2020 finished with a bit of rain/ice/sleet/ snow, without Quartz Mountain losing power or suffering damage. We hope everyone else fared at least as well. 2021 is off to a beautiful start. The first three days brought bright sunshine and gorgeous blue skies. Overnight lows are cold enough to keep grass dormant but the days are warm.
Tree buds are swelling and that could be a concern as winter progresses. Several warm days and nights might cause those leaf & flower buds to open or bloom. A return to winter weather will kill any leaves or flower buds that opened early. All the reserves of stored food the plants expended in early growth and blooming will be lost.
The end of the year winter storm did provide much needed moisture. Already local wheat looks better as do pastures. Lake Altus-Lugert has had inflow from the rain and melting snow. Lake level is still below 20% but going up rather than down is good.
It IS January, let’s keep the highs in the 30s and 40s and the lows in the 20s. This should keep the plants from leafing (or blooming) months before they should and greatly reduce evaporation rates. A good 3 day cold snap with highs in the teens would also kill off any overwintering insects that weren’t buried in deep leaf litter. Cold without ice would be nice.