Warmest New Hampshire December in more than 120 years.
MANCHESTER, NH – Don’t panic.
But if you’ve noticed your spring bulbs prematurely pushing up through the mulch, or your forsythia bush about to explode with yellow blooms, then you are probably worried – like the experts are – about the bigger picture.
We’re having the warmest December so far on record, according to the National Weather Service. No snow in sight. Temperatures hovering in the spring-like zone.
No snow cover leaves root systems vulnerable to freezing temperatures, which could do serious damage.
And then there are the fruit trees.
“Once they blossom, that’s it. They won’t bud again until next summer,” says Eugene Harrington, manager of Nashua Farmer’s Exchange.
He recommends protecting plants and trees with burlap if there’s no snow by the end of December.
Master gardener Stephanie Gay of Lull Farm in Hollis, is worried about her peach trees.
“I have a forsythia at home that’s starting to bloom, and peaches are usually on the same timetable. Yeah, I’m worried. I’m worried that if we don’t get some cold weather in the next few days, our peach trees might start to blossom. And if they do this now, we won’t have a good show in the spring,” Gay says.
“Bulbs I don’t worry about so much, but our apples, peaches, plums, apricots – they could all be affected by this warm weather,” Gay says. “It feels like spring out there to the plants – damp and 50 to 55 degrees. Definitely, I’d say there’s a possibility of not having a good harvest next year.”
National Weather Service meteorologist Tom Hawley, who is watching the radar from his outpost in Gray, Maine, says you might as well keep dreaming of a white Christmas.
It ain’t happening this year.
“Nope, I don’t see any snow – especially in southern New Hampshire, through Christmas,” says Hawley. “Not even up north. It will get colder this weekend, and maybe even go a bit below normal, but it’s going to warm up again next week and we’ll be back to the 50s by mid-week.”
Hawley waded back through the official weather archives and found that we are on track to have the warmest December in New Hampshire recorded history. Ever.
“The warmest December on record was in 1891, when the average temperature in Concord was 35.4 degrees. If we were to end the month right now, we’d be at an average temperature of 39.6 degrees for the month,” says Hawley.
Yes, it’s OK to blame El Niño, if you want to point the finger somewhere, he says.
“That’s part of it, but I really think it’s just the way the pattern is set up right now. There’s a trough in the West causing cooler than normal weather out West, and so from the Mississippi all the way to the East Coast we’re in a ridge, which indicates warmer weather for the foreseeable future,” Hawley says.
The foreseeable future looks like this: Colder weekend temperatures with highs in the mid-30s, and mid-20s in the North Country, but by Monday the mercury will rise again, low to mid-40s, reaching the 50s again, just in time for your last-minute balmy Christmas Eve shopping.
“Looks like more rain Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day,” Hawley says.
From a meteorological perspective, there is fallout, beyond schizophrenic plant activity. Parts of southern New Hampshire and Maine are already experiencing mild drought conditions. No snow means no snow pack, and no snow pack means not enough melt to recharge the ground water in the spring.
“And if we continue to be in this moderate drought, there may be problems with wells going dry. So yes, we’d like to see some snow on the ground sooner than later,” Hawley says.
From a business perspective, ski resorts are also grappling with the lack of white stuff, which may translate into a financial drought, as in lack of green stuff. For example, Mount Sunapee has suspended skiing until Dec. 20, citing “unproductive” snow production.
“The ski industry in New Hampshire has definitely been impacted by the warm weather this year so far. Many ski areas last made snow on or around December 8; for some it was earlier. However, Cannon Mountain, Bretton Woods and Loon Mountain were all making snow Tuesday night and throughout the day today, and will continue into tonight as well,” said Jessyka Keeler, Executive Director of Ski NH.
Keeler said New Hampshire ski areas would lbe working hard to produce enough snow for all open trails and new terrain.
UNH Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Deb Johnson says she hopes the temperatures regulate sooner than later so plants can return to a pattern of dormancy, as the trickle-down effect could be kind of disastrous.
“Certainly this warm weather could have an effect on next year’s harvest – everything has an effect on everything. All we can do is wait and see, and hope nature corrects itself,” Johnson says.
