn will be cut off, as they usually do here. But till yesterday they were nice and healthy.
No snow, of course, but some hope for it.
David Nicholson said in another thread, that this cold comes from Siberia. We also say so in Poland. But I don't believe it's true. From my place to Siberia is 3000 KM. The source of cold is rather northern Russia, but European part. So now we import the weather from there.
I'm not a climatologist, but I observe that when we (in Europe) have warm winter, you (in US/Canada) have cold spell and vice versa. I checked the current temp in Chicago and it is + 3 C right now - rather warm, I believe. I observe the weather measurements made by Robert in California - they also have a cold spell now. Is it coincidence or a rule?
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It's been very cold also here in Finland, but luckily for plants there is some snow (maybe 20cm) and nothing has been growing since November-December. Last week was cold, mostly around -20C at nights, the coldest -24,4C in my garden but colder in the eastern part of Finland. Next week it will be even colder, and no spring in forecasts in March. :(
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No snow here in Inverness but very cold winds. Last few days have been frosty in morning and clear and very sunny with a good bit of heat in the sun. Problem will be that plants covered by glass in the frames will think its spring and come into growth too soon to be uncovered. At least its managing to dry up a bit. We have been wet and damp since Oct/Nov with no drying weather as such. Some plants are looking particularly sorry for themselves. I hope spring comes fairly soon so they at least get a chance to recover although the forecast isn't looking that good for the next couple of weeks.
Alasdair
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No further cooling last night due to clouds, temp min -10 C. And today we can see snow. Only 1 cm but this may be enough to protect cyclamen leaves. Further cooling foreseen.
I looked at temp forecast. The centre of coldness is on the border of Estonia, Latvia, Belarus and Russia - not Siberia. But the mentioned area is much closer.
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David Nicholson said in another thread, that this cold comes from Siberia. We also say so in Poland. But I don't believe it's true. From my place to Siberia is 3000 KM. The source of cold is rather northern Russia, but European part. So now we import the weather from there.
Look at a 500 mb weather map of western European and one will know the source of the cold air! :)
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Greetings
I just checked a 500 mb map of the north Atlantic and Western Europe. I do not know what a “normal” pattern looks like, however this map is in many ways very similar to the pattern we experienced on the west coast of the U.S.A. over the last three weeks (the pattern is now changing). The pattern I see over Western Europe seems very anomalous. Currently there is a low-pressure system in the mid-Atlantic at 50N; east of the low the Jetstream flows directly north into the arctic, then travels over the top of a high located at 60N over Scotland. The Jetstream then plunges directly southward through Scandinavia, France, to southeastern Spain before turning to the east. Clearly the source of the cold air is the arctic. The pattern seems anomalous. Can anyone fill me in?
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The first night with frosts under -10 °C here in Eastgermany,from today, 25.2.18! Over the snowfree soil near the plants in the snowdrop-garden are -13 °C! And the next nights will be colder!
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Look at a 500 mb weather map of western European and one will know the source of the cold air! :)
Do you have a link to the maps?
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- 15 C here last night. And not at the ground level. Some further cooling foreseen. The inflow will slowly change from NE to E- this means cold here. Siberia gets closer.
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Hi Ralph,
This is a good link to the 500 mb maps and projection over the North Atlantic and Western Europe. The current map indeed shows cold air advection from, plus or minus, Siberia. This seems like a very odd weather pattern. Any comments from anyone in this regard?
Sunny and breezy today in Sacramento. Some nice plants are blooming in the garden: Erythroniums, Narcissus, more. I was very busy today and did not have time to get any photographs. :'( Tomorrow it is forecast to be rainy with low snow levels again. We are having mid-winter in late February. Some daily low temperatures have been broken in Northern California. It sounds extreme, but it is more like a typical below average temperature event. Most of the record low temperatures broken were "soft" i.e. not extreme.
http://weather.unisys.com/gfs/gfs.php?inv=0&plot=500®ion=eu&t=9p (http://weather.unisys.com/gfs/gfs.php?inv=0&plot=500®ion=eu&t=9p)
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Thanks. It is an odd weather pattern, and an unwelcome one. Beginning to snow here now, and the news says that local trains will not run tonight as a precaution. It only takes one snowflake for things to grind to a halt!
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It is an anomaly but not a very rare one although it is 4 years since last time the met says here. The most uncommon is that it is a bit late in the season.
We have not had extreme cold here at the west coast of Norway yet (last night it was -2.5C) but Tuesday it is expected down to -11C which is very rare.
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Thanks. It is an odd weather pattern, and an unwelcome one. Beginning to snow here now, and the news says that local trains will not run tonight as a precaution. It only takes one snowflake for things to grind to a halt!
It takes only half a snowflake here! I'll be very surprised if we get any snow here apart from on Dartmoor we have only had one measureable quantity in the 30 odd years we have been here.
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The weather here, too, is a bit odd, mainly that it is so late in the season. It was 23 F, -5 C, at the farm Sunday morning, another record for the date. This record was a bit extreme for the date. This morning it is raining in Sacramento. The first measurable precipitation for February. This is extremely unusual! The westerlies are still cut-off and the stormy weather is coming from the north. Not much moisture in this northerly flow, but it is better than nothing. The next storm on Wednesday will be in a much more westerly flow and much wetter. Currently we are at about 58% average precipitation to date. We need rain! and snow in the Sierra Nevada.
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- 15 C here last night. And not at the ground level. Some further cooling foreseen. The inflow will slowly change from NE to E- this means cold here. Siberia gets closer.
. Hallo Jacek, I hope, the Siberian temperatures are over soon, we had now four nights under -10 grades C and sunny, but frosty day ! I am in Scotland to visit Castle Cambo and wish after comeback to Germany better weather! It is unbelivibl, how many energy the little snowdrops have, to stand up every day ,when the temperatures are over zero! Greetings Harald Alex
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In the winter of 1946/47 ( a very cold and snowy winter) there were heavy snowfalls late into the winter. I remember my Mum telling me that snow was still on the ground at Easter. That year Easter Sunday was on April 6th. I was not found in my pram until the snow had gone. ;D There,s nothing new under the sun.
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This was the last time we had plenty of snow here. 1-12-2010.
[attachimg=1]
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Snowing hard here right now.
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Last night -12 C and day max -10 C. The reason for lack of significant drop in night temp was the presence of thin layer of clouds that prevented radiation.
Robert gave us the link to 500 mb map - but being lay person in meteorology it is difficult to understand to me. I understand, it reflects the situation at the half of earth's atmosphere (by weight and pressure) - this is about 5500 m asl. This is certainly important, but we live in the bottom layer of 10-20 meters and our small plants - in the last 10 cm. The layer of coldest air may by quite thin and very local, created during long winter night. This is especially true in the lowlands and far from any warm sea, where nights are calm and mixing effect of wind disappears.
For me more interesting (and unknown) is why the engine of warm northern Atlantic has stopped. And - is there relation between advection of cold in Europe and in California.
According to the excellent Norwegian long term forecast this cold period should be finished at the end of this week. The Mediterranean engine is already switched on and I suppose it will spread slowly to our area. Probably no risk of truly severe frosts, but last night absolute minimum temp in Poland was -26 C, close to Lithuanian border. Weather is seemingly stable, but each night is different.
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Last night temp min -18 C. The reason is obvious - it is the clear sky.
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It is mild and snowless here in Nova Scotia. My concern is that plants may start growing, only to get hammered by a return of freezing temperatures. Maple syrup producers in the province have already tapped their trees, perhaps the earliest start of the season in history. At 9:00 AM today the temperature outside is +4 C. The sky was clear last night, and remains so today. Our two ponds are ice-free. I suspect Viburnum x bodnantense 'Dawn' will be the first to be in bloom.
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For me more interesting (and unknown) is why the engine of warm northern Atlantic has stopped. And - is there relation between advection of cold in Europe and in California.
Jacek,
Understanding the basics of 500 mb air circulation and the Jetstream will not only help you understand why local surface weather conditions are the way they are, but are essential for understanding how weather condition on one part of the globe may be influenced by conditions elsewhere. Having some basic understand of fluid dynamics (the atmosphere behaves much like a liquid), and the influence of ocean temperatures/circulation on the atmosphere will be helpful too. It does not hurt to know something about aerosols, solar radiation, Kelvin waves, etc. The ENSO and MJO certainly influence global weather patterns. Climatologists are still grappling with their understanding of these phenomenon and other aspects of global weather. It is a fascinating subject. I am certainly not a climatologist, however I have a keen interest in knowing what you find out on this subject.
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Yesterday we had a huge thunderstorm with 5 mm hail. The hail was small, however it persisted for a long time. The temperature dropped from 53 F to 39 F in less than 0.5 hours.
I did get some photographs from the garden before the storm, which I will share ASAP.
Now I have to go to work. :)
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We keep getting flurries of snow here then the sun comes out. Nothing settling yet.
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Same here Ian but they say it will be worse tomorrow for us in the North East. Just hibernating here with a stock of chocolate ;D
Angie :)
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Good idea Angie. It,s addictive though.
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Aberdeen Rock Garden Club - group of SRGC - tonight's meeting has been cancelled because of the bad weather. Please tell any other members you know who the group may not have been able to contact.
Which is why Angie, Roma ( our Speaker) - and I will all be cosy at our homes this evening and not trying to travel in the snow.
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The last real snow we had in winter was in January 2013, and that didn't last too long. Quite a turn up for the books here now and it looks set to get worse/(better?) over the next few days. Extremely beautiful though. The teasels are in the field next to our garden, and the second picture on a walk eastwards looking to Boughton Church and the hills beyond towards Canterbury.
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Waiting for a snowman. Nice.
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Minus 10C here this morning.
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Ralph, that's a good result for Southern England I suppose.
Here now -11 C, I did not record night temp, but probably not below -15 C. It seems minimum temp for this winter has already been achieved here.
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-20C the last couple of nights, and days around -15C. Not so bad when in the eastern Finland it was -28C.
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[attachimg=1]
A steady flow of snow showers is drifting in from the North Sea, so far there is not very much lying but according to the forecast the worst is yet to come.
Temperature in garden just now is -5C wind chill makes it feel like -12C.
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............I'll be very surprised if we get any snow here apart from on Dartmoor we have only had one measureable quantity in the 30 odd years we have been here.
So I was wrong again, and so was the Met. Office. You might have thought that as they are based in Exeter not 30 miles up the road they might get it right some times. Quite a blizzard on at the moment, Wednesday trip out postponed.
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
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We are having snow and cold too, here in Northern California.
27 F right now at the farm. I'll be on Peavine Ridge in a few hours. There will be plenty of snow there. I will report back. :)
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We had a few flurries yesterday and this morning. The snow is about 3 1/2" deep. This is unusual for us. The minimum temperature in the greenhouse (unheated) last night was 18F.
[attachimg=1]
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Brrrr! (Apologies to Canadian friends who probably wonder what all the fuss is about).
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
[attachimg=3]
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That's beauty, not brrrr.
Make a snowman - the only effective medication for brrrr.
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We had 1/2 inch of snow last night. Some of it has melted. A few flurries today but nothing lying. There is a red warning for the central belt from about 15:00 for blizzard conditions...I hope it doesn't reach this far west. Temp. about -1°C.
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This Saturday's AGS show at Harlow has been cancelled -
http://www.alpinegardensociety.net/stoppress/Harlow+Early+Spring+Show+CANCELLED+due+to+weather/201/ (http://www.alpinegardensociety.net/stoppress/Harlow+Early+Spring+Show+CANCELLED+due+to+weather/201/)
[attachimg=1]
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12cm of snow at the moment. We are in the centre of the Red Weather warning so potentially much more to come.
Some just don't care.
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Oh my! That is one very happy Ralph!
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Here at the coast we had -10C last night, but the inland had -42C some places. Expect the same tonight.
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Daytime temp at 1430hrs: minus 5.5 Celsius
Snow depth now 32cm, drifts at over 80cm.
At least it covers all the imperfections in the garden as well as wider central Scotland
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Still without snow here in Nova Scotia. Today's high temperature was at least 10 C. There are reports that Cape Morris Jesup, in northern Greenland reached +6 C this past weekend. These strange and disturbing weather patterns have me worried. Although the unseasonable warmth is nice to enjoy, it just isn't right ???
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It is announced that "In the interest of safety both to speakers and visitors the committee have decided to cancel this Sunday’s Fritillaria Group Spring Meeting."
Sensible move in the light of widespread bad weather.
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Still without snow here in Nova Scotia. Today's high temperature was at least 10 C. There are reports that Cape Morris Jesup, in northern Greenland reached +6 C this past weekend. These strange and disturbing weather patterns have me worried. Although the unseasonable warmth is nice to enjoy, it just isn't right ???
Here last night min temp -16 C.
Gordon, it is interesting. Your observation supports my view, that possibly we have the opposite weather patterns on the opposite sides of Atlantic. I only do not know if this is coincidence or a general rule. I looked into the weather forecast - Chicago +4 C now, Fargo in North Dakota +3 C soon. So probably all inland North America is filled with warm air now. But beforehand, when you had a winter surge - we had mild weather here.
I've read somewhere else, the thermo engine of Northern Atlantic have not stopped, but it is working northwards now. The North Pole is warmer than we are. The heavy cold air had to go somewhere else and it seems it decided to visit us and possibly also Robert in California. Who is responsible for the invitation??
For us there is a clear perspective for improvement. The thermo engine of mid Atlantic, Mediterranean and Black Sea is speeding up. The warm air will slowly push the cold one away from us (to England??). We will see.
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Very cold with a strong wind here just now. No more snow yet. It,s winter.
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Cancelled- Scottish Rock Gardening Club trough planting demos at
Glendoick Garden Centre in Perth, Perth and Kinross
This has also been CANCELLED due to the snow! :'(
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[attachimg=1]
We are finally having winter type weather here in California. Better late than never.
I was on Peavine Ridge yesterday. I have several weather observation sites on Peavine Ridge. At the first site at 3,625 ft (1,105 meters) it was 28 F (-2.2 C) at 8:00 a.m. There was still 13.5 cm of snow on the ground equivalent to 0.68 inches or 17 mm of precipitation.
At my other site on the crest of Peavine Ridge it was 32 F (0 C) at 9:00 a.m. There was 20 cm of snow on the ground. 0.65 inches (16.5 mm) liquid equivalent was in the snow gauge. I down loaded the temperatures from my thermometer. On 28 February it was 17 F (-8.3 C) and on 25 February it was 15 F (-9.4 C). This is "normal" winter weather for this part of the Sierra Nevada Mountains..... but a bit late in the season. Another storm is raging right now. Snow is now falling by the meters in the Sierra Nevada. This is good news.
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Several all time low temperature records in S Norway for March last night!
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Snow has disappeared here. Strong cold southerly wind and temp between + 2°c / -2°c . It seems strange that only 30 miles away in Glasgow they are up to their knees in snow. More surprising to me is that the hills on Arran are almost devoid of snow.
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Again and again - today at sunrise -17 C. This type of weather is usually stable.
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The snow continues to fall in Eastern Scotland.
Here are some rather poor images taken on my ipad through a window.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4777/26699198458_30d8be2b91_o_d.jpg)
Looking up our garden the greenhouses have a further snow covering despite having been cleared twice (and protected from the north by the steeply sloping woodland behind).
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4608/40570975351_e1358bc616_o_d.jpg)
The depth of snow is apparent on this patio chair.
The local Robins were in the process of setting up their breeding territories and have become viciously territorial so we have had to set up some impromptu “feeding stations” to reduce contact and fighting.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4747/26699198318_0763d169d8_o_d.jpg)
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The stormy weather continues here in California. Heavy rain and strong winds in the Sacramento Valley. Much snow in the Sierra Nevada with reasonably low snow levels.
Several all time low temperature records in S Norway for March last night!
Trond,
What sort of daily low temperatures were set? degrees C? :)
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Trond,
What sort of daily low temperatures were set? degrees C? :)
Robert,
It is the minimum night temperature.
https://www.nrk.no/hordaland/21-nye-norske-kulderekorder-satt-i-natt-1.13935896 (https://www.nrk.no/hordaland/21-nye-norske-kulderekorder-satt-i-natt-1.13935896)
I have not seen anything about lowest maximum - you have to read through a lot of numbers to find it!
https://www.yr.no/observasjonar/statistikk.html (https://www.yr.no/observasjonar/statistikk.html)
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The snow continues to fall in Eastern Scotland.
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Better with snow than the very dry, cold and sunny weather we have here!
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The Southwest has not been immune either. We had 15 to 20cm (6 to 8 inches) of snow yesterday. Locals tell us this is more snow than seen before in living memory.
Paul
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Seriously cold here a few nights back in NE Kent - we recorded our lowest temperature of -15.5°C in the 40 years of gardening here, which tallies with Trond's comment earlier in Norway. Some serious damage to plants in the garden which will really make us think carefully about new plantings this year and the direction the garden might take. Certainly more alpines!!
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No snow in Elgin.
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The cold continues here in Northern California. Most of the cold weather damage to plants in our area can be attributed to the unseasonable warmth during the first two weeks of February followed by the record setting cold during the last two weeks of February. Even our native plants suffered. More on this in this week's botanical diary.
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It's getting better, only -13 C at the end of night. And temp should cross freezing level on Monday.
Light warm air has difficulties in blowing away heavy cold air close to the ground. I've read in professional met comments that current situation is atypical because cold arctic air filled all the troposphere instead of thin lowest layer only.
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It's even better here. Only -2C last night but it will still be about a week till we are back to normal March temperature.
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The wind has ceased and the temperatures are more like normal here for the time of year.
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Last night was -17C, now only -6C. There has been snow since January, so perennials and bulbs have been safe, but for myself the winter would have felt easier and not so long, if there had been even a small break in cold and snow.
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Seriously cold here a few nights back in NE Kent - we recorded our lowest temperature of -15.5°C in the 40 years of gardening here, which tallies with Trond's comment earlier in Norway. Some serious damage to plants in the garden which will really make us think carefully about new plantings this year and the direction the garden might take. Certainly more alpines!!
Here -13 C at night again.
Tim, I hope this low temps were not for long. You grow so many tender plants in UK, as your winters are stable and mild. Of course, the above ground portions of plants may die, but the underground parts should survive if the frosty period was short and you had snow.
I observed after the winter 2012 with long severe frost without snow, that underground portion may be tenderer than the upper part. Resultant was healthy appearance after winter with growth starting normally and than sudden collapse of the all plant shortly afterwards, in May or June.
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-1 C during the day! The spring will come, I feel it.
Has anyone made a snowman? If so - show the picture, please. I cannot , I have no snow.
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A wind in the East is neither good for man nor beast. A wind in the West, best keep on your vest.
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A wind in the East is neither good for man nor beast. A wind in the West, best keep on your vest.
When the wind is in the west,
Then 'tis at the very best.
Do you already have the westerlies?
Here by night still -9 C. But the highest temp measured last night was not in the lowlands - it was on the top of a mountain (1602 m asl), -3,1 C. This reflects the difficulty the warm air has when willing to blow away the cold one. Dense cold air is sitting on the ground, well glued to the rough surface (with trees, hills etc).
By official met office measurements, the lowest temp we had in lowlands in Poland during the last cold spell was -24,2 C. Eastern Poland, of course.
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Here at the coast where I live the coldest was -11.2C but just a few km inland it was much colder. In the eastern part of S Norway the coldest minimum was -42.0C.
Now we have +2C and from Tuesday also the nights will be above freezing.
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The weather shifted yesterday. It was 62 F, 16.7 C, at the El Dorado County, California farm. This is the warmest high temperature in 16 days. I guess we had winter for 16 days. ???
Now moist subtropical moisture is moving in. The precipitation will be welcome as we are still very much below average precipitation to date. Unfortunately snow levels will be very high and we will lose what little snow pack we currently have. I'll take the warm rain over drought conditions.
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Robert,
This is not a rule, just single observation, but you get the warm weather at the same time we do. What about Midwest and East - do they get colder?
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Two Days of rain and the snow has almost gone. Everything is flooded now. I have a small stream and waterfall which I didn't have yesterday. My cold frame is also flooded The bulb pots at one end are completely submerged. I hope the seed pots at the other end which is slightly higher are not under water.[attachimg=1]
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Two Days of rain and the snow has almost gone. Everything is flooded now. I have a small stream and waterfall which I didn't have yesterday. My cold frame is also flooded The bulb pots at one end are completely submerged. I hope the seed pots at the other end which is slightly higher are not under water. (Attachment Link)
Very sorry for the horrible weather you have out there. These are regular events in our climate but I realize how devastating must be for all - people and plants who are not used with them.
It will be interesting to see how some of the tender species you grow in UK react in the long term.
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Robert,
This is not a rule, just single observation, but you get the warm weather at the same time we do. What about Midwest and East - do they get colder?
Jecek,
I tend to watch the 500 mb upper air patterns. My experience has been that the upper air flows are better indicators of patterns. The anomalous upper air, high pressure pattern in the eastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of North America has been very unusual during the past decade. This pattern has created condition where western North America has been very dry and warm, and eastern North America has been cold and wet. There are other patterns, as well. Anomalies in the North Atlantic pattern were predominant during the Little Ice Age.
I guess I have not answered your question, however it is warm (average temperatures) here at the moment. I will be glad to share data with you if it helps with your current hypothesis. I have over 30 years of weather data for the El Dorado County, California farm. I have over 10 years of data for our Sacramento home and I am currently recording remote data in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I addition, my bother is a climate scientist and has been for decades. I can also ask him where to find information that might be helpful to you. Your idea is very interesting. Keep me posted on your findings.
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After the heavy nightfrosts and snowfalls of the last weeks the weather-prognose is: spring is coming with temperatures till 16 °C!
The first snowdrop looks out and so next week our snowdrop-garden will be reopened!
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Here +10 C today and some sun. Spring is clearly coming.
I do not know where to document damages and losses caused by recent winter surge - may be here, in this thread. In our part of Europe such losses are normal, but in Britain not so much I believe, So your experience may be even more interesting.
As I still cannot move freely - today I took crutches (to walk), camera with telephoto lens (to be able to shoot from a distance) and bucket upside down (to sit on) and went to the garden. Not everything was photographed - it is still easier to look only - you don't need both hands free.
1. Corydalis flexuosa. Its winter foliage was untouched until recently. Now it is only partly damaged. No problem then. Liden, Tebbitt, Zetterlund suggest in their book hardiness down to -15 C, but I can assure it survived winter 2012 with temp down to -30 C, but with significant damage (not just leaves).
2. Ipeheion (Tristagma) uniflorum. Strong smell of rotting garlic means the leaves are dead. This is not the first time and I know they will resume growth soon and the underground portions of leaves are OK. The plant is absolutely hardy down to -30 C - remarkable for a plant coming from a frost-free country.
3. Snowdrops. Here situation is diverse. G. nivalis - no damage.
G. elwesii from garden centre - no damage, but a few leaves are damaged by desiccation (result of frost + sun; there was no snow cover)
I have a few hybrids which I cannot really name - but certainly the cheapest ones (Magnet?, S.Arnot? possibly others - don't remember). Some degree of damage is visible. For instance on the picture below the flowers on left are probably OK, on the right - dead.
[attachimg=1]
The below flower is also dead
[attachimg=2]
G. woronowii - severe damage, but I don't think all over-the-ground growth is dead, needs more observation.
4. Crocuses. No visible destruction of leaves, yet. The flower buds that were much advanced are dead. Here C. etruscus Rosalind, which was most advanced:
[attachimg=3]
C. etruscus Zwanenburg was less advanced:
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And C. tommasinianus generally showed only noses of flower buds and except very few they seem OK. Look here - three buds seem healthy, but this needs observation:
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All other crocuses were not showing flower noses before frosts.
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5. Cyclamen coum. hederifolium and purpurascens - leaves are flaccid and somewhat coiled. Hopefully it means only they are short of water because deeper soil is still frozen. Open flowers of C. coum have damaged petals, but flower buds seem OK. Here - C. purpurascens:
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6. Eranthis hyemalis - no damage, also the more advanced
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8. Last but not least, Crocus speciosus. I have only the commercial plants and their leaves are always very advanced before the winter and are often damaged. Not this time.
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Roma, a nice water feature and not a Charlie Dimmock in sight.
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Here the temperatures have risen to above freezing, +2 C right now. Next week is going to be like this and hopefully the snow will start to melt down, though forecast says it will be again below freezing (even more than -10C) the third week of March. I'm hoping to see some snowdrop noses before that :), though it would be better for plants to stay still under snow cover.
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Here in Northern California the weather is extremely mild. With a strong southwesterly flow, subtropical moisture is moving into the region. The rainfall is remaining south of our area, There is a bit of precipitation falling in the Sierra Nevada, mostly in the form of rain. Our high temperature today at our Sacramento home was 63 F, 17.2 C. The low temperature was a balmy 52 F, 11.1 C. Even in the Sierra Nevada the temperatures are mild. 47 F, 8.3 C at Loon Lake today, 6,400 feet, 1951 meters, with a low of 31 F, -0.5 C. There was a bit of rain 0.14 inches, 3.5 mm.
Much colder and wet weather is in the forecast. :)
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I often use wunderground for temperatures; at least when posters tell us approximately where they are. Not having much luck posting a screen dump image so try this
https://www.wunderground.com/wundermap?lat=57.13999939&lon=-2.0999999&cm_ven=localwx_wumap (https://www.wunderground.com/wundermap?lat=57.13999939&lon=-2.0999999&cm_ven=localwx_wumap)
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The wild swings in our weather continue. Moist subtropical air has moved into Northern California. We have gone from record to near record heat, to record cold, and now back to near record heat. It was 76 F, 24.4 C, at the El Dorado County, California farm yesterday; 77 F, 25 C, at our Sacramento home.
In the Sierra Nevada Mountains it is no different. It was 55 F, 12.8 C, on Peavine Ridge, 5,146 feet, 1569 meters, yesterday at 11:30 a.m. On 11 March was 57 F, 13.9 C. The snow is going quickly. There was 58.5 cm of snow on the ground on 8 March, with a water equivalent of 5.71 inches, 145 mm. On 12 March it was down to 30 cm of snow, with a water equivalent of 4.34 inches, 110 mm.
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SRGC Subscription Secretary, Christine ( ChrisB in the forum) lives in Northumberland, where they have had quite bad weather - her garden was under a foot of snow and she feared the worst for so many plants which were in full flower - things have not turned out to be as bad as she thought - thank goodness!
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How lovely and inspirational view in the second picture!
Last spring a year ago was (also) unusually cold here and ground froze early in prevous November. I was so sure I had lost many snowdrops when they were not coming up in March like previous years, but luckily I was wrong and all were just very late because of the cold. This year when again it is again cold I hope I'm mentally better prepared to wait patiently, and believe that all is well and plants know when it is safe to come up. :)
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I think prolonged frost and wet does our wild plants more harm. A good covering of snow protects the plants, especially alpines in the upland areas.
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Snow cover is essential for geophytes and low growing plants in our climate. It does protect root systems of larger plants, but not their crowns. On the other hand - excessive snow for long time may squash delicate bulbs foliage or even break woody plants if they are not flexible enough.
There is one more factor - desiccating effect of sun on wintergreens (or early/prematurely growing bulbs) during frosty periods. Importance of this factor grows as the season progresses and sun is higher on the firmament. There is good example in my garden. During recent winter surge (Feb/March) we had no snow. Leaves of hardy Cyclamen purpurascens are dry, but not all. Leaves of plants growing in places protected from direct sunlight in winter are OK. Even on a single plant leaf survival depends whether it was north or south facing (north - better).
In such cases the minimum temperature may not be most important - length of frost and amount of sunshine may be crucial.
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I think prolonged frost and wet does our wild plants more harm. A good covering of snow protects the plants, especially alpines in the upland areas.
My observations concurs with yours, our California native plants seem to be harmed by prolonged below freezing temperatures without snow cover (alpine species). I have been watching this on Peavine Ridge this winter. Wet may, or may not, be harmful. Extreme cold with low humidity (dry winds) is often very harmful without protective snow cover.
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There is one more factor - desiccating effect of sun on wintergreens (or early/prematurely growing bulbs) during frosty periods.
You are right about that, and I have to give shade artifically to some of the rhododendrons, and also roses (though I don't have many of them). Stems of alba and gallica roses have to be covered when the ground is frozen and sun is shining, like now, otherwise they dry too much and die.
In my south west side of Finland we have maybe 15 to 20cm snow right now (perhaps 30cm at the most this winter), but in middle and eastern Finland there is a lot of snow, around one meter. Last night minimun was -13C.
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the second Snow-winter in march 2018! Very unusual, also for Eastgermany! Today started the beast of the east again with 5 cm snow!
The snowdropgarden covered white, so that I hope, there will no damages! See some fotos:
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Cold wind and snow flurries here. Unusual for this time of year in our area.
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Almost no wind but strong sun from a sky devoid of clouds! The night was very cold though and the soil is frozen. All the plants suffer without snow cover.
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Here in Northern California, the stormy weather continues with below average temperatures and low snow levels. This is good news for us. As I write there is strong convective cloudiness and thunderstorms are developing. I better get off the internet for now.
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Moist subtropical air is flowing into California. The high temperature in Sacramento today was 68 F, 20 C! The brunt of the moisture plume is flowing into Southern California where more mud/debris flows are expected. In the Sierra Nevada, there is snow only above 8,000-9,000 feet, 2,438 m to 2,743 m. On Peavine Ridge, 5,126 feet, 1,562 meters, it was 47 F, 8.3 C this afternoon, with a light rain falling. There was still 65 cm of very wet heavy snow on the ground. Heavy rain is expected this evening and tomorrow before there is some cold air advection and snow levels drop. Despite the dry conditions, there could be some localized flooding with an event like this. We will see how the next few days pan out.
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We are expecting the 3rd wave of very cold air from east next week. The possibility for severe flooding in May and June increases as the snow continues to accumulate in the mountains as no melting occurs.
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22 March 2018
It was a wild weather day today in Northern California. The cold air advection never arrived and we stayed under the subtropical moisture plume. For a short time between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. rainfall rates ran in the 25 mm/hr. range. We had widespread localized flash flooding. The main county road and access to the El Dorado County farm flooded, with much rock and debris on the roadway. The main highway in our region was partly closed due to rock/mud/debris flows. At around 11:00 a.m. we were hit again with intense thunderstorms with brief periods of intense rain in the 25 mm/hr range. The was more flash flooding.
In the Sierra Nevada Mountains intense rain fell on the snow pack. At Loon Lake, elevation 6,400 feet (1,951 meters), the temperature never dropped below 0 C. Tomorrow I will check to see how much of the snow pack has melted. Flooding due to melting snow continues into the evening.
Late Friday into Saturday, the cold air mass is forecast to arrive with heavy snowfall in the Sierra Nevada and low snow levels. Beyond this point, the forecast is for warm spring weather to arrive. This type of weather in typical for this part of California this time of year.
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It is mild here today with outbreaks of sun.
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Well, it is Spring.......... isn't it?
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Can we have it in writing David?
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Can we have it in writing David?
I tried to get it in writing, Ian - the cold rain kept washing off the ink! ;) ::)
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;D ;D ;D
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In defense of the North East of Scotland, it was lovely - yesterday! Warm sunshine which opened all the bulbs - snowdrops, eranthis and crocus were looking wonderful - in fact Aberdeen city was nearly the warmest place in the country - then, just as we were all getting excited about Spring, the cold wind returned and there has been a lot of icy wind blowing today. While to go before real Spring, I think!
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In defense of the North East of Scotland, it was lovely - yesterday! Warm sunshine which opened all the bulbs - snowdrops, eranthis and crocus were looking wonderful - in fact Aberdeen city was nearly the warmest place in the country - then, just as we were all getting excited about Spring, the cold wind returned and there has been a lot of icy wind blowing today. While to go before real Spring, I think!
Hallo Maggi, in fotos from Flickr-fotofriends I have seen flowering crocus in Aberdeen and can say, that there is the vegetation more developed as here in East-Germany!
I visited today the Crocus-churchyard Wildschütz and found in the garden of Mr Müller (the creator of the masses of crocus) a directly confrontation of wintersnow and a blue crocus areal, see foto.
I wish You a good Easter-time!
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We are expecting the 3rd wave of very cold air from east next week.
It is the same here, next week will be cold again, but today and tomorrow the temperatures are above freezing and weather feels like spring is coming and snow starting to melt. First migrating birds like whooping swans are already here. :)
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It is mild here today. The whoopers photographed on the wildlife blog will be leaving soon for cooler areas.
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The whoopers photographed on the wildlife blog will be leaving soon for cooler areas.
My husband has posted to Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100015581500713) pictures and video of them (and otter) in the lake near us. :)
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We lost about half of our snow pack during the wet subtropical weather event. On 21 March there was 65 cm of snow on Peavine Ridge, 5,126 feet (1,562 meters) with a liquid equivalent of > 10 inches (> 250 mm). On 23 March there was only 36 cm of snow with a liquid equivalent of 6.04 inches (153 mm). Currently it is snowing.
Warm spring weather is forecast for the coming week. The garden will break into bloom!
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My husband has posted to Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100015581500713) pictures and video of them (and otter) in the lake near us. :)
Wonderful video and photos from your husband , Leena - photographic skills are too the fore in your household, great talent!
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Thank you Maggi. :) As you see, it is still winter over here, but even when there is nothing growing yet, the migrating birds bring a feeling of spring.
Warm spring weather is forecast for the coming week. The garden will break into bloom!
That is so wonderful for you!
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Leena,
Yes, this is something my wife and I are looking forward to. :) Up to this point the weather has been very odd and the garden has been a bit mixed up. We are hoping for a good display of flowers when the temperatures hit 75 F, 23.8 C by Thursday-Friday of this coming week.
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For those interested in climate there are some interesting articles (and books) on the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO).
Even simple observations detected changes in the NAO. One example is from the late 16th century. A traveling missionary noted that mild winter conditions in Greenland coincided with severe weather conditions in Denmark.
The connection between the "Little Ice" and the NAO is quite fascinating too. And of coarse, all of this has a direct impact on the weather in Europe.
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Although March officially is the first month of spring, at least here in Norway, March 2018 definitely has been a winter month!
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Trond, it makes me feel cold just looking at your photos. Dull and wet here today.
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Edwina and Robin Hill of Belstone, Devon cooment with this photo that :
"March is going out the same way it came in #Belstone #Dartmoor " http://andrewscorner.garden (http://andrewscorner.garden)
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Here right now comes more snow on top of the old one. You wouldn't think it is April from this picture taken today.
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Trond, it makes me feel cold just looking at your photos. Dull and wet here today.
You have to wear wool you know!
Back home today. A little more spring-ish.
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We had a Yellow Warning in force for heavy rain and possible flooding from 1500 yesterday (Saturday) until noon today. Doesn't seem to have caused all that much of either although it did add substantially to the porridge in my garden that passes for soil. I'm reliably informed that parts of West Yorkshire had around 3" of snow this morning. In March we had rain and/or snow for some parts (and often for all) of 26 days............................................... and I'm sick of it!