MINNESOTA, USA — This abnormal winter could be 'incredibly damaging' to Minnesota's trees, according to a University of Minnesota ecologist.
Nick Carletta is a lead meteorologist for the National Weather Service in the Twin Cities.
"Normally this time, you would be standing on quite a bit of snow, probably up to at least ankles if not knee deep," said Carletta.
It's been dry so there's no snow on the ground, which Minnesota's environment isn't used to. And that's an issue for Minnesota's trees.
"That's really bad because if it gets cold again at some point, that means the soil is not insulated," said Lee Frelich, the director of the University of Minnesota Center for Forest Ecology. "The roots of trees are not anywhere near as cold tolerant as the above-ground part of the tree."
Frelich said that there can also be issues if the temperatures stay warm. Trees could mistake the warmer temperatures for spring and could leaf out too early.
If a frost comes after that, it could hurt them because they are no longer dormant.
"If it just gets down to the upper 20s, it can be incredibly damaging," said Frelich.
He says the good thing about this warmer winter is that it has allowed more water to soak into the ground.
"We had some good heavy rain and that rain was able to soak in rather than runoff," he said.
But Frelich said we'll have to wait and see if the abnormal winter does more harm than good. He said he is not worried about the upcoming week, but he will be if temperatures continue to remain above average or if there are colder temperatures with no snow to insulate tree roots.
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