Oh, The Weather Outside Is Frightful

Hello everyone! I know you've heard me say that winter has set in out here, but I mean it this time. The snow is officially starting to pile up, and it's not going anywhere (except where the wind blows it). It hasn't been above 20 degrees in a week, but mostly it hasn't been above 10 degrees.

Thursday was miserably cold and snowy. Not much snow accumulated, but it was very gray outside. We got some work done over at the hotel, and I got my baking done. I have to bake bread about once every two weeks. The recipe makes two loaves of bread, so I freeze one of them until we are ready for it. It gets dark so early now. When we work at the hotel, we leave by 4:00 pm so that it is not too dark on the walk home.


Friday, Jeff and I were able to get out to the Post Office. The sky was blue, but it sure was windy. And, the wind was very, very cold of course! We got lucky and were able to drive about a half of a mile short of the gate. You see, the wind is always blowing here, so huge snow drifts build up all over the place. We parked the car in the middle of the road and bundled up for the long walk to the Post Office. We had only walked about a mile when we ran into a man cutting down a Christmas tree. On his way out, he picked us up and drove us all the way to the Post Office. How kind! We got our mail, packed it into our backpacks, and began the trek back to the car. This time, the ice wind was blowing straight into our faces. It was difficult and uncomfortable walking in the stong wind. As luck would have it though, we ran into two more men who had cut down some trees. They turned around and drove us three miles up the road (as far as they could drive). Good samaritans are everywhere! With the help of Jerry, Charlie, and Carl, our eight mile trek was cut down to two miles! Oh, I forgot to tell you about the sheep. The bighorn sheep were all around the car in front of the cabin before we left for the Post Office. There was a male that was injured from a fight. His left eye was red, and I don't think he could see well out of it because he would turn his head to look at us with the other eye. And, there was this brave female who wasn't afraid of us at all. All the other sheep get nervous around us (as they should) and back up ten yards or so. This one female, however, will back up only a foot or two. That's not good. She should be afraid of us.

Saturday, the snow started. It is supposed to snow for the next few days. I shoveled out the snow from the side of the house. We have the bulk of our wood stacked under the eave on the side of the house, so we have to keep it shoveled out. There were about eight bighorn sheep around the car. They really like to lick the side of the car. One even tried to get up on the hood of the car! We had to yell at it until it got down.



Today it is still snowing. I will be heading out to shovel the snow from the side of the house again. Other than that, it is a football day. Luckily the Steelers have put me out of my misery by playing on Thursday. Any Steeler's fans? It seems as though they have forgotten how to play football. BOO! We did make time to ski out to Swiftcurrent, the other property that we keep an eye on. Swiftcurrent is just under a mile away. The snow was very deep and powdery, so it was a tough ski out there. It was much easier on the way back since we followed our own tracks. Did I mention it was negative 5 degrees?!?


Now, I've heard that you have been having quite the winter weather yourselves. Also, the winter solstice is right around the corner (December 21st). Since winter is well underway in both of our states, this week I am going to talk about winter. Over the holiday break I encourage you to get out and enjoy the beautiful winter weather. Bundle up and drink plenty of fluids. Build a snowman or a snowfort and have a snow fight with your friends and family. Make note of any animals you see while you are outside or when you look out your windows. Do you see any deer, squirrels, or birds? What kind of birds do you see? If there is snow on the ground, how much is there? You teacher will give you a list of these questions that you can take home with you. Just write down the answers as you find them. I want you to enjoy your holiday break, but I also want you to be aware of the environment around you.


So, let's talk about winter! Well what is winter anyways? Winter is the season with the shortest days and the longest nights. Winter has the least light of all seasons and is the slowest growing season for plants. Not all places exerience a cold winter. I have been lucky enough to spend a warm winter in Hawaii and one in Southern Florida. Up here in Montana (and also in Pennsylvania) winter is very cold. The food supply dwindles, and it is a very difficult time for plants and animals. Northern latitudes experience long and harsh winters. The temperature, snow depth, snow density, and the length of winter determine how many animals will survive the winter. Unfortunately, many animals will not survive the winter. This is sad, but it is nature. Winterkill is a term that refers to this. It is the combination of bad weather, poor nutrition, staration, disease, and predation. Have you heard of the term survival of the fittest? Winter is a true test of this. Only the animals that are stong enough and resourceful enough will survive.


I mentioned the term winter solstice above. Do you know what this term means? The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and is officially the first day of winter. Contrary to what we might think, the earth is actually closer to the sun in the winter than any other time of year. It seems that the earth should be closest to the sun during the warm summer months, doesn't it? Rememer that the earth is split up into two hemispheres, the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. We live in the Northern Hemisphere. The earth's orbit around the sun isn't a perfect circle. It is more like an oval. That means that in January the earth is closest to the sun and in July it is farthest from the sun. Also, the earth sits at a tilt. So, as the earth travels around the sun, different regions receive more direct sunlight than others. This means that when it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere. So, although the earth is the closest to the sun in the winter, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun. Thus, it is winter for all of us in the Northern Hemisphere. Within the hemisphere the amount of daylight and the angle of the sun varies with latitude. The farther north you are, the less sunlight you see in the winter time. Glacier National park is pretty far north, so we have short days. Right now, we have about hours eight of daylight. In Oil City there is just over nine hours of daylight.

Check out the map below. Your latitude is 41.434. I am at the latitude 48.860.

At Northern latitudes and high elevations winter is especially harsh. the atmosphere is thinner at higher elevations, so it holds less warmth. Here at Many Glacier, I am at 5,200 ft. Oil City is at 1,024 feet above sea level. Also, the Continental divide runs through the middle of Glacier NP. This means that the weather patterns are different on the east and west sides. I live on the east side of the Continental Divide, so my weather comes from the continental weather systems. The east side of the park tends to have less precipitation than the west side and has strong, gusty winds.


Of course snow is a big part of winter in Glacier NP. Rangers here have been studying the snow in the park for over eighty years. The water content of the snow is very important because it represents how much water we will have in the summer time. As the snow melts, we get water from the runoff. (Not to mention, snow with a higher water content packs easily into snowballs or a snow man!) Temperatures and wind also determines what will happen to the snow once it reaches the ground. For example, they determine whether it will be a fluffy layer or turn into ice.


When you come back from break, we are going to talk about how different animals, plants, and insects adapt to and survive the winter. This is why I want you to observe some animals over your break. I will talk about the species specific to Glacier NP but also about species in your region.

Assignment: Understanding what causes winter.

Use a globe to check some more latitudes and longitudes. You already know that places like Florida and Texas are warm in the winter. What are the latitudes of these warm places? Use the internet to find out the temperatures in these places. http://www.weather.com/ is a good site.


1. Pick two cities in the southern U.S. and record their latitude and temperature.
2. Pick two cities in the central U.S. and record their latitude and temperature.
3. Pick two cities in the Northern U.S. and record their latitude and temperature.

Do you see the pattern I was telling you about?
You can also figure out the length of the days in these cities by comparing the sunrise to sunset.

4. Can you find out where the highest and lowest recorded temperatures were for the day?
5. The snow that I skied though on Sunday was very light and fluffy. What does that say about the amount of water in the snow?
6. Do you have any snow outside? Does it have a high water content or a low water content?