odd winter weather

[Rogar]

I've lived in various parts of Colorado most of my life and there have been unusual seasons occasionally for one reason or another, but I can't ever recall a winter quite like this. The front range has had temperatures ten or twenty degrees above normal and hardly andy snow fall. The have been red flag fire warnings out off and on for weeks due to low humidity and high winds, but fortunately no big fires so far. Mountains snow pack on both sides of the divide around around 60% for this time of year. I watered my lawn and trees a week or two ago just because it was so dry. I track a couple of bird migration arrivals each year that have shown up a good two or three weeks early this year and tulips are a couple of inches out of the ground. There is weather and climate and then climate extremes. I think this year is in the latter. We can still get some good snows in March and April, but the only thing in the 10 day forecast is a little rain! I think you folk near the coasts are stealing our snow.

[KayLR]

Not the Pacific NW coast, we aren't! We haven't seen one snowflake all winter, and only a few frosty mornings. Only had to scrape the windshield once. The ski resorts are crying for snow. We will suffer this summer for lack of snow pack. Daffodils are up here too, and flowering cherries are in bloom here & there.

[rosarugosa]

We have had a lot of snow compared to recent years, with many comparing this to our terrible winter of 2014 - 2015. We had some issues with an ice dam in the gutter and water leaking into the house, which was not a high point (and it was a common issue for other homes in the area).

Definitely no tulips or daffodils just yet, not even our very early little snowdrops, because there is still a whole lot of snow on the ground.

[iris lilies]

Our tulips are poking up.

we had one largest snowfall this year, but otherwise it’s been pretty easy.

last year was the year of snow and ice, snow and ice and more ice. It was very, very hard on city workers who had to attempt to clear ice off streets. it was a big issue in the St. Louis mayors race, and I do not blame the mayor at all that she didn’t have the manpower or even technical power to get ice off streets. but the new mayor looks good because she plowed streets that have NEVER been plowed in the 30+ years we were there.

meanwhile, in Hermann, our little town’s workers keep the streets clear because they are hard workers.

[catherine]

This has been a horrible winter... It started shortly after November with the snow and wind. Trekking with my family to a restaurant on Christmas was like braving the tundra, fighting with the snow, wind, and drifts. My car, which is terrible in the snow, twice got stuck simply getting out of the driveway, so I try to avoid even leaving the house. We were excited about the temps getting to 30 today, because they have hovered between -20 to 20 all winter long--but the winds are just as high, making the temperature feel like 6 degrees.

The closest I've gotten to thoughts of gardening are catalogues in my inbox from Johnny's Selected Seeds.

[rosarugosa]

I ordered seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds this year. It was funny, because when they arrived yesterday, DH was amazed I had ordered from them. Unbeknownst to me, he had requested their catalog. He never noticed it when it arrived, so he was pleasantly surprised to see an actual seed order arrive from them. I believe they are based in Iris Lily Land.

I posted on another thread about replacing radiators this winter. That actually led to us having the most comfortable winter ever.

[Tybee]

I ordered seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds this year. It was funny, because when they arrived yesterday, DH was amazed I had ordered from them. Unbeknownst to me, he had requested their catalog. He never noticed it when it arrived, so he was pleasantly surprised to see an actual seed order arrive from them. I believe they are based in Iris Lily Land.

I posted on another thread about replacing radiators this winter. That actually led to us having the most comfortable winter ever.

Jeremiah Gettle started that company when he was just a teenager. My husband talked to him at a farm conference back in Missouri, probably almost 30 years ago. He was just a homeschooled kid living on the family farm.

[pinkytoe]

Baker Creek seeds have excellent germination rates. I have things started indoors but am losing interest in gardening this year since it will be a real struggle with the current warm, dry situation.

[iris lilies]

I don’t start things from seeds, but DH does. We have a few vegetable seeds in trays sitting in our sunroom right now. I should get him a Baker Creek .seeds catalog.

[Tradd]

Chicago area: we got a ton of snow on the Saturday/Sunday of T'giving weekend. By the time Christmas came, it was all gone and it was maybe 50 on Christmas.

January was cold and snowy, but not huge storms. Just a number of smaller snowfalls. We had a three week cold snap.

Maybe 10 days ago, we had a record high of 65.

Now, it's in the 30s for a few days, but 40s to low 50s this week. Been a while since we had more snow than a dusting.