Weather Review for 2010

As we transition into the New Year I thought I would look back at a few of the key events from 2010.  One of the easiest areas to look back on is the weather.  This is because weather data can easily be downloaded from our weather station at the shop.  A few of the highlights from the weather in 2010 include:

• Average temperature for 2010 at Greywolf:             3.0 ^oC
• Average daily maximum temperature at Greywolf:  9.4 ^oC
• Average daily minimum temperature at Greywolf:  -2.4 ^oC
• Highest temperature in 2010 at Greywolf:    29.4 ^oC  recorded on July 9^th
• Lowest temperature in 2010 at Greywolf      -29.1 ^oC  recorded on November 24^th
• Number of day in 2010 where temperature dropped below 0 ^oC:    209
• Number of days in 2010 where temperature did not get above 0 ^oC:   66
• Number of months without a frost delay on the golf course:  0
• Highest wind speed 62.8 km/hour – June 23^rd
• July was the only month in 2010 where we did not have a day where the temperature did not drop below 0 ^oC . 
• Wettest month of the year (does not include snow fall) – May followed by August.

I am sure there are many conclusions that can be derived from the data above and the data we have at the shop.  I am not a meteorologist but my take on the weather in 2010 is it shows the challenges of growing turf grass in a mountain environment in Canada.  All turf managers no matter where they are located face challenges.  Some are faced with to much heat or lack of water.  At Greywolf our challenges have to do with lack of growing temperature and the shortness of the season.  In 2010 there were only 156 days where temperatures did not drop below freezing. 

Out of curiosity I looked at the average daily temperature during the months when we were open and worked it out to 9.6 ^oC.  When this average temperature is referenced to Growth Potential Reference from the Environmental Institute for Golf our mean temperature resulted in a 22% growth potential for our turf.  This means we only grow turf at 22% of its potential during our growing season.   Although this number may be slightly skewed and does not take into account our length of day in the summer it highlights some of our weather challenges at Greywolf.  

Here looking forward to a slighlty warmer 2011.  I hope we can manage to hit a 10 ^oC average for 2011 and push us to at 25% growing efficiency.  Of course I write this as we have just received 15 cm of new snow contributing to our total snow fall on the golf course to 145 cm (57”) to date.