Winter makes early, white

Snow blanketed the ground over most of the county Monday and Tuesday mornings.

Monday morning, the east end of the county saw a couple of inches of snow, while Colfax and western parts of the county got just enough to cover the ground. It was virtually all melted by noon.

But early Tuesday morning, big snow flakes floated down to ground level, leaving about an inch in Colfax. Wet snow continued to fall throughout the afternoon as rain and snow bands passed through the area.

According to David Jones, Natural Resources Conservation Service Soil Conservationist based in Colfax, one inch of snow was recorded Tuesday, with three-tenths of rain recorded. No measurable precipitation was recorded on Monday.

Jones said October was a dry month, with only .43 of an inch recorded for this October versus a 1.2 inch average for that month. Jones also said that September was well above average, recording 1.85 inches versus the average of .73. November average precipitation is 2.55 inches.

Although he doesn’t keep records of the earliest snowfall, Jones said he believes this is one of the earliest snowfalls the county has seen in a long time.

Steve Van Vleet, WSU Regional Extension Specialist, Associate Professor of Agricultural and Natural Resources, based in Colfax, said all winter wheat had to be planted as early as possible this fall and with the dry conditions, some of the wheat was “dusted” in.

Van Vleet said that the smaller the wheat plants, the more affected the plants could be by the colder weather. He said any snow will insulate the tender plants.

“Without snow, cold temperatures could hurt the plants,” Van Vleet said.

He also said that if temperatures get extremely cold, below freezing, and the wind blows hard, it could hurt the young plants.

“They are probably fine for now,” he said.