The new year has come in with a bang - a bang of cold weather. I have heard the comment several times during the past few weeks that "it is a lot colder this year than normal."

First of all, in all my 30 years of working in agricultural professions that are closely tuned to the weather, I have come to realize that there is no such thing as normal weather. Average maybe, but not normal. Every year is different, every season is different, and most times, the events within a certain season are different. Because of this it is hard to determine what is normal.

I think the real reason many of us feel that the weather is a lot different than normal is that we have difficulty remembering what the specific weather was in the past and, therefore, have difficulty comparing today's weather conditions with what the weather was at a certain time in the past. We may remember specific major weather events such as the date of various hurricanes, the dates of the "big" snows, or the day the killer tornado came through Red Springs. But, for example, do you really remember what the weather was like during the first week of 1994?

It appears to me that it would be much more accurate to say that the weather we have experienced during the past several weeks -- and it looks like we will have to put up with it for at least several weeks to come -- is more typical of what winter should be like in North Carolina - even southeastern North Carolina. We may feel that this winter is a "lot colder than normal," simply because the past few winters have been much milder than average and we have become somewhat accustomed to mild winters.

The weather we are experiencing this winter is probably an average winter for southeastern North Carolina. After it is all over, I would like to see the statistical data comparing it to long-term weather patterns. Even though we might not remember the specifics, I think most of us can easily recall many winters in the past in which we had to deal with long periods of cold temperatures, even day after day of temperatures below freezing. We can probably even recall when ponds remained frozen for several days or even several weeks at the time. Was that normal or was that average?

Another comment I have heard several times recently in relation to the cold weather we are having is "this cold weather should get rid of some of the mosquitos and insects." I'm not sure that this will really be the case. I know that one of the major summer problems in Alaska is mosquitos. Since the winters in Alaska are "normally" extremely cold, to me this seems to dispel the theory that cold weather will get rid of mosquitos.

I'm sure some of the insects that overwinters as adults will not make it through the winter. But this is always the case. These insects burrow into the soil, under leaves, or trash and, with a type of antifreeze in their bodies, can usually survive even the coldest of winters. Not all of these insects will survive the winter. Let's hope a large number of them will not make it, but let's don't count on it.

E-mail address: Everett_Davis@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 4/23/01