Backyard Almanac show

Backyard Almanac

Summary: Phenology with Northern Minnesota naturalist Larry Weber every Friday morning at 8:20 on Northland Morning on KUMD in Duluth, MN. Have a question for Larry Weber? Email us and you might hear his answer on the show!

Podcasts:

 Backyard Almanac: the pelicans don't nest; they just rest | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 671

Despite days of clouds, rain, and even snow showers, the second half of unpredictable April has been a little short of precipitation. Luckily, we got a great day yesterday to see all kinds of flora and fauna, and starting today we go back to cool, cloudy, and a chance of rain or snow into next week.

 Backyard Almanac: ch-ch-ch-changes | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 578

The first of the spring ephemerals have popped up in the woods, the vernal ponds are flourishing and things are greening and budding all over. Larry Weber says the walk you take today won't be the same as yesterday's or tomorrow, so you'd better make sure to get out as often as possible.

 Backyard Almanac: Why a week of rain is a good thing | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1081

Close to a week of wind, rain, hail (!) and clouds is enough to dampen the mood of just about anyone. Until, of course, you hear what Larry has to say about what these days have wrought in our world outside.

 Backyard Almanac: Win-sprin and woodcocks! | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 696

Welcome to Win-sprin, that strange little time of year between the melting of the snow and the greening of the forest floor.

 Backyard Almanac: "April is even stranger than March" | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 757

March 2021 will appear on the books as a little warmer than "normal": closer to 34° than 26°. The precipitation is above normal not only for the month but for 2021 as a whole so far, and the only "below normal" is snowfall. Larry's quick to remind us, though, that in April of 2013, we got 51" of snow! In other news, a cloudy, 25°-ish day with no wind, might not seem too exciting, but that's only if you're looking, and not listening.

 Backyard Almanac: "Fire month" comes a little early this year | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 710

The low humidity and high winds forecast for today and tomorrow have prompted the National Weather Service to issue a Fire Weather Watch for the area . Before the rain moves in on Sunday, the minimum RH dropping below 15 percent today combined with winds gusting to 20 mph today and over 35 mph on Saturday will cause near-critical fire weather conditions today and possibly exceeding critical fire weather conditions on Saturday.

 Backyard Almanac: "March is a month where a lot of crazy things happen" | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 631

Whether it's a record-breaking 55 ° or snowflakes the size of drink coasters, March in the Northland is anything but full.

 Backyard Almanac: things are moving "in the direction known as spring" | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 587

One month ago today, the temps took a nose dive to below zero - and stayed there. Now we've got temps in the 50s forecast; Daylight Saving Time is nine days away; Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury are hanging out in the early-morning eastern sky (and it's clear enough to see them) and even some early migrants are starting to show up. And in the woods, it's getting a little spring-y there, too.

 Backyard Almanac: the end of meterological winter but lots of hungry wild things | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 706

All around us are signs of spring - kinda. Meteorological winter ends Sunday, Daylight Saving Time starts Sunday, March 14 and the vernal equinox is Saturday, March 20. But it's hard to predict what will happen in a month that's famous for blizzards and 70˚ days in the same four-week period.

 Backyard Almanac: "this is the weather we'll tell the visitors about next summer" | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 584

Twelve days of an average temp of -12˚. 250 straight hours of temps that never got above -2˚. And while we only got two measly record temps out of the cold snap, on the 13th and 14th, Larry Weber says it was still pretty impressive. Not only does he enthuse "I wouldn't have wanted to miss it!", Larry knows that when we're sweating through an afternoon on the beach or looking for some shade to park a lawn chair, these days will be the stuff of stories and legend.

 Backyard Almanac: to think, a month ago we were heading for the warmest January on record ... | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 564

Larry Weber calls the 213 hours out of 216 we'll spend below zero "fascinating."

 Backyard Almanac: "Without -20, it's not really winter" | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 630

For Larry Weber, winter is about to arrive. Air temperatures won't break zero through the end of the weekend, overnight lows will be in the double digits below, and the windchill index will hover around that strange point where the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales reach agreement: -40. But there is a silver lining: Larry point out that these cold snaps usually only last about four days. So that's a mere 100 hours of "polar vortex." The National Weather Service is even collecting Extreme Cold

 Backyard Almanac: "squirrels are acting like there's more to life than just eating" | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 440

There's romance in the air if you're a wolf, coyote, fox, or squirrel. If you're a groundhog, you want to be left strictly alone on Tuesday - no exceptions. And for the rest of us who pay attention to such things, we're about halfway through that period of time between the December solstice (December 21; shortest day of the year) and the vernal equinox (March 21; day and night are of equal length).

 Backyard Almanac: out of the running for the record ... and speaking of running ... | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 426

Last week, Larry Weber told us we were in the running for the warmest January on record, surpassing the old record set back in 2006. Today ... alas. But despite the cold, we're still short on precipitation and snow, and that's already challenging this year's John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon.

 Backyard Almanac: "If you can't do one thing, you can always do something else" | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 599

So far, January has been cloudy and warm. In fact, Larry says if we keep it up, we're on pace to break the old record for the warmest January on record set back in 2006! But the clouds mean sound is amplified. The warmish temperatures mean you can walk slooooowly and really take in what you're seeing. And Larry is encouraging folks to follow the example of Duluth's JR Kelsey and get out there and take photographs!

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