Warm weather sends nature a little bit crazy

HS readers found a flowering strawberry, catkins, and a frog skating on thin ice

print this

By Jaana Savolainen
     
      Poor old Mother Nature. She hardly knows what to think.
      November is nearly out and the temperature is obstinately above zero, which continues to confuse her at least in Southern Finland, irrespective of a few frosty nights.
      In recent days, Helsingin Sanomat readers have spotted several signs of spring in yards and forests.
      ”I was walking towards the boat harbour when I noticed a little strawberry flower and some raw berries”, says Timo Tuomala, who runs a shop on the small island of Haapasaari in Kotka.
      ”Here in the archipelago, the sea keeps the air very warm, and so far, it has been freezing cold only on one night. But I have never before seen a strawberry flowering in November”, Tuomala adds.
     
The warmth can spur plants into new growth, particularly those which originally come from other latitudes.
      ”Such plants include many garden species and numerous herbaceous plants. However, the indigenous plants growing in Finland react primarily to the decreasing amount of daily light and they have already adjusted to the change, preparing themselves for winter, regardless of the unlikely temperatures”, reported Marko Hyvärinen, Director of the Botanical Gardens and the Botanical Museum.
     
This month has been the warmest November in 50 years, according to the Finnish Environment Institute.
      One frosty night is not long enough to put the unusually feisty plants into winter sleep mode, if the daily temperature rises above zero.
      ”It really requires a longer cold period”, Hyvärinen notes.
      If the buds of a tree begin to swell at this time of the year, and then the frost hits, the tree may not survive.
     
When the night temperature falls to zero or below, frogs usually stop eating and retreat to their winter quarters, falling into hibernation.
      However, one rather befuddled frog had woken from hibernation a week ago, and was seen skating on the ice of Lake Kirkkolammi in Padasjoki in the Päijät-Häme region.
      Anja Santalahti, who lives on the shore of the lake, saw the animal when she was leaving for a walk.
      ”The surface of the lake had frozen during the night, and every time when the frog leaped, it fell on its stomach. Eventually it managed to climb onto the cliff on the shore. It was stiff with cold”, Santalahti reported.
     
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 28.11.2011


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Two-tier Finland - wintry conditions predicted for the north, while southern districts continue to enjoy more autumn-like daytime temperatures (16.11.2011)

See also:
  October temperatures clearly above normal (2.11.2011)

Links:
  Finnish Environment Institute

JAANA SAVOLAINEN / Helsingin Sanomat
jaana.savolainen@hs.fi