From the Panhandle
Spring Still Has Not Sprung
By Cate Huisman, 5-08-11
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| Storm over Sandpoint. | |
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At the end of April, I flew from Spokane back East for a conference. My flight was delayed due to heavy rain where I connected in Minneapolis and high winds where I landed in New Jersey. And this was fortunate, since it was snowing so hard as I left Sandpoint that I could barely see to drive, and I arrived late at the airport. As the light came up for my early morning departure, it was evident that the snow was piling up in the fields and sticking even on the roadway.
It was 80 degrees in New York. I got off the subway at the wrong stop, and spent some time wandering around the north end of Manhattan as a result. I was in my shirtsleeves, and it was after 10 p.m.
When I flew home a week later, passengers cheered in the plane as we closed in on Spokane and discovered there was no snow on the ground. But it was early May, and the local forecast, once again, was for valley rain and mountain snow. In the mountains just a few miles out of town, the snowpack was building yesterday as I headed out through the cold and wet to the Bonner County Historical Society’s annual “spring” plant sale to buy my tomatoes for the year, plants with names like Glacier, Coldset, and Sub-Arctic.
Is this unprecedented? I don’t know. But I’ve been following the Idaho Panhandle National Forest’s avalanche forecasts for a decade, and this is the first year they’ve put out a special bulletin at the end of April. Forecaster Kevin Davis wrote, “Today is April 29th and this is an extended because we thought winter was over but it’s kind of not, update.” I read it in New Jersey. In my shirtsleeves.
The Bonner Bee, at least, has faith in the future, as a local newspaper should. Each day they publish a five-day forecast, and yesterday’s edition, while noting that the weekend would see continued damp and cold, had a Monday forecast of “Yes! Highs in the 60s,” and for Tuesday, “Finally! Highs upper 60s, lower 70s.”
Until then, we might as well just go skiing. And I promise, this is the last time I’ll whine.
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Comments
I remember growing up with snow in the shade into June, snow on the Fourth of July, snow on the camper in August, snow at the Labor Day picnic. Kept the riffraff away, it did.
I'm in BOI--this is "supposed" to be desert country aside from the river and trees. This is the third year so far of cold springs and overcast summers. I have little hope this summer of 2011 will be any better than last.
Good luck to all of our artic tomatoes.
Can one rig up plant lights outdoors?