This winter, while unusual, on schedule
Jack Hughes
Associated Press
In this photo, a rare ghost orchid blooms at the home of Aaron and Maria Saxton of Charleston, W.Va. It was raised to adulthood in a climate-controlled growth chamber. Getting the orchid to bloom in captivity was an even rarer achievement.
So far winter is acting very unusual. We have had a bit of ice, snow and cold weather. However, we have also had two short periods of January thaw, and next week looks like we will experience most of the week on the mild side with temperatures in the 50s and rain rather than snow. Average temperatures for the area for this coming week are a high of 38 and a low of 21. Of course, the mountains are always about 5 degrees colder.
This is pretty much the pattern that was forecast for the winter when the predictions were made in early November. The driving force behind this type of pattern is a La Nina weather event and in addition to our up and down weather tremendous amounts of rain is now filling the reservoirs of California and the western states. So often a drought ends in a flood or a flood is followed by a dry period.
Recall that California has been involved in a multi-year drought that has caused widespread problems due to the scarcity of water. The mountains of California had 112 inches of snow last week. This is being followed by heavy rain, causing widespread flooding. The Pacific Northwest has had an interesting winter with large amounts of snow and very persistent cold weather.
My wife and I had an opportunity to spend the first week of January in southwest Florida. We were treated to a week of temperatures in the upper 70s and low 80s. Sunshine filled the skies and we got to do some hiking in the Everglades.
The nice thing about Florida in the winter is that humidity levels are comfortable and the rain and bugs are gone. We were looking for the ghost orchid in the Everglades, which are very elusive and are more prone to be seen at night. We did see a lot of wildflowers along with countless birds and alligators. But no ghost orchid.
Unfortunately, there are people who make a living illegally taking orchids from the Everglades. A book titled 鈥淭he Orchid Thief鈥� by Susan Orlean documents this true story of beauty and obsession. Millions of orchids have disappeared for private collections or are sold to an unsuspecting public.
Our visit to Florida was a nice break from the dreary skies of southwestern Pennsylvania. In the summer, the opposite is true when a visit to Pennsylvania is a nice break from the heat and humidity of Florida.