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Snow, cold taking a toll on north central Kansas

February in Concordia, after getting off to a docile start, quickly grew fangs.
The temperature topped out at 54 degrees on February 1, and then climbed to 62 on February 2 and 65 on February 3.
Concordia, since that balmy third day of the month, has received 14.6 inches of snow, and temperatures, for the most part, have been well below average.
According to Mary Knapp, Kansas State climatologist, the average daily temperature for the month of February was 23.1 degrees. That is well below the normal of 32.8 degrees. The coldest February on record was in 1936 with an average of 16.1 degrees. The warmest was 1930, 45.2 degrees.
In February, the high temperature was below average 22 days. There were seven days when the high was in the teens and seven others when it was in the 20s.
The average high for February 28 is 48. The high in Concordia reached just 21, which is five degrees below the average low for that day of 26.
Knapp said that projecting out through March 11, there is an 80-90 percent chance that temperatures will be colder than normal.
That will be the case for the upcoming weekend with a forecast for frigid temperatures and more snow.
The National Weather Service Office in Topeka is forecasting a high temperature of 22 degrees on Saturday with a low of 6 with a 90 percent chance of snow.
The high temperature on Sunday is 7 degrees with a low of -6, and then the high on Monday is 14 with a low of 5.
Concordia has received a record 42.1 inches of snow this winter. The average is 16.7 inches.
The highest single day snowfall so far this winter was 8.6 inches on February 23, which broke a record for that day of 7.1 inches set in 1960. It is also the 10th highest single day  total on record. The highest is 13.2 inches on February 11, 1965.
The highest recorded snowfall for February is 21 inches, also set in 1960.
The maximum amount of snow on the ground during February was 9 inches. The highest recorded is 15 inches in 2004.
All of that snow, along with some rain, adds up to 1.87 inches of moisture since January 1. The average is 1.27 inches. Of that, 1.25 inches has come in February, and the average for the month is .69 inches.
Providing the moisture is the Madde-Julian oscillation, according to Knapp. Storm systems develop in the Pacific Ocean, push onto the West Coast and then move across the country.
A polar arctic oscillation is allowing for intrusions of cold air into the central and western parts of the county resulting in below average temperatures.
Many aspects of life in north central Kansas are being impacted by the cold and the snow.
City of Concordia and Cloud County employees have spent countless hours keeping the streets, roads and parking lots cleared of snow.
Agriculture producers have to deal with the ramifications the cold and snow have on livestock and crops.
The impact on the mental health of all area residents who are dealing with cabin fever is also a concern.
Clearing the Roads
As of Monday city of Concordia Street Department employees, including Jim Metro, Roger Woodford, Hayden Mapes, Eric Wilson, James Joyner and Jace Demanett, had plowed 1,591 miles, spread 328 tons of salt and hauled 796 loads to snow to the city yards.
Employees had put in 797 man hours on snow removal with a total cost of $42,657.
City Public Works director Ron Copple said on Tuesday that he expected another 50 to 100 loads of snow to be hauled as the crews continue to clean up the piles around town throughout the week.
City employees, as of Monday, had plowed 1,190 miles, spread 214 tons of salt and hauled 486 truckloads of snow as since January 1. That added up to 506.5 man hours.
Along with maintaining the 45 miles of streets in town, that includes U.S. 81 Highway and K-9 Highway within the city limits, the city employees also clear snow from the City Hall sidewalks and parking lots, Blosser Municipal Airport, Heritage Trail, Pleasant Hill Cemetery and more.
Contributing to the snow clearing efforts are Parks Department employees Aaron Hake, Bill Brown, Josh Rhodes and Fuller Bates.
Dave Gilkeson works in the shop, and keeps the equipment on the road.
When the 8.6 inches of snow fell last Saturday night, city employees began clearing the emergency snow routes at 8 p.m. and ran until 10 a.m. Sunday.
Crews were back at work at 3 p.m. Monday and worked until 5 p.m. and then started again at 3 a.m. Tuesday.
“I don’t have enough crew members to work 24/7,” Copple said.
Through Monday, those working to clean the streets had compiled 20 hours of overtime per man along with eight regular hours.
Clearing U.S. 81within the city limits requires a truck to travel it six times for each side.
Copple said the city used about 70 tons of salt last year and less the year before that.
The city contracted with Independent Salt, Kanopolis in June for 200 tons of salt.
“So I am 100 ton over,” Copple said.
Concordia is currently on a salt ration, and Copple said he has to be more reserved on where to spread it.
Funding for snow removal is worked into the budget for the Public Works Department, which is part of the general fund.
Having to spend more money this winter on snow removal and salting means Copple will have less to spend on asphalt or other projects.
Included in that cost of moving snow is replacing blades on the city graders.
Copple said that blading the runway at the airport will wear out a set of blades, which costs $260.
Fixing the streets once it does finally warm up will be an added expense.
“Having all of this snow, and the freeze and thaw, it is going to be hard on our streets. As soon as they thaw out we will start patching them,” Copple said.
The Cloud County Highway Department has 1,190 miles of paved, gravel and dirt roads to maintain.
Highway Department administrator Andy Asch said the county has spent $103,232.57 on clearing county roads since the beginning of winter. That includes labor, equipment, materials and road repairs.
Cloud County has 28-30 employees handling snow removal which includes truck drivers and grader operators.
There are seven trucks running following a snow storm, 13-14 grader operators and three employees on spreader trucks. There may also be some loader operators widening roads after they have been cleared.
Asch said the county does not go through as much salt at the city does. He had not purchased any since 2015 before doing so earlier this year.
“We don’t treat every mile. We are just not set up to do that,” Asch said.
Following a snowstorm, the county will clear the paved roads, gravel roads and any essential connecting roads first and then take care of the dirt roads. If there is livestock along one of the dirt roads it will be cleared sooner.
County employees started working early Sunday morning to clear roads following the storm on Saturday.
The trucks do not get started until 6 a.m. because of safety reasons.
With blowing causing redrifting, the county will have to go back over some roads.
“It is bad enough you have to do it once, but sometimes you have to do it two or three times because of the wind,” Asch said.
Maintenance is also an issue with the county equipment.
A set of blades on a grader will normally last about four months.
While removing snow a set of blades can be worn out every couple of days.
The county went through 100 blades in all of 2018 and 55 since the first of this year.
“That is money that could be used to rebuild a road or whatever, versus just using a blade to push something off the side of the road,” Asch said.
Ag Impacts
Many cattle producers are in the midst of calving, and the snow and cold adds an extra burden to what is already a stressful time.
“You have to spend more time checking them because you know there is that danger for a calf just born and wet. There is just more time involved,” Brett Melton, livestock production agent for the K-State Research and Extension River Valley District said.
Melton said that worse case scenario is a calf can freeze to death. Not quite as dramatic is that a calf can suffer frost bite to the ears, tail and even feet.
“If they do pull out of it (frostbite), and they go to the sale barn, they get docked. They don’t bring as high a price as they would,” Melton said.
Losing one calf or more can be a financial burden on the producer.
“The profit margin for some cattle producers is sometimes pretty slim, so losing one calf or two, depending on the herd size, can cut into your profits and your margins are already a lot lower. That is why they are out at two to three o’clock in the morning checking them,” Melton said.
Making sure cattle are eating right and are getting access to water is also a concern.
Melton suggests increasing the energy density of the diet during harsh winter conditions. That could include feeding them grain.
Cows burn energy trying to keep warm and can only eat so much.
“That is why we have to start giving them grain because the energy density is a lot higher,” Melton said.
Cows don’t need as much water when the weather is cold, but it should still be available.
“It shouldn’t be an afterthought,” Melton said.
So feed bills go up, there is a chance of losing a calf and there is increased time in tending to them.
“Financially you have more input than you would during nice weather. Your input costs go up and your profit goes down,” Melton said.
Melton said that he is available for anyone needing help in balancing any rations.
“They probably know what is going to help them,” Melton said, “Stick with it, spring is just around the corner.”
Anyone looking for a silver lining in having all of the snow piled up on the ground can point to the fact that it is protecting the winter wheat.
“The main thing right now, especially with the cold coming in, is that the wheat is covered up. I know that sounds kind of counterintuitive, but that really does protect it,” Tyler Husa, crop production agent for the River Valley District, said.
Husa said there could be some concerns in areas where there is deep snow, like terraces and channels.
“Some could start greening up faster, and there could be variances in fields,” Husa said.
Without the snow covering the wheat there would be a better chance of winter kill.
Winter did arrive early, and some area producers were unable to complete harvesting soy beans, corn and sorghum.
Husa said the the beans and sorghum are probably not worth trying to cut, but come corn could still be salvageable.
Even when temperatures do start to warm up, the wet conditions could prevent producers from getting into their fields to put down spring applications.
“This year it might be right prior to the planting of corn,” Husa said, “It is going to be back to back.”
Husa said that a concern with the high level of  moisture is denitrification of the soil.
“That is a possibility, and it will be exacerbated with all of this soil moisture that we currently have. Now if we dry out, and everything just goes according to play, hopefully we will not see too much denitrification,” Husa said.
Many producers will begin planting corn and beans in April, but that could be pushed back this year.
“We might be at adequate soil moisture to plant two weeks, three weeks out if we did get some consistently dry weather, low humidity and some good southerly winds. Do I predict that? No, I think everything is going to be held back a little bit this year.”
Cabin Fever
“There is,” Chuck Lambertz, licensed clinical social working in private practice at Fresh Perspective Counseling and Consultation Services, LLC in Concordia, said when asked if there as such a thing as cabin fever? “Clinically speaking, there can be seasonal affective disorder which affects a lot of people with the changing of the seasons,”More common is the cabin fever, increased irritability, agitation, restlessness and listlessness. It is something I am hearing a lot of from the folks I am working with.”
Seasonal affective disorder is commonly referred to as winter blues or winter depression. It is recognized as a type of depression and can cause increased anxiety, sadness and stress, lack of enjoyment in regular activities, feelings of isolation, mood swings and several other symptoms.
“Cabin fever is the stuff that is going on when people can’t get out and get fresh air. They feel cooped up,” Lambertz said.
To help combat those winter blues, Lambertz suggests social engagement, exercise and making sure you are eating healthy.
“A lot of times when we are feeling like this we just start eating poorly, and that just compounds the issues,” Lambertz said, “It is good to get active or go someplace where you can be active. Any type of activity is good.”
Lambertz also said that purchasing a sunlamp can help if it has been a long time since someone has been able to enjoy sunshine and is having a hard time.
“Those can be a good thing. Vitamin C, vitamin D, those are good to have for not only illness prevention but to help give us some of what the sun gives us,” Lambertz.
What not to do to combat the blues is fall back on bad habits, Lambertz said.
“Make sure we are not using our unhealthy coping skills whether that is shopping, drinking or overeating. Any kind of indulgence that is an easy way to fee good, but has longer term negative ramifications. Try to avoid the quick fixes.”

 

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510 Washington St.
Concordia, KS 66901