What happened to winter in Wythe, Bland?

By Millie Rothrock/Staff

What a difference a year makes. Last winter, we wondered if we’d ever see the grass again. This winter, we’re wondering where the snow is.

The warm weather is good news for farmers and homeowners, who are saving money on heating bills, but bad news for plants and animals. Plants are in danger of blooming early, only to be killed later by a severe frost. And pets are still dealing with fleas and ticks.

So far this winter, it’s been cold and it’s been wet, just not on the same days.

“There has been no weather pattern where cold air and moisture come together like we saw in the previous two winters,” said Phil Hysell, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Blacksburg. “But snow is still possible.”

That’s right, agrees Matthew Miller, Wythe County agricultural Extension agent.

 “We still have at least two more months when we could have rough weather,” he said. “Remember, the big snow storm in 1993 was in March, so we probably have some winter left.”

The main culprit appears to be the lack of cold, Arctic air this winter. In terms of precipitation, the area has had almost the same amount of precipitation for the past two winters – a little over 7 inches. But without the cold air to freeze it, there’s no snow.

Less snow means less spending for local farmers, who are saving on electricity and feed for their livestock, which do not eat as much when it’s warmer.

 “Saving on feed is a big plus because the price of feed is at an all-time high right now,” Miller said. “Also, there is less winter stress on livestock, so the newborn death rate is lower.”

The bad news is that if it continues to stay warm, plants will bloom earlier and then face the possibility of being hit by a killer freeze or frost.

“We worry most about tree fruits,” said Wythe Morris, commercial horticulturalist for the Wythe County Agricultural Extension Office. “Most need a certain number of chilling hours that carries them through their dormant period and allows them to bloom. If they come out of dormancy early, they blossom early and run the risk of being killed by a hard frost.”

Peach crops are notorious for coming in early and a freeze can wipe out an entire crop, Morris said. Cherry crops can be eliminated, too.

Like the farmers, homeowners are saving on electricity and heating bills; however, their savings might be used to combat an increased number of fleas and ticks on their pets.

The weather hasn’t been cold enough for the pests retreat inside or go into a dormant period, so local veterinarians are seeing more cases than usual for this time of year, especially ticks.

As for what effect continued warm weather will have on fleas and ticks, veterinarian Dr. Rebecca Beamer said it’s hard to predict.

“I suspect the ticks will be fairly bad, it hasn’t been cold enough to make them inactive,” Beamer said.  It will be interesting to see what we get.”

So how calm of a winter are we having?

Last winter, Wytheville had 19 inches of snow, compared to 4 inches this year. The average temperature last year was 30.9 degrees. This year, it’s 37.8 degrees.

In Bland, the snowfall measured 40.5 inches for the winter of 2010-11. The average temperature last year was 29.9 degrees. There are no statistics available this winter for Bland County.

The bright side to a warm winter is lower street maintenance costs, which is good news for area transportation and utility crews.

So far this year, the Virginia Department of Transportation has spent $164,756 for snow removal on primary and secondary roads in Wythe ($125,115) and Bland ($39,641) counties. That total is almost nothing compared to last year’s total of $2.83 million for both counties, $2,056,291 in Wythe and $775,764 in Bland.

According to Wytheville Treasurer Michael Stephens, the town spent $131,000 on snow removal last year, compared to 30,000 this year. Regarding salt, the town spent $70,000 on salt last year and $19,000 so far this year.

If you are going to clear roads, you’ve got to have salt. Last winter, VDOT used 4,048 tons of salt to treat Wythe County roads and 1,745 tons in Bland. This year, the department has used 2,125 tons of salt in Wythe and 475 tons in Bland.

Millie Rothrock can be contacted at 1-800-655-1406 or mrothrock@wythenews.com.