[wildernessed]

I don't mind winter, snow, and some cold, but this fall /winter has been a stress test on the system. Some sunshine and 20''s would be a warming trend. I keep thinking wildflowers in 4 weeks. Our average highs have been below our average lows for December and January this year. Average climate.

[treeswarper]

I grew up there and it was normal to have a cold snap every winter. I think you've been living there during a warm stretch of time. I am meaning to be kind, not snarky. Meanwhile, a lot of fruit trees have been planted that require longer growing seasons. I wonder if they can handle the cold? Orchards getting killed off by the cold used to be a worry, but now houses have replaced the orchards so maybe it isn't thought about much.

[Sculpin]

[wildernessed]

[Just_Some_Hiker]

There's been a lot of below zero days in Ronald/Roslyn/Cle Elum lately. -5 this morning. The positive thing about it is that it makes the regular 20-30 degree days seem nice and warm.

[mike]

[treeswarper]

There was a memorable cold spell in 1992? Maybe earlier. I lived in the Okanogan Valley and we had tremendous wind chills and wind. I bundled up in many layers. No pipes frozen as it was an older house and built for it. Another cold spell was in 1983? -24 at my house in Twisp. That was during Christmas because a lot of coasties were giving the tow truck guys a lot of business. Before that was kid times and I'm sure we had not as severe as 1968 cold temps, but cold. There was only one winter I can remember in kid times where there was no snow and I'm thinking that was 1962ish. We had a brand new flexible flyer and no snow to use it on. So, kid thinking took over, parents were busy and we hooked up a hose to the "city water" spigot and turned our concrete driveway into a sled hill. It apparently was freezing at the time. Parents were not happy. We got a few runs in. I think some spanking may have occurred. After that, all I remember are snowy winters--lots of snow fort building and sledding down 11th street before the sand truck arrived and spoiled our fun .

[mike]

[drm]

Can those grass widows grow up through snow cover? Here in The Dalles, our seasonal total snowfall is just edging into the Top 10, but the consecutive days with snow on the ground is already well over past records. And with over a foot falling on Tuesday and temps forecast to stay well below freezing until well into next week - meaning the melt only starts then - this record is going to keep getting extended. That also means those fields and meadows where we locals always perk up when the grass widows arrive are also snow covered and likely to stay that way for some time. The recent warm winters often saw the first grass widows in January and a few oddballs might have showed up in December. And as nice as those grass widows are, I like the first blooming trilliums in the mountains too in the spring.

[DigitalJanitor]

REALLY hoping this is killing things like pine beetles or bud worms. Not sure if it works that way, but it's nice to dream.....

[wildernessed]

The first wildflowers I have seen up here were #1 on Entiat Ridge at 4k' a Glacier Lilly and #2 Butter Cups up above Palisades both the 3 - 4 week of Feb.

[treeswarper]

[kbatku]

Here in Yakima, back in 81 or 82 we went an entire month without getting above freezing. Temps of 5-10 below were common - my mother's oil tank froze and her furnace quit. That being said, this is the hardest winter that I can remember in a long time - harder in some ways (cold, wind) than the epic 95-96 winter. We had a cold spell like this back in the mid 1950's and lost a lot of fruit trees to exploding trunks - that's why you will often see them painted white - to reflect the sun's heat.

[DigitalJanitor]

[AlpineRose]

Aaaand the yellow jackets. Hope the cold kills the yellow jackets.