Dear Tom,
It appears to me that there is an unusually large number of cones on conifer trees this year in northern Michigan. Is there any correlation between the current/future weather and these cones?
David McManus, Traverse City, Mich.
Dear David,
You have observed a phenomenon known as mast seeding, the synchronous over-or underproduction of seeds by an entire population of a given species or group of plants. A mast-seeding event occurred in Chicago-area oak trees in the autumn of 2001, and they produced a bumper crop of acorns.
Though not related to current weather, mast seeding is probably a response to weather conditions, including rainfall during the past year or two, and weather in the early spring. Mast seeding has no predictive value for upcoming seasons.
———-
Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or asktomwhy@wgntv.com (Mail volume precludes personal response.)
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
