2019 desert wildflower bloom

[hikerchick395]

I wonder what the snow is doing to the current bloom. (Joshua Tree, Anza Borrego...even southern Arizona)

[maverick]

I wonder what the snow is doing to the current bloom. (Joshua Tree, Anza Borrego...even southern Arizona)

https://www.desertusa.com/wildflo/wildupdates.html

[hikerchick395]

maverick...I've been keeping track at that site. I saw elsewhere that Joshua Tree has more snow this morning than in our yard.


(edit: I just looked back...to April 9 2011. It was a good bloom but the snow smashed the flowers before our visit. They probably perked up after a few days. That's why I was wondering about the current bloom)

[maverick]

I saw elsewhere that Joshua Tree has more snow this morning than in our yard.

Wild weather this year:

NWS Winter Storm Warning for Morongo Basin:

...Significant Winter Storm ongoing...

A potent and cold low pressure system is bringing hazardous
winter weather conditions to portions of the area through Friday
morning. This storm is expected to bring the most significant
snowfall to Mohave County Arizona in years.

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 AM PST FRIDAY...

* WHAT...Heavy snow. Additional snow accumulations of two to three
inches...with storm totals of 3 to 7 inches possible. Snow
showers will taper off this afternoon but icy and slick roads
will be possible through Friday morning.

* WHERE...Morongo Basin.

* WHEN...Until 4 AM PST Friday.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Accumulating snow will cause primarily
travel difficulties...covering roadways and limiting visibility
at times. Travel will be hazardous along SR-62 and Highway 247.

[TehipiteTom]

I forget which year it was, but one spring a while back we had a really promising amount of rainfall in the Bay Area...but a cold, wet spring resulted in a sub-mediocre wildflower season. Hoping that doesn't happen this year.

[SSSdave]

Time to wake up Maverick...it's starting...here we go with Carrizo:

https://www.desertusa.com/wildflo/ca.html

I'd bet rising fiddleneck are already prominent down at the south end of park. I'm prepping gear and packing this week for a long road trip to Riverside and San Diego County desert areas and just might diverge on the route home through the park plus Shell Creek.

[maverick]

Time to wake up Maverick...it's starting...here we go with Carrizo:

Believe me, I am monitoring that site, and any others available, diligently.

After reading the below article, will wait to see if a super bloom materializes or not, until then I am in a holding pattern. My needs are for it to be equal or better than 2017, I know what my clients expect in their art pieces, so I must plan accordingly.

SFGate 2/22 article:

Carrizo Plain National Monument, a five-hour drive southeast of San Francisco, is a popular spot for wildflowers. In 2017, it experienced a "super bloom" that drew crowds. The verdict is still out on what this spring will bring the park, which sits at about 5,000 feet elevation and usually blooms mid-March into April.

"It's hard to forecast exactly when it will be in peak bloom and the best date to come," said Gannon Castle, who works in the park's education center. "We're expecting a decent bloom."

Castle says the 2017 color burst came after a drought that killed off the invasive grasses and since the park isn't in the same scenario, he doesn't expect a similarly extraordinary bloom.

https://www.sfgate.com/weather/article/ ... 634890.php

[RichardCullip]

Robin and I took our first trip of the year out to Anza-Borrego to check out the wildflower bloom. It's not super yet but we found some nice displays out S22 btwn mile marker 31 and 38. Sand Verbena and Desert Sunflower dominated the area but there were a few others around.

[TahoeJeff]

Are the red flowers in the last 2 pics Ocotillo?

[austex]

Are the red flowers in the last 2 pics Ocotillo?

Yup. One of my favorite plants; so cool.