Winter severity index creeping up

[Lee Borgersen]

Winter severity index creeping up  
By Marshall Helmberger
 

 
This winter’s deep snow could push the DNR’s deer winter severity index to levels not seen in several years.

“As of right now, it’s definitely a tough winter for deer,” said Tower Area Wildlife Manager Tom Rusch.

While the index is still in the mid-60s, that’s well ahead of last year’s pace and with current snow depths, the index is likely to go much higher before the winter weather eases. The index adds a point for each day with 15 inches of snow or more on the ground and for each day with subzero temperatures. The seasonal average in the Tower area is 125.

With two feet of snow or more on the ground, the index could easily climb another 60 points for snow depth alone. And it isn’t unusual for the Tower area to see 70-80 points, or more, in a season just for subzero temperatures.

Still, notes Rusch, the conditions aren’t as severe as the area experienced in the winter of 1995-96, the high water mark for winter severity in the region. That year, the index hit 210 in the Tower DNR area.

While this year’s weather has been nowhere near as cold as 1995-96, Rusch said snow depth remains the biggest impediment to deer survival in a North Country winter. “That’s what all the studies show. It’s a matter of the depth and the duration of deep snow,” said Rusch.

The area has seen relatively deep snow since before Thanksgiving, so deer in the region could experience one of the longest durations of significant snowcover in several years. Of course, as Rusch notes, the key word is “could.” He points out that last winter featured plenty of cold weather up until the end of January, but then conditions turned exceptionally mild and the area saw the earliest end to winter in the history books.

“If you could predict the weather for the rest of the winter, we could have a pretty good idea of what to expect for deer,” said Rusch. “If we go into April with this deep snow, that’s when you’d start to get a real high index.”

For now, said Rusch, it’s wait and see. “We’ll have to take what comes,” he said.




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[FireRanger]

Good Luck Bambi!! We're all pulling for you!

[Lee Borgersen]

  

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[Go Big Red!]

Mother nature culling the herd.