'Fifth Season' Starts, Farmers Assess Losses
More than two weeks behind schedule, ice is giving way on rivers and the local phenomenon known as fifth season has started.
The water level has been rising quickly in rivers for the past two or three days, spreading out over the banks in poorly drained areas of the country such as Soomaa National Park in an annual event eagerly awaited by canoe trip operators.
Some snow still blankets the ground in this area of Pärnu and Viljandi counties, but the rivers are rising 50-60 centimeters a day.
"In two days there will be water on the roads and in principle you will be able to travel by canoe, but for now the ice and snow are everywhere," said Soomaa tour operator Algis Martsoo.
In record years, water has risen over five meters. If it does, it floods homes. So far, the rise has been two meters.
Last spring, the floods drew 500 tourists, and this year all of the weekend canoe trips are fully booked.
The dynamics of the water rise are unpredictable this year because river outlets to the east are less clogged.
"What is unusual is that usually when the water floods roads, the ice starts to break up on the Pärnu side, but today it is already moving. It's hard to say how it will affect the state of the Soomaa flooding," says Martsoo.
Currently 15-30 centimeters of snow still blankets the Otepää and southeastern uplands, the north shore of Lake Peipus (both usual) and Hiiumaa (unusual).
Hard winter for farmers
As snow melts, farmers are taking stock of how much of their winter crops they might have lost. In mid-April, winter grain should be green, but it is brown. And fungal diseases under the extended snow cover have affected some plants. Fertilizer application has been postponed until the snow melts.
Aleksander Kilk, head of the beekeepers' association, told ERR radio that bee colonies have been affected differently in some regions. Saaremaa and Ida-Viru County have seen the greatest adverse affects.
"Unfortunately the winter losses have been substantial and in some apiculture establishments there is not a single colony left or very many have died over the winter."
Last year, the bees were out gathering nectar on April 15. This year, it will be two or three more weeks before alder and hazel trees bloom, he said.