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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

November cold, little snow, pushes frost down deep

Without more snow, area septic systems could soon be at risk

Marshall Helmberger
Posted 12/10/14

REGIONAL— Could the North Country be facing another season of frozen pipes and, possibly, septic systems this winter?

While this week’s mild spell has offered some respite from weeks of below …

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November cold, little snow, pushes frost down deep

Without more snow, area septic systems could soon be at risk

Posted

REGIONAL— Could the North Country be facing another season of frozen pipes and, possibly, septic systems this winter?

While this week’s mild spell has offered some respite from weeks of below normal temperatures, the impact of the coldest November since 1996 is already being seen in dramatic frost penetration around the area.

As of Wednesday, frost had already penetrated 42 inches under the surface of Hwy. 53 in Orr, according to a frost sensor operated by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. That’s by far the deepest penetration of frost so early in the season since the sensor was installed in 2000.

Cold temperatures in November bear the blame for the deep frost. In Orr, November monthly temperatures averaged 17.5 degrees, or 8.3 degrees below average. That’s a major departure, according to state climatologist Pete Boulay, who noted that it likely puts this November among the top ten coldest since records have been kept in Orr. Up at the border, Boulay said November clocked in as the eighth coldest at International Falls.

Other reporting stations in northern St. Louis County fared similarly. Embarrass tallied the coldest temperatures for November, with a monthly average of 16.2 degrees, a full 7.1 degrees colder than average (see chart at right for other local weather data).

By contrast, temperatures last November ranged just 1-2 degrees below average for the month at most reporting stations.

Last winter, it was brutally cold temperatures in December and January that sent frost plummeting, setting the stage for a costly, months-long battle by many area cities to keep water and sewer lines flowing. Last December, for example, Embarrass experienced an average temperature for the month of minus 3.5 degrees, an 11.3 degree departure from normal. Orr saw an average temperature for the month of minus 3.6 degrees, while Tower recorded an average of minus 2.0 degrees.

This year, December appears likely to finish much closer to average for temperatures. The average for the first ten days of the month ran about two degrees below average, but with temperatures forecasted to hit the upper-30s or low 40s over the weekend, and continued mild weather in the extended forecast, the monthly average should rise significantly.

Lack of snow a concern

While temperatures last December pushed frost far down under plowed roads and streets, plentiful snowfall helped protect water and sewer lines from freeze-up in most places. That’s particularly true for rural residents, who experienced few problems with septic systems last year, despite the intense cold.

But a worsening drought that set up in the region beginning in August has kept snowfall at a minimum so far this year, and there’s little additional snow in the ten-day extended forecast. As of this time last year, most reporting stations had seen more than two feet of snow, and had anywhere from 10-15 inches of snow on the ground.

So far this winter, most reporting stations have seen less than ten inches, with only three or four inches on the ground.

And with near-record warm temperatures forecast through early next week, snow cover is likely to diminish over the next several days. That could leave septic systems and water lines vulnerable to freezing later in the winter, when cold weather inevitably returns. In 2004, limited snow cover throughout much of the winter caused widespread freezing of septic systems in much of northern Minnesota. While water and sewer lines can generally be thawed, that becomes difficult, and costly, when entire septic systems are involved.

Drought conditions

The shortfall in precipitation in northern St. Louis County since Aug. 1 continues to worsen. In Orr, for example, precipitation since Aug. 1 has totaled just 4.8 inches, a full 6.88 inches below average. Orr’s reporting station was second only to the Bemidji airport as the Minnesota weather station with the greatest departure from normal precipitation during the period.

Tower wasn’t far behind, with precipitation running 5.93 inches below the long-term average since Aug. 1. Embarrass is running 5.19 inches below average, while Cook is running 4.05 inches below. All of St. Louis, Lake, Cook, Itasca, and Koochiching counties are now listed as abnormally dry, the first level of drought conditions as tracked by the U.S. Drought Monitor.