Leaves

I walked up the road to see if it was passable. The town crew put down lots of stone so it looks like it may be better.  Here are some interesting facts about mud season from an article in our local paper today. Climate change is a big factor.

Mud season takes hold in early spring because frozen ground melts from the surface down. Ice in the soil turns to water, but it cannot move past the still-frozen ground below it. A thick layer of mud pools, and it lingers until the water can percolate down into the groundwater or flow into rivers.


It may seem counter-intuitive, but frost penetrates more deeply in a warmer winter. When more precipitation falls as rain than as snow, snow melts faster and snow cover is scant. While a thick blanket of snow insulates soil from cold air, exposed soil is vulnerable to the icy temperatures that still punctuate even a warm winter in New England. This year, snowfall was well below average across the state, and the frost gained a deep hold in the soil.



Green-up is also inching earlier in the year, but it is beholden to factors that do not change with the climate, such as sunlight. The lag between snow melt and green-up may grow. Plants draw water out of soil as they bud, alleviating muddy conditions, so a greater lag may lead to a worse mud season.