Springlike weather has Snohomish County in bloom

Published 11:12 pm Thursday, February 25, 2010

Better dig out the sunglasses and sharpen the lawn-mower blades — spring appears to be here to stay.

Forecasters predicted warmer than average temperatures this winter.

So far, they’re right on the money.

January was unusually warm, with temperatures about 7 degrees higher than average in Western Washington. This month that trend continues, with temperatures hovering around 46 degrees. That’s about 3 degrees above normal, said Johnny Burg, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

Nature is responding, with buds bursting on trees and daffodils pushing up in yards. Lawns look like shag carpets.

Warmer temperatures mean that what precipitation does fall tends to be rain, not snow. At most local ski resorts, snowpack isn’t what it should be this time of year, Burg said. Stevens Pass normally has about 20 percent more snow than it does now, he said.

The culprit is El Nino, a warming of ocean water off South America that periodically wreaks havoc with Northwest weather.

The warm weather is good news for the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, which takes place in April.

Tulip grower Jeannette DeGoede expects her early tulips should be showing their colors at the start of the festival. The tulips appear to be about 10 days ahead of schedule, said DeGoede, who has operated Skagit Valley Bulb Farm and Tulip Town for 50 years.

Compare that with last year, when colder-than-normal temperatures pushed back the arrival of blooms by two weeks, leaving early visitors disappointed. This year, DeGoede suggests visiting sooner rather than later.

“We’ll have a good bloom right from the get-go,” she said.

In your own garden, things are probably ahead of schedule, too, said Sharon Collman, a Washington State University extension educator.

Don’t be afraid to embrace the warm weather and begin planting that veggie garden, she said. You’ll know the soil is ready for planting if you squeeze a handful of dirt and it crumbles a bit when you open your hand. If it’s hard as a rock, it’s too wet.

Now is the time to weed, Collman said. A common Northwest weed, bittercress, will shortly be shooting about a zillion seeds all over your yard.

At least the weather should be nice while you’re yanking.