The calendar read March 20.Discount
Woolrich Jackets Shop And in less than three afternoon hours, what started
as a bonfire spread over 35 acres of grass and woodland outside the village of
Custer, south of Manistee.
In almost any other year, that early, moisture in the leaves and branches might have slowed the spread of the flames. But this year, after a winter devoid of much snow and rain, and three months with temperatures often absurdly above normal, the fire moved quickly.Cheap Woolrich Jackets
It eventually required firefighters from not only Custer and two other villages, but the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Forest Service as well.
Wildfire season had arrived early.
Michigan's natural timetable has been offset in all kinds of ways this spring thanks in large part to weather patterns that had winter coats in storage early across the state. From plants to birds to fish, things are moving at an expedited pace.
"Usually, when it comes to dealing with wildfires, we shoot for being ready in the first week of April — and the season doesn't normally get under way until the middle of that month," said Stave Hatting, a Forest Service fire management officer at the Huron Manistee National Forest. "When you don't get the snow, you don't get good soil moisture.
"With some of the heavier fuels that fires use, like the logs lying on the ground, they soak up all that moisture during the winter. And then when the season goes along they slowly dry out.
"In a lot of cases, those fuels have already dried out this year.Cheap Peak Performance Parka Jacket"
A typical winter season produces 45 inches of rain and snowfall in Michigan, according to the National Weather Service. The 2011-12 winter season generated 26 inches. And so far in 2012, average daily temperatures were 5 degrees above normal in January and February, and 15 degrees above normal in March.Buy Cheap Arc Teryx Jackets sale
All over the state, effects of the warm winter and high temperatures of 2012 are speeding up nature.
Nancy Auer has spent three decades working the rivers and streams around Houghton in the Upper Peninsula to gain a better understanding of sturgeon. An annual part of her research for Michigan Technological University has her monitoring spawning activity. She's expecting that to start any day now.
If it does, the sturgeon will be four to five weeks ahead of schedule. That could be problematic.canada goose jackets
"The sturgeon will get into the rivers and spawn," she said. "Then, if we have our typical spring flooding when the fish have already spawned, the flows could violently push the young out of their regular habitats."
Out of the rivers, Upper Peninsula wildlife watchers are seeing another curious effect of the recent warm weather. A normal phase-out from winter to spring allows the rabbits to gradually change from their winter white coat to a warm weather brown.
This year, the warm weather has arrived but the darker coats haven't.
Researchers have seen plenty of snowshoe hares running around in the sunshine with their coats still stark white.
In almost any other year, that early, moisture in the leaves and branches might have slowed the spread of the flames. But this year, after a winter devoid of much snow and rain, and three months with temperatures often absurdly above normal, the fire moved quickly.Cheap Woolrich Jackets
It eventually required firefighters from not only Custer and two other villages, but the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Forest Service as well.
Wildfire season had arrived early.
Michigan's natural timetable has been offset in all kinds of ways this spring thanks in large part to weather patterns that had winter coats in storage early across the state. From plants to birds to fish, things are moving at an expedited pace.
"Usually, when it comes to dealing with wildfires, we shoot for being ready in the first week of April — and the season doesn't normally get under way until the middle of that month," said Stave Hatting, a Forest Service fire management officer at the Huron Manistee National Forest. "When you don't get the snow, you don't get good soil moisture.
"With some of the heavier fuels that fires use, like the logs lying on the ground, they soak up all that moisture during the winter. And then when the season goes along they slowly dry out.
"In a lot of cases, those fuels have already dried out this year.Cheap Peak Performance Parka Jacket"
A typical winter season produces 45 inches of rain and snowfall in Michigan, according to the National Weather Service. The 2011-12 winter season generated 26 inches. And so far in 2012, average daily temperatures were 5 degrees above normal in January and February, and 15 degrees above normal in March.Buy Cheap Arc Teryx Jackets sale
All over the state, effects of the warm winter and high temperatures of 2012 are speeding up nature.
Nancy Auer has spent three decades working the rivers and streams around Houghton in the Upper Peninsula to gain a better understanding of sturgeon. An annual part of her research for Michigan Technological University has her monitoring spawning activity. She's expecting that to start any day now.
If it does, the sturgeon will be four to five weeks ahead of schedule. That could be problematic.canada goose jackets
"The sturgeon will get into the rivers and spawn," she said. "Then, if we have our typical spring flooding when the fish have already spawned, the flows could violently push the young out of their regular habitats."
Out of the rivers, Upper Peninsula wildlife watchers are seeing another curious effect of the recent warm weather. A normal phase-out from winter to spring allows the rabbits to gradually change from their winter white coat to a warm weather brown.
This year, the warm weather has arrived but the darker coats haven't.
Researchers have seen plenty of snowshoe hares running around in the sunshine with their coats still stark white.
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