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Free and clear

3/22/2026

Center Street Bridge, Oil City, Feb. 19

While February 2026 was drier than normal, part of the region faced flood warnings. The flood threat wasn’t due to precipitation it was from ice on the move.

For the first half of February, area waterways were packed with ice. This didn’t cause a problem until early morning on Feb. 19.

The ice on Oil Creek had started to back up to the creek’s banks within Oil City. Officials monitored the ice jam all day as water levels fluctuated.

According to social media reports, things really started moving at 5:50 p.m. when ice on Oil Creek in Rouseville broke loose and created an imminent flood threat for Oil City.

The United States Geological Survey’s data showed a spike in the levels on Oil Creek in Rouseville as the ice jam let loose. Water levels reached 8.40 feet at 6 p.m. on Feb. 19.

Minor flood stage for the creek at Rouseville was listed at 11 feet.

The night of Feb. 19, the water was reported on the rise and people were urged to leave the bridges and residences along Seneca Street.

However, just as evacuation plans were underway, the ice buildup pushed out into the river.

Water levels on Oil Creek began to fall, reports said. The creek fell to 4.33 feet by Feb. 21.

As creek levels dropped, the Allegheny was on the rise on Feb. 21, according to the USGS’ gauge at Franklin. The level was reported at 10.02 feet early that morning. The action stage for the river at this point was listed at 13 feet.

However, on Feb. 20, Emlenton faced a flood threat. Social media reports said that at 9:30 p.m. an ice jam in Emlenton broke.

Oil Creek, Feb. 19

Ice on Allegheny River in Oil City, early February

Courtesy of waterdata.usgs.gov

The ice was moved downstream toward Foxburg and Parker, according to reports. The USGS’ gauge at Parker showed a dramatic uptick in Allegheny River levels as the ice and water rushed out. The gauge reported that the river was at 21.69 feet at 3 p.m. Feb 20.

The extra water pushed river into minor flood stage. The river then dropped to around 10 feet after 8 p.m.

Ice on Allegheny River in Oil City, Feb. 19

After all the commotion, it seemed that communities in the region were spared major damage from the ice jams.
WPXI’s Scott Harbaugh reported on his Facebook page on Feb. 24 that Riversedge Campground in Armstrong County sustained damage.
“Ice jam flooding brought the river way out of its banks destroying many summer homes at the campground. The owners are working as hard as they can to make sure, they'll be ready to open for the start of the season in April,” the post said.

Ice on Oil Creek, Feb. 19

A little closer to home, the ice movement did take a toll on Oil City’s ice control device.
The Oil City Firefighters reported on Feb. 23 that they were “aware that one of the device’s pontoons has broken off. Its location has been identified, and we are actively working with the appropriate agencies to safely retrieve it.”

Further east, it was a few days later before the ice action amped up. Reports said an ice jam had formed along the Susquehanna River in Luzerne County. The jam was causing many tributaries to back up, and a flood advisory was posted on Feb. 24.

Reports said that the jam forced the frozen water upward to create ice mountains

Ice on Oil Creek, Feb. 19

A Feb. 28 post on the Saluda Standard Sentinel website, explained the formations.
“Officials and observers say the phenomenon occurred when moving ice along the river became clogged, creating a jam that trapped water and pressure underneath. As the pressure increased, large sections of ice were driven vertically, erupting into jagged mounds that in some places rival the height of a single-story building,” the post said.

An internet search found that the ice cleared out around March 3.
Locally, the rivers and creeks in the region were mostly free of the ice a few days after the jams. There were still some large chunks along the banks, but they, too, disappeared with warmer weather.

Ice on Allegheny River in Oil City in early February

There was some ice cover on the neighbor’s pond in Pinegrove Township on March 5 and by March 6 it was ice-free.

Meanwhile, weather stats reported a deficit in precipitation for February.

The accumulation for Jan. 1 to Feb. 28 was at 3.43 inches, which was below the normal 5.93 inches, according to National Weather Service data.

Ice on Oil Creek, Feb. 19

The total precipitation for the month was .64 inches, which was well below the average of 2.66 inches.

Nonetheless, the drought issue seemed to have improved by March.

A U.S. Drought monitor report released Thursday, March 19, still had most of Venango County in the abnormally dry category.

However, Forest County was upgraded from the moderate drought label to abnormally dry.

The snow total for the month was 6.1 inches.

That number was also below the normal of 11.5 inches, according to weather service data.

From Feb. 1 to Feb. 10 the snow depth was reported to be between 7 and 8 inches.

The depth fell to zero by the end of the month.

While February wasn’t as snowy as normal, it was colder. The average temperature was 35.4 degrees, which was below the normal of 36.3 degrees.

The lowest low was -8 degrees on Feb. 9. According to weather service data, the lowest low for that date was -13 on Feb. 9, 1948.

The highest high for February 2026 was 59 degrees on Feb. 21, which fell short of a 70-degree high on that date in 2018.

As meteorological spring began both Pittsburgh and Erie reported in on this year’s winter weather.
A post by Dakota Hunter on Erie News Now’s Facebook page said that the city was low on snow this winter.

“Meteorological winter is December, January, and February. Throughout those three months, our average temperature (highs/lows combined) was 26.3, down about 4 degrees. While we had quite a bit of snow, we were actually in a deficit of over 16 inches for the winter season.

Remember, our ‘seasonal snow’ sits at 69.4 inches, which is data that is taken from July 31 to June 30,” Hunter posted.

A graphic included in the post explained that in the winter of 2024 the city’s average temperature was 28.8 degrees and there was a total of 72 inches of snow.

The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh posted on its Facebook page that the city had experienced its coldest winter since 2014-2015, based on mean average temperature.

A graphic from the post showed that the average temperature was 28.3 degrees, which was 3 degrees lower than normal.

The total snowfall of 44.5 inches was reported as 11.8 inches above normal. However, the post also revealed that Pittsburgh, too, was low on precipitation with a 1.84-inch deficit from the normal.

Meanwhile, area waterways were free of ice and should hopefully stay that way until next winter.

However, spring storms have left them a little more muddy than clear at times.

However, if folks still want to see some ice there's an art exhibit titled "Prism in the Frost" that started March 25 and runs until April 14 at the Exchange on Seneca Street in Oil City.

There will no doubt be some cool pieces on display.

That’s just the nature of things ‘round here.

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Being flighty

3/21/2026

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Mourning cloak butterfly

Spring was here early. Then it wasn’t.

Then it appeared again, maybe.

March’s propensity for lion and lamb-like weather rang true.

Friday, March 20, marked the first astronomical day of spring.

Meteorological spring began March 1.

Earlier this month it sure did feel like spring.

Temperatures around the region were reported in the 60s and 70s for March 6-10.

However, some discrepancies appeared in the weather stats provided by the National Weather Service’s station at the Venango Regional Airport.

Snowflakes

For March 8-10, Franklin was reported as having a high of 77 degrees, according to the data. Other data was missing. The data was missing for March 8 for Clarion, but the highs were reported as 77 degrees on March 9 and 66 degrees on March 10.

In comparison, Pittsburgh’s data was 71,78 and 62 degrees for March 6-8. Pittsburgh’s high for March 9-10 was reported as 70, according to weather service data. Nonetheless, it was warm those days.

Crocus

Crocuses

Mini daffodils

Crocuses

Orange jelly mushroom

Eastern comma

Then it happened. The snow returned.

It started the evening of March 15 and continued until the next day.

A photo on the trail camera seemingly captured a deer’s disgruntled attitude at the weather change. Milo, the goat, wasn’t really happy with the cold either.

On some of the colder days, he took the shortcut home to the warmth of his shed.

The white stuff stuck around for a couple of days and then by March 19 it was gone again.

Earlier in the month, the warmer temperatures helped prompt some early spring flowers to make their way out of the ground.

Most of my crocuses opened to the sun during that time in early March. They finished blooming on the first day of spring except for a few stragglers.

Facebook memories showed me that this year the spring flowers were way ahead of March 2015. In 2015, snowdrop flowers and snowflake flowers only began to peek out of the ground by mid-March.

This year the little white blooms were all but done by March 22. A look back at weather stats for 2015 revealed that year was colder than this year.

The highest high was 59 degrees with most of the month in the 30-to-40-degree range.

This year, I was surprised to see some tiny yellow flowers up with the crocuses.

I had forgotten all about planting them.

Then I realized that last year, I had purchased some mini daffodils to adorn the porch during Easter.

After they were done blooming, I placed them outside. I recalled that I also had some hyacinths and tulips.

I will have to wait and see a few weeks to see where I planted them last year.

In addition to the mini-daffodils, I’m still waiting on the regular-sized daffodils.

By the first day of spring, a few buds on the bright yellow flowers had formed.

The tulip leaves emerged, but it is usually May until I see their colorful blooms.

In the woods, the only plants that were blooming were the skunk cabbages. There were buds on the trailing arbutus,

I won’t see those until April.While there was a deficit of flowers, an orange jelly mushroom brought some color to the forest in late March.

The mushroom, scientifically known as Dacrymyces chrysospermus, is a gelatinous fungus that typically grows on decaying conifer wood and is known for its bright orange color, according to internet reports.

“The orange jelly mushroom appears to ooze from cacks and hollows in old conifer wood logs and stumps. It’s one of our most common species and it grows from spring all the way into early winter,” wrote author Bill Russell in his book the “Field Guide to Wild Mushrooms of Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic.”

Russell mentioned that the mushroom is edible. Other reports indicated that some use it for home remedies or tinctures.

Mourning cloak in the goat pen

Adding to the color of the mushroom were some butterflies.

About half-a-dozen were sighted during the warmer weather on March 10. I thought they would reappear the next day, but windy conditions most likely hampered their ability to take flight.

There were at least five or so mourning cloak butterflies flitting around. They were cooperative about letting me capture some photos.

Mourning cloak

“This fascinating species is often considered a harbinger of spring due to its early appearance in the season. In fact, some mourning cloaks have been observed to live up to a year, making them one of the longest-lived butterfly species in North America,” said a post on What’s That Bug?.

As mentioned, there weren’t a lot of flowers and plants to feed on. This wouldn’t affect the mourning cloaks.
“Adult mourning cloaks nectar on tree sap, rotting fruit, or even carrion rather than flowers,” the post continued.

“One fascinating aspect of the mourning cloak butterfly is its overwintering behavior. Instead of migrating to warmer areas or dying off, they overwinter as adults, hiding under tree bark or in crevices. This enables them to be among the first butterflies seen in spring,” the post said.

I spotted an eastern comma butterfly as well. It was not very cooperative. When processing the photos to crop out the background, I had difficulty finding the photo subject.

Wood frog

However, as the warmth faded and the snow came, the butterflies went back into hiding. They reappeared on March 21 for a sunny day with temperature in the mid-50s.

During the warmup earlier in March, spring peepers were heard making their music during the evenings. During the cold spell, the frogs went silent only to sing again around the first day of spring.

Wood frog eggs

There was some wood frog activity as well. They could be heard croaking in the pond and vernal pools on warmer days. However, efforts to get good photos of them failed. I captured the results of their actions, or rather eggs, in a vernal pool.

Spotted salamander eggs with some mosquito larvae

There were spotted salamander eggs in the pool, too.

“The spotted salamander usually lives in mature forests with ponds or ephemeral vernal pools for breeding sites. Vernal pools are suitable breeding sites … as they dry often enough to exclude fish that eat the salamander eggs and larvae, while retaining water long enough to allow amphibian larvae to complete development and metamorphose into terrestrial adults,” said a post on Wikipedia.

Spotted salamander larva and insect larva

“As larvae, they are usually light brown or greenish yellow. … In two to four months, the larvae lose their gills and become juvenile salamanders that leave the water. Spotted salamanders have been known to live up to 32 years and normally return to the same vernal pool every year,” the post continued.

As adults they are dark brown in color with distinctive yellow or orange spots. They reportedly have a symbiotic relationship with a type of algae.

I have never seen an adult spotted salamander. I did “catch” and release a larva from the pool last year for a photo.

Female and male mallard ducks

While searching for some wood frogs at the neighbor’s pond, I spooked some wood ducks. The brightly colored ducks disappear whenever we even come into view.

The mallard couple made one of their yearly stops at the pond during the cold spell. They, too, left as the dogs and I arrived.

Canada geese

Me, Clem, Jeb and Gus with the geese in the background

A pair of Canada geese made and appearance at the pond before the mid-March snow. They fled the scene when Jeb got too close for comfort. A trail camera photo appeared to depict me telling the dogs not to disturb the geese so I can capture some photos. Jeb was good at first and then tried to sneak around the pond to reach the geese. They took flight.

White-throated sparrow

Back at the bird feeder, the grackles and the brown-headed cowbirds were back. The numbers of the dark-eyed juncos were dwindling as the winter bird gets ready to depart for their breeding grounds.

During the snowy days the bird feeders were flooded with birds of all kinds.

One was a white-throated sparrow. This common migrant and winter visitor arrives in mid-September and departs in late May, according to local author Gary Edwards in his book “Birds of Venango County.”

Edwards noted that the region is west and south of the expected white-throat breeding range in Pennsylvania. There was a probable breeding record in President Township that was never confirmed. However, Edwards pointed out that there was still a possibility of the bird’s range expanding into Venango County.

Daffodil bloom

The spring weather so far has been flighty like the birds, butterflies and others. The warmth was here one day and gone the next. The snow was here one day and gone the next few. During the transitions lion-like winds would roar through the region. However, the days are getting longer, and nature is marching forward no matter what the weather.

That's the nature of things 'round here.

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Free and clear

Being flighty

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