Botany Photo of the Day

What an incredibly beautiful photo! I can almost feel the extreme cold, which I understand is unusual in British Columbia. It seems to have arrived near the end of Washington states unusual rains, spreading ever more throughout the surrounding areas followed by this unusual cold! Your incredible photo reminds me more of your Quebec or Ontario provinces, than anything I ever saw in B.C. I wonder if such phenomena have a task to fulfill? I mention such a no-doubt far fetched wondering following a similar very unusual season in my local California some 10 years ago when even my native manzanita, etc. plants turned into black mush! However, I was at the time struck by the seemingly cleaning out of almost all local [and adapted] plant life after spring arrived and an incredible "resurrection", so to say, arrived! I was reminded by the wisdom of Mother Nature's periodic cleaning house. Thank you for this bittersweet experience taking place among our botanical species!

Shame about the larches - not a tree I'd expect to be snow-damaged, as they're adapted to getting plenty in the wild. Might be worth winching up and staking the uprooted one.

The scene is not at all unusual in British Columbia and not unknown in Vancouver. To describe typical weather in British Columbia is to ask "how long is a string?" (or a coastline, to further mix the metaphor). BC is an enormous, geographically diverse place. The weather at the south coast is generally benign. Inland from the coast and the weather becomes decidedly continental, particularly as you travel north (the province is about 1600 km north to south). The southern part of the province is characterised by north-south trending mountain ranges. With the prevailing wind from the west, a series of alternating wet and dry zones are formed. The Okanagan Valley is as dry as parts of the southern prairies. The northern third of BC is boreal forest. The Rocky Mountains form part of our eastern boundary. Some people have said that you can find all of Canada's weather in British Columbia.

The higher coastal mountains around Vancouver frequently receive 10m or more of snow, and the conditions that bring that bounty to skiers and water reservoir managers sometimes affect the lower elevations. Every decade or so, an arctic front meets a warm front over Vancouver, and this is the result. Such snow does not usually hang around--the temperature is above freezing today and there is rain in the forecast.

Indeed, this is a reminder that we're at mother nature's mercy occasionally. It also reminds me that we've been neglecting good formative pruning practices.

As I understand it, the Fraser River also occasionally plays a role in funneling cold air into the Vancouver BC area. That is not unlike what happens when the Columbia River Gorge funnels cold air into the Portland metro area, where I live. The result can be snow or freezing rain. The way I see it, it provides a little variety to our seasonal weather patterns, but is thankfully a fairly rare occurance.

Snow is such a mixed bag--on one hand, the plants covered by the snow are getting some protection from even colder air. On the other hand, since you have a lot of plants that are not "made" for cold weather, many are not deciduous and their leaves catch the snow--more of them might break under the weight.

I hope the damage ends up being less severe than you fear.

Lovely image, but it sure makes me glad I live in California! Brrr!

I'm really sorry to hear about the damage, though. I hope it's all mostly recoverable.

Most of the time, the climate of the Pacific Northwest is pretty mild, at least west of the Cascades. But it goes to show how the perceived quality of a location is so subjective...I usually think "I'm sure glad I live in the Pacific Northwest" when I hear about scorching heat in California, or walk through the lush coastal forests of Oregon and Washington.

Matt, I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. We don't do "scorching heat" here--I'd be philosophically opposed to that as well!

E. Marie: Don't worry, I wasn't implying all of the state is that way...you see, I once had a job opportunity in Redding (where they do get scorching heat!). I enjoy visiting California- especially for the incredible diversity of plant and tree species. However, I prefer marked seasonal changes which we get here in SW Washington with it rarely being too extreme one way or another. Like I said, it's all subjective. It's just nice to be able to live in an area you love.