No doubt, many of us will remember the Christmas blizzard of 2009.
Thanks to excellent predictions and weather warnings, we were prepared and adjusted our lives to best cope with this fascinating weather pattern. Weather of these two days, Dec. 24 and 25, completely changed the scene and added some amazing statistics to the month.
Not only does the Northland now hold a coat of about 2 feet of snow, but the nature of the snow also changed things. South winds brought moisture from the Gulf along with rising temperatures. Later this mixed with breezes from the east, off Lake Superior. For two days, we hovered near 30-degree readings. Warm air holds more moisture than cold air, so our snowfall was a wet and heavy one.
Prior to this system, December had been drier and colder than normal. Only about 0.25 inches of precipitation had been recorded in the earlier dry snows and the temperature was averaging several degrees below the usual.
Then the storm system moved in.
ADVERTISEMENT
As temperatures and winds picked up, very wet snow came down. The 24 inches of snow held nearly 2.5 inches of precipitation. Suddenly, the dry month became wet. (The average precipitation for December is 0.94 inches but, after the storm, this value was nearly three times the usual: 2.7 inches.) And the temperature was back to being near normal.
Like other fortunate ones, I was able to observe the snowy conditions from the warm safety of home. Waking to a new gleaming blanket of snow completely covering nearby spruce trees is one of the sights we look forward to each year. Walking in this pristine scene in the early morning, I found deer and fox tracks crossing the road with a scampering deer mouse quickly going below the surface.
With the windy dawn, hungry birds arrived at the feeder. Spending the night in arboreal protection, they congregated for a holiday breakfast of their own. The usuals were all present: chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers and two kinds of finches, goldfinches and purple finches. The former grew to a flock of about 80 by afternoon. As always, these feathery friends were a delight to watch as they attacked the sunflower and thistle feed along with the suet. Later, they were joined by about a dozen local gray squirrels. This large number of critters fed as though there were no blizzard.
As I watched these expected arrivals, I glanced over at a nearby tree where I saw a surprise.
A small brown creeper was working its way up the trunk.
The diminutive brown birds truly lives up to their name, as they are nearly always observed creeping up the bark of a tree. The brown feathers over their back provides for a camouflage protection.
I had seen them often before, but seeing one during a December blizzard is a special sighting since they feed on insects.
Despite the current weather, this tiny bird (about 5 inches long) was seeking insect meals in the cracks of tree bark and then using a thin, curved beak to extract them.
ADVERTISEMENT
Perhaps the warmer temperatures during the snowstorm were providing for conditions to allow this bird to feed: another marvel of the Christmas blizzard of 2009 that made this storm so memorable.
Retired teacher Larry Weber is the author of several books that are available now: "Butterflies of the North Woods," "Spiders of the North Woods" and "Fascinating Fungi of the North Woods." Contact him c/o budgeteer@duluthbudgeteer.com .
