On Wednesday night, something is going to happen that hasn’t happened in 233 days — setting a new record for the City of Boise.
Forecasters with the National Weather Service predict temperatures in Boise at or below freezing Wednesday night into Thursday. The last time Boise had a temperatures that low was March 28 — 233 days ago. That not only breaks the previous record of 207 days, it shatters it by more than three weeks.
Here’s a visual representation of this year’s temperatures.
The Farmer’s Almanac says Boise’s average growing season is 148 days, which means this year’s growing season — the time between the last frost of spring and the first frost of fall — was nearly three months longer than average. To put that into perspective, Tallahassee, Fla. has an average growing season of 239 days, only one week longer than Boise’s in 2016.
What’s more, four of Boise’s five longest growing seasons are from 2005 or later, according to data from the National Weather Service in Boise.
- 233 Days — 2016
- 207 Days — 2005
- 201 Days — 2015
- 200 Days — 2014
- 198 Days — 1936
We all know a single weather event such as a hot day isn’t irrefutable evidence of climate change, but long-term trends can provide us compelling evidence. The length of our growing season is another in a long list of statistics that point to what an overwhelming number of climate scientists are telling us: the planet is getting warmer and human activity is causing it.
In Idaho, we already see longer fire seasons producing hefty fire bills for federal land managers. Spring runoff is trending earlier, making it difficult for river managers to manage flows for irrigation, recreation and fisheries.
This isn’t an issue of the right or the left. This is an issue of urgency. At CVI we believe it is our responsibility to pass on a better world to future generations. It’s a responsibility we take very seriously.
We can do this through policies that reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses through the use of alternative and renewable energy sources. We can also reduce energy consumption through innovation, urban planning and investment in mass transit and non-motorized infrastructure.
The solutions are at our fingertips. Now it requires political action to make it happen.
If you agree that we need to do something. Join us. Sign up for our email updates. From there, donate. Finally, jump aboard and volunteer with us.
There’s a lot of work to be done. We’re looking forward to doing it.