Chinook Winds: March 2011

Thursday, March 3, 2011

38 below

Last week we had a day that was -38, burr. I have this waterer in my unheated Hen house made by Farm Innovators "All-Season" Heated Plastic Poultry Fountain. I don't know what the temperature inside that coop was, very cold I am sure, the water did not freeze. I was impressed, it advertises to keep water from freezing until 0. I think it out did it self.

Here are a couple images of what "cold" looks like.

What are Chinook Winds?

Chinook winds blow in from the Pacific in late winter and early spring. Their moisture evaporates as they pass over the Rocky Mountains. Once the winds come down from the mountains onto the high plains, the air can be quite mild and extremely dry. When a Chinook takes effect local temperatures can warm up from as low as 5 degrees below zero to 60 or 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The air is so dry that when it hits snow, it sucks up the moisture, changing the snow directly into water vapor, bypassing the liquid phase that slushy phase-- entirely. Called sublimation, this is a common way for snow to disappear quickly in arid climates.
As you may guess these changes in temperature, little snow cover, but bitter cold temps make it hard for things to make it through the winter. We hope to have a 90 day growing season and 12 inches of perspiration in a year.

Chinook Winds

Thursday, March 3, 2011

38 below

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