Cold weather is on our doorstep. It looks like about a fourteen day event. The first week of January look very tough.
The weather up to this point has been a cake walk for the bees. The warm late fall has been easy on the bees and on their food supply.
Since the first of November, the average hive has consumed around 12 lbs of honey. The average hive consumption in winter is around 12 lbs a month. So the bees have not hit their food supply very hard.
This cold weather will test colonies. The stresses on a colony in extreme conditions that have been weakened by mites. May result in a less than desirable outcome.
Colonies that a beekeeper managed properly, had low mite counts and ample food stores, is in much better condition to survive the winters of the Upper Midwest.
I just received this twitter weather update from MPR.
Coldest weather in 22 years coming according to MPR.
Other weather models are not saying this.
MPR weather twitter feed