Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
In Town Or On Ag Land, Extreme Cold Hits Hard
Lane Wasielewski of Bushnell gives his young bottle calf Daisy personal attention every night, tucking her in under straw to keep her warm. When the temperatures dip into minus figures, such care is extra important -- and challenging.
This was downtown Kimball at 8 a.m. Monday, March 4. Minus 11 wasn't quite a record low, but who could tell?
As the the month of February blew out, a bitter cold welcome of March came roaring in this past weekend – with nearly record freezing temperatures making its way into early this week.
Monday morning, around the 8 o'clock work hour, thermometers in downtown Kimball showed minus 11 degrees – without the windchill. Local weather reports noted that frigid windchill temperatures were still in the minus 30s at 9 a.m. Monday.
According to the Farmers' Almanac, Monday's low temperatures were nearly cold enough to break the record for the coldest day of the month of March.
Sunday night and Monday morning temps neared minus 18.4 degrees in parts of Kimball County.
According to temperature records, the coldest day in the month of March without the windchill factor was March 1, 1922, with a record low of minus 20.
Average low temperatures for the month of March in the Kimball area are near 23 degrees, and it is pretty obvious that most locals are anxiously awaiting that heatwave to arrive after this past weekend.
With calving season in full swing for some farmers and ranchers in the Kimball community, this extremely cold weather plays a huge roll in how important it is to keep a close eye on cows and newborn calves.
Keith Wasielewski of Bushnell is in the midst of his calving season and was somewhat fortunate during the frigid weekend.
"We got lucky," he said. "We didn't have any calves during this cold front. It got kinda boring, but thank God."
Wasielewski said he saw temps Monday at 3:30 a.m. at minus 18.4 without the windchill.
"This cold isn't to bad when the wind is not blowing, but that 5 mile an hour difference of wind sure makes a big difference," he noted.
As much effort as farmers and ranchers put into their livestock and crops, some may not understand how important the little critters are to local farmers and ranchers, the community and ag industry.
Many have probably seen the photo of Lane Wasielewski and his bottle calf, Daisy, making its way around social media. Keith Wasielewski explained what Lane does every night for this young bottle calf.
"Every night when Lane goes to check cows, he lays down with her and loves on her for a while, then tucks her in at night, under a bunch of straw to keep warm," he said.
Lane is among the farmers, ranchers, oilfield workers and many other men and women out providing for communities and meeting their needs in dangerous subzero temperatures.