February 2022

February, the last winter month, at least according to the meteorological calendar. The calendrical beginning of spring is March 21 this year. Let's hope it feels like spring by then. This hasn't been a cold winter compared to other years. I learned that the GTS reached 200 in north Germany two weeks earlier than last year. This is the first time I ever  heard of the GTS and I thought it was kind of interesting. So what is the GTS?

The grassland temperature sum (GTS) is a special equation of the growth degree days that is used in agro-meteorology. It is used in Central Europe to determine the date for starting field work after winter.

To determine the grassland temperature sum accurate measurement data of the temperature is needed. From the beginning of the year, all positive daily averages of the air temperature are added together, but weighted differently depending on the month. In January, the daily mean temperatures are multiplied by 0.5, in February by 0.75 and in March by 1.0. When the sum of 200 is exceeded, the sustainable beginning of vegetation is reached.

 But with lots of wind, February still felt cold to me on a bike.

I was out for a bike ride on 16 days and rode 346 km.