No winter here either on the SE coast on Cape Cod Bay. I'm looking out the window and seeing brown leaves and green grass (not happy grass, but green nonetheless). I visit the New Years Day Snow Photo thread to remind me of what season this is.

I also remind myself of the high cost of heating oil, and the hassle last year of shoveling all that snow, but it sure would be pretty. Today I'm taking down the Christmas lights and bows and there won't be much left to distinguish this from November.

We'll probably get major blizzards in March when we desperately want something to sprout.

Claire

No winter on the coastal North Shore, either. I'm grateful because of the young plants I put in last season that are just starting to get established. If we're not going to get a lot of snow insulation, at least the mild temps will keep them from getting killed off.

And, it is a boon to have a mild winter after the cost of heating fuel went wacky.

I've experienced winters since I moved here where it didn't snow much but this is the first one that I can remember that was this mild. Boy, did the people who stocked up on heating oil, etc. ever get screwed. I hope it stays this way this year. Maybe I won't get so much dieback on my crape myrtles.

Good afternoon everyone,

Well we will see, it sounds good so far. But I remember last year feb was dreadfully cold and then here in southwestern maine we got socked with snow in a three week time span we had 70 inches!!! I wouldnt mind one good storm for snow though, we have about 8 - 10 inches, usually by this time of year we have 20 or so. (I had been getting lazy on hilling up my roses, though this year with the repeated warnings of very bad winter I did them! Which im glad I did, as there isnt much snow , with the dirt and snow I have about the same amount in covering (20 inches) which will keep them alive.

Wishing everyone a great planning season.

SilverKelt

We have a road trip policy in my family; you never comment on the lack of traffic until you've reached your destination. Why tempt fate, even if you don't believe in it?

So, personally, I'd rather avoid commenting on the lack of winter weather until May 1. Too late now, it's about 22 in Falmouth this morning. Not that I blame you, rockman, but ....

Hi,

We were thinking the same thing here in eastern Mass. Last weekend I was passing the lilac bushes along a path, and thought I noticed something green. I went over to investigate and sure enough, a whole branch had opened up new leaves that were about an inch in diameter. I did a tour of the yard and no more leaves, but a number of shrubs have these fat buds that you would expect to see in spring just before they are ready to burst. Someone in this area told me they saw flowers on a branch of a forsythia.

I find that very disconcerting. I have never seen that before, ever. The poor plants are so confused by this weather.

If there is any 'new' pattern to be observed, I would say that we have shifted to warmer/longer falls and colder springs. I have noticed that December has gotten to be a fairly warm month, and have had freezing temperatures and/or snow as late as May. But I am not sure that we are in a new pattern as much as we might be in 'less of' a pattern and more unpredictability.

I remember growing up that December was normally cold, November could be warm, but by December, it was winter. We might get a 'January thaw', which meant a week of temps that might get up into the 50s. Then March could be cool with occassional snow and if we had temps below 30 or snow in April, it was a surprise and seemed bizarre.

adam

You know the saying "be careful what you wish for", perfect for New England weather. Mother nature is always ready to throw us a curve. Blizzard of '78, winter 1995-1996, there where bets around my house that high school graduation pics where going to have snow in the background. the last remaining spot of snow in my yard that year went a week before my son's HS graduation. winter 2000-2001, same bets and timing for my daughter's graduation. then their's last year too. Down to 22 degrees at night on May 19th, thought it would snow on her college graduation a few days later.
No predicting mother nature, but it sure is weird this year.
And I live smack in the middle of the supposed "snow belt" of MA too.
Fran

Interesting observations. Although this past December ended up slightly cooler than normal (because of that early-mid month cold snap), there has been a long pattern of unusually mild Decembers overall, dating back to December 1990. I'm not sure about the spring pattern in detail, but for those of you who can remember weather in these parts back in the 1970's, what Adam observed is correct. Spring was unusually warm during many years in the 1970's, with April 1976 smashing the record books for record warmth in Boston. Remember the Boston Marathon in 1976? It was in the 90's and Rosie Ruize (spelling?) crossed the finished line without any sweat in her arm pits and later we all discovered that she took the "T"! I can remember the dogwoods in full bloom during many years in April back then! And it was very strange indeed when snow and cold hit us in spring back in those years, and when it did, the weather would rapidly return to fine sunny and warm conditions. Now, it is almost an expectation that snow and cold will linger deep into normal spring and I can sense from various postings that many of you have all but given up on fine spring weather. And December was a colder month overall back then. Now the tables have been turned.

One word about lilacs, mine always have fat green buds throughout the winter - I think that's normal behavior for them.

My lilacs have new open leaves unfurled...lol..plus the remainder of the buds look like they are going to burst open. My sambucus shrub has huge fat buds.

It has been quite warm here as well, not much of a winter except for some cold in Dec. and one storm back then that dumped about 8" of snow. Since then the snow melted, had bare ground for a few weeks (which is scary because you always worry about the plants if the temps should happen to take a nosedive). We now have just a couple of inches of snow from the other day, and it will probably melt by tomorrow as temps for the rest of this week are predicted to be in the 40s.

I for one am enjoying it.

I looked in a pot outside where I had tossed a handful of tulip bulbs last year, and was amazed that the bulbs are sprouting. Guess I'll take them inside to "force" (an oxymoron considering they did it on their own outside). Or should I just leave them there and see if they bloom in late January?

If the weather stays like this until after our Logee's day on January 22, I'll be happy.

We've had a stretch of unseasonably warm weather and temperatures have hit the 50's. I'm worried about the new little evergreen shrubs (Osmanthus and Ilex) that I carefully wrapped in burlap back in the cold, windy time.

I've left them all bundled up, but I wonder If I should be taking the top off to allow them some sun and air circulation? Or are they better off left wrapped up to keep their condition as constant as possible?

Any comments?
Claire

Claire,

Burlap is porous and lets in air and sun, so I wouldn't worry about your evergreens. Besides, it's only supposed to be a high temp of about 30 degrees on Sunday!

Claire-
Thanks for the reality check on that heating fuel. The price of that SURELY outweighs what I've invested in seeds & dirt (although with all these online sales & catalogs coming, it might be a close second right now- LOL!)

january freaking fourteenth = 57 degrees & ghastly.

rain blustering sideways;
screaming wind tossing whitecaps on the high tide.

i am not venturing out there.

nope nope nope.

not even to play with the thawed-out compost.

I just checked the 8-14 day outlook and it is still calling on above or much above normal temperatures and ample precipitation--meaning rain for most of us near the coast. So that takes us almost to the end of January.We will have our minor short-lived cold outbreaks (like tomorrow and Monday), and maybe even a bit of snow, but overall, the focus is on warmth. And folks, keep in mind that normally when it is warm here in winter, it is raining (like today). But we have been treated to a large number of glorious sunny brilliant days with temps in the 50's and light winds this winter. I hope you have enjoyed them. I even did a little tidying up in the yard the other day--it is immaculate out there! My tender assortment of broad leaved evergreens (southern magnolias and cherry laurels) have never been happier. Not a blemish on a leaf....yet.

I can't say my yard looks any tidier for all the good weather, in fact it'd be a blessing to have a foot or so of snow covering the mess. Half-mulched beds, piles of seaweed and shredded leaves, and the mushy remains of perennials. Yuck.

We're planning on a long walk in the rain today, we've all been inside at work on the weekdays and have only been able to enjoy the weather in short bursts of stolen time.

No complaints here, though! I'll take warm rain and wind over bitter cold any day. If this holds until early February, when I escape to the south for a month of work on the high seas, I'll be thrilled. Thanks to la nina, though it's wreaking havoc out west it sure is helping us with our heating bills.

DTD, I took my long walk in the rain this morning and it was just fabulous. It looks like I'm going to have to dress a bit warmer tomorrow though.

We rarely get bitter cold weather here after the end of January. Cold yes, but generally none of that single digit bone chilling stuff. So...as far as I'm concerned every decent January day is one less potentially frigid day this winter.

Sue

The rain and wind have stopped for now - good time for a quick trip to the dump! (oops, transfer station for the PC folks).

Waiting for the next, colder band to come through, with winds off the Bay and sleet and maybe snow. At least my little shrubs will be ready for it with their burlap hats and mufflers.

Claire

"and maybe even a bit of snow"

I just came in from getting a load of firewood for the stove. It is a genuine blizzard out there: howling winds, driving snow, 17 degrees. I can't tell if I have 2 inches of snow or 2 feet, since it is drifted so much. Probably 6 - 8 right now, but seems much worse. Guess I'll get to play with my snowblower later.

It finally feels like winter out there. And, it feels kind of nice.

narcnh

Sorry narcnh. My comments are always biased toward the weather that I experience down here on the south coast of Massachusetts, which is much warmer and much less snowy in winter on average than NH and other far inland locations. But your brief bout of real winter sounds rather exciting! And it will be brief. I think.

Well, we had a power outage in a several parts of our town for 24 to 30 hours and I'm telling you that below 40F inside the house is not that pleasant....
On a garden front, I think we'll have a hydrangea-less summer again, like in 2004. Mid-day Saturay temperature of 54F dropped to 26F by midnight and with windchill factor being around 8-10F the whole Sunday I think most of the already swelling hydrangeas buds had been killed.

For a little while this morning it was snowing big fat snowflakes - looked like white potato chips drifting through the trees.

Now the sun is out, the snow is melted, and the ground is brown and green again. The birds are happy.

Claire

Two storms in three days. About 8" the other day of heavy wet snow and about 4" today, tho it has stopped now. Just enough to have to shovel and snowblow as it is supposed to get cold and then it all turns to ice....But I'd rather look at a snow-covered landscape than bare ground in winter. At least it is pretty. In that warm spell, I did see snowdrops coming up. Maybe an early spring?

Only around 3" fell in my neighborhood, although the rest of the city reportedly got 6". We got another inch overnight last night, but it is melting in the mild temps.

Can't say we've had much of a winter in southern New England. I'm not complaining! Any year where the thermometer doesn't go below 0, and we have only a couple of nights in the single digits, is fine as far as I'm concerned. I'd say we're having a Zone 8 winter in coastal Massachusetts. Maybe I'll plant some of those Zone 8 specimens I brought back from Logee's... heh heh

We got a couple of inches of heavy, wet snow on Monday morning but nothing last night. It's in the mid 40s F again today. I have to laugh at these weather forecasters who keep heralding "a return to winter" then showing daytime temps in the mid 30s. The mid 30s in January would have been considered a warm front the last couple of years.

Cady if I knew I could have planted the Logees stuff outside maybe I would have bought something. lol

Sue

Still no snow in Mystic. More rain last night though. On my walk today, I noticed the reeds along the water are sprouting. Truthfully, I don't know if it's early, or not? Normally, there's enough snow cover that I wouldn't notice. Maybe, they always sprout this early under the snow...I'm not sure. My sense is that it's very early to be seeing the reeds/grasses showing bright new growth.

It was 45 degrees when I went for my walk around noon. All I needed was a heavy sweatshirt & gloves! Weird...

Same here in south coastal Massachusetts. We have only had 2 inches of snow in January and 6 inches TOTAL for the winter. The bulk of that fell way back in early December. The ground has been bare virtually every day this winter. And it has stayed warm. Yes...at my house the temperature has not fallen below 10 F yet this winter--technically a zone 8 winter so far. And the forecasters have been overplaying the cold. TOday was supposed to have had Arctic Air with strong winds. BUt it is sunny and 40 degrees with a light breeze. A great day. And remember January 2004? Well, the average daily LOW temperature at my house this January is HIGHER than the average daily HIGH temperature back in January 2004. In other words, the nights during this january have been warmer than the daytime back in January 2004. WHat a relief. But beware of this storm early next week. All of our snow totals may be headed UP!!!

We got a few inches of snow today. It sagged a bit when the sun came out, but there's still about an inch on the ground. The temperature is below freezing so it should last overnight and then melt tomorrow.

I actually did a little shoveling, but mostly as a token show to honor the season.

Claire

In case you are wondering, January will likely go down in the record books as the 8th warmest since 1873 in Boston. Here is the list of highest mean temperatures in January for Boston:

1913 39.3
1932 38.8
1933 37.9
1937 37.4
2002 36.7
1990 36.4
1950 36.2
2006 36.1 (so far)

The highest mean temperatures in New England this January can be found on outer Cape Cod and the Islands (normally the warmest area in winter) with mean temperatures near 39 degrees.

Oh...and in case you are wondering, the January temperatures we are experiencing this year in the Boston area and points S and SE to Cape Cod would be perfectly normal January temperatures for places like Richmond and Norfolk, VA and Raleigh N.C. Now if we could only mimic their spring......

...but not their summer heat and humidity, which comes early and stays late.

.....Let's not forget last winter when we had the heat on until mid-May.................

....although I do have one daffodil nxt to the house with a flower bud already...maybe they know something we don't.........

Heard today that P. Phill will most likely not see his shadow on Thursday. That would mean an early spring.

Don't get me started about that veracity of that silly groundhog! It looks like the mean January temperature for Boston came in at 36.5 degrees. This is 7.2 degrees above normal and will rank as the 6th warmest in 125 years. Not bad overall. The long range forecast indicates a turn toward colder than normal weather next week, so February probably will not be as warm.