Wow, that was a LOT of snow and a LOT of folks have been asking, what does that mean in terms of our drought conditions? How does that heavy snow affect our trees? What about my poor roses?
Carpet roses are under that snow
Snow is a great insulator. Yay!
BUT (there’s THAT word), as for our drought, Jeff Strock, a professor at the U of M’s Southwest Research and Outreach Center, says,
“While above average snowfall may be perceived as a positive for addressing drought,
the reality is that it depends. It’s important to remember that snow is not as effective as
rain for addressing drought conditions. As a rule of thumb, only about 25% of the water
from melting snow will infiltrate the soil.
In most areas of Minnesota, the ground is frozen. The official frost depth as of Tuesday,
January 3 at the Southwest Research & Outreach Center in Lamberton was 22 inches,
which is similar to the same time last year. If the spring snowmelt is fast and the ground
is still frozen, very little if any moisture available from the snow will get into the soil for
recharge. A fast melt in the spring, on frozen soil, could result in localized flooding,
however, there is a lot of storage capacity in rivers, marshes and sloughs because they
dried up during the drought.
If the spring thaw is relatively slow, some of the moisture from the melting snow will
infiltrate the soil. A slow spring melt would help provide decent conditions for planting
and germination of seed.”
He's a bit of “Debbie Downer”. I will add that the National Weather Service says there are “some small improvements”. Personally, I think we should collectively decide that our spring thaw will be perfect and that the water that does run off is clean and fresh and fills our lakes and waterways. Go Team Slow Spring Thaw!
As for the heavy wet snow hanging on our evergreens, there are all kinds of answers depending on who you talk to. The fact is that heavy wet snow can break branches and topple trees. I always caution people to test an area of their tree or shrub to see how it reacts when you GENTLY knock some snow off with your hand or a broom. Do this in an upward motion.
Snow-covered pine
If it’s ICE, leave it be. Don’t do anything including using ice melt spray or a blow torch. Seriously, someone mentioned that.
Ice on lilac
Let it thaw, let it thaw, let it thaw,
