Very Mild Winter

[Wea300mag]

I was looking at the Methow Webcams today and it looks like the deer are getting break this year, almost looks like spring already.

http://www.methownet.com/methowwebcam.html

The camera shots are dark in the evening but if you click on the individual camera views you can roll back in time to see the daytime pics.

[KFhunter]

some of the south facing hillsides are showing some hints of green, the deer are making good use of it you can see them out in the middle of the day feeding on the warm hillsides.

[snowpack]

yeah rather warm.  I was looking at the camera for hurricane ridge today and didn't believe it was actually 61 F, so I had to hit up their weather station...it was.   

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Oh ya green up has started.

[gvan]

yup  its gonna be a dry summer and high fire risk if we don't get some weather soon! the animals are gettin an easy winter, gettin tired of the foggy stuff here!

[boneaddict]

Definitely an easy winter.  I'm a bit worried about water.

[REHJWA]

Yes there is almost no snow pack too. Going to be a rough fire season.

[chukar58]

I saw a group of 25 robins yesterday morning and the earliest I can recall seeing was about the first or second week in February.  My wife and I look for their return each year.   In fact I heard two tree frogs the other day and thought that was pretty early also.

[rasbo]

heck we are running water,that last wind was bad on the wheat

[PolarBear]

 Farmer's Almanac calls for a  mild Feb-March and normal summer temps but less than normal precipitation.  May is supposed to be really warm with average rainfall.  Great for getting the garden in and great for green up!!!!!!

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

Don't count your chickens...
I know that "Farmers Almanac" and other resources have a fair to decent accuracy rating, but I believe in the law of averages.
A warm/mild winter can turn into a cold/nasty spring, and that is when the animals are most vulnerable.
Fat stores have been depleted, young are at risk of hypothermia, etc...
I hope for the best, but plan for the worst.
But then I also believe that when we have a rough spring with low (fawn/calf) survival that the following rut is intense compared to "normal" years.

[PolarBear]

Yeah.  Farmer's Almanac is usually fairly accurate but I think they might have missd the mark on this year for the PNW. 

[cougfan79]

I can't believe the 76% that the map shows.  I play in a snowshoe softball tournament in Winthrop every Feb and just talked to the owner of Three Fingered Jacks and he said there is next to nothing on the fields.  Typically there is a couple feet after he packs it down with his snow mobile.  Crossing my fingers for a late snow fall to pick up the slack.

[ghosthunter]

Well I drove all the way to the end of Baker Lake Hwy today. Some frost. No snow.
Looked like a little snow around 5000 ft.
Very mild.
North Cascade will be open for Turkey season if this keeps up.

[Heredoggydoggy]

January is usually when we get the most snow.  A friend told me he raked leaves yesterday--first time he's ever raked leaves in the middle of January!  I bought some gas for my snowblower and haven't put any in the tank, yet, and here it is the 18th of January.