A warmer-than-normal August and September could help our gardens ripen

Dozens of Press subscribers have complained lately that their gardens are "weeks behind schedule" in some cases following the third coldest spring on record in North Idaho and a generally cooler than normal month of July thus far in the region.

There are still roads with snow choking the higher passes in the Cascades of Washington State. Vern Sandmann of Moses Lake saw "three feet of snow in the shaded trees" on a recent fishing trip in one of the inland northwestern Washington mountain retreats.

Glacier National Park's 'Going-to-the-Sun' highway didn't open until Wednesday, July 13, the latest Sun Road opening ever. The previous latest opening over Logan Pass was July 10, 1943, when the road crew was short-staffed because of World War II.

This year's plowing was complicated by 'rare' heavy June snows and unseasonably frigid spring weather conditions.

If this past winter's snows in the Cascades and the northern Rockies don't melt by later this summer or early in the fall season, it's entirely possible that we will see a sudden expansion of the region's glaciers. Only time will tell. Unmelted snow causes glaciers to grow.

I should likewise mention that vacationers to California tell me that there is still "a record amount of snow remaining above 7,000 feet near Lake Tahoe."

An unusually chilly spring season in northern and central California saw abnormally heavy mountain snows and 'rare' valley rains well into the month of June.

Alpine Meadows, near Tahoe City, was open for skiing on July 4 for only the second time in its 50-year history and the first time since 1995. Neighboring Squaw Valley was also open on July 4 for skiing, again a 'rare' occurrence indeed.

It's been cooler than normal every month locally since last October, thanks to the chilly 'La Nina' sea-surface temperature event in the waters of the Pacific Ocean that just recently "bit the dust."

Randy and I still believe that the early August through mid October period will be both warmer and drier than usual across North Idaho and the rest of the Inland Empire. What we've seen lately is the 'lag effect' from the slow death of the cool La Nina.

Maybe we'll soon see those raspberries, blueberries and huckleberries finally ripen. Dennis Williams tells me that the huckleberries in his favorite patch are "about a month behind schedule in ripening," par for the course. Our strawberries are just now ripening.

We should remember that much of the rest of the nation likewise had an unusually wet and cool spring with a record number of deadly tornadoes, flash floods, large-sized hail and destructive 70 mile per hour 'straightline winds.'

But, things changed drastically weatherwise by late May and early June east of the Rockies to the Atlantic Coastline, thanks to the death of La Nina and a warmer and drier trend.

A huge 'Omega-type' high pressure ridge has been parching crops in at least 15 states for weeks-on-end, especially from the southern Great Plains eastward to the lower Mid-Atlantic regions.

Corn has been 'severely damaged' in the Deep South. In many areas from Texas to the Carolinas, it's been cut for silage or baled for hay. Similar drought and excessive heat problems have killed crops in the past several weeks in Kansas, Oklahoma and southeastern Colorado. 'Megafires' in Arizona and New Mexico have been of "historic size and scope."

It's quite possible that we'll soon see some unusually hot, dry and windy weather conditions in our part of the country. This could lead to an increasing number of forest and brush fires across the Inland Northwest. The U.S. Forest Service (thanks Keith) tells us that there is "an abundance of extra fuels this year in our woods."

Remember as well, if we do see a new and warmer 'El Nino' sea-surface temperature event develop in the waters of the Pacific Ocean in the next few months, it's likely that we'll have far less snow in the North Country this upcoming winter of 2011-12. But, once again, only time will tell. Stay tuned.

BRIEF LATE

NORTH IDAHO WEATHER NOTE

This past week we saw afternoon highs for the third week of July only in the upper 60s and low to mid 70s, more typical of fall than summer.

We also saw some brief showers and thunderstorms, as a series of weak cool fronts passed through the region.

Like every month since last October, July of 2011 will go into the record books as one of the chilliest such summer months on record with afternoon highs averaging just 77 degrees compared to the 116-year normal of 84 degrees since 1895, a whopping 7 degrees below normal.

The 'good news' is that much warmer and drier weather is headed in our direction. Randy and I still see a warm and dry August and September in North Idaho, as high pressure camps in over the region.

The 2011 edition of the North Idaho Fair and Rodeo should have great weather. Afternoon highs will likely be in the mid 80s to lower 90s with only a slight threat of a scattered afternoon or evening thunderstorm, mostly over the mountains to the east of Coeur d'Alene.

Cliff Harris is a climatologist who writes a weekly column for The Press. His opinions are his own. Email sfharris@roadrunner.com