J Paul Gordon

Have all the people comparing this year with 011-012 forgotten what November and December were like that winter? No friggin comparison thus far. Really.

It will snow a bunch in January. Snow to the eaves in February . March will please those still loving the white stuff. April will bring a heat wave. Its basically the mirror image of whatever it is the Climate folks at NOAA put out. Weenie wishing. But no investment. The perfect plan. We go from white to green in a flash. Mud dries up at historic rate. Black flies gone in less than a week--and before May Day. Summer like out West except for a gentle rain now and then to keep everything from self igniting. Snow comes back once the leaves are down after exceptionally beautiful autumns. I'm also a citizen of the Republic of DIT. I just don't get mad anymore. Speaking of which, Kevin seems to be super mellow this year.

How about -6C and a surprise 15cm snow on the ground? We have single digits coming and the meltdown of the paltry couple cm we got is certain. Can't have warm with snow. (The above is a quote from our grandkids--who just may have escaped the insanity of the old measurement system) Lol

I used to be a lot more hung up on the white Christmas thing myself. Last time I had a meltdown over it was a few years ago in one of the grinch storms. Ageing helps. I have a pretty good sense that the winter will produce a couple of major hitters and a good number of minors. So what if it melts for a couple of days in between? This has been a very decent December. Recall the not so distant Christmases Past when we got around an inch for the whole month in SNE

Ground will be white again. White, then white and COLD. No complaints. Just going to have to wear layers. This hasn't been the worst December. Problem is that everyone is playing the same number on the lottery. If you live in SNE your chances of a white Christmas range from maybe 15% on the Cape and Islands to maybe 50% in the Worcester hills. Up in the hilltop towns of the Berkshires you get to maybe 75%. This is for the minimal 1 inch coverage. Now, if you pick all 31 days your chances of snow on the ground goes way up. Now, NNE is a whole different story.

Ground will be white again. 4 inches here I expect. NWS seems to be holding firm. White, then white and COLD. No complaints. Just going to have to wear layers. This hasn't been the worst December.

It snows. It rains. It gets wicked cold. It warms up dramatically when a cutter passes west of us. It gets cold again. It snows again. Sounds an awful lot like winter in Southern New England. Next to the (low snow) mainland of East Asia at this same parallel, it doesn't get much better than where we are for winter-lovers. At the same parallel in Europe (Rome, northern Spain, etc) snow is a rarity at sea level. Go further east and it gets drier. Unless you want to move to Hokkaido, you probably wont get a combo of cold and snow (at sea level). Snow in Bethlehem Israel--can happen. But not too likely (maybe think white Christmas in Charleston SC at best). Bottom line. Stop complaining. We pretty much have the best deal we can get. So let it snow, rain, freeze, warm up, snow again (etc.) PS Our chances of having snow on the ground Christmas Day are probably better than they have been recently. Regardless or the weather, Christmas will come. The hype and anxiety about white vs green (brown) front yards steals the joy from all the other great things about the day.

Get rid of all the snow piles and ice on the streets and then a little refresher. Be nice to see the ground covered after the big rain. Not going to complain if it is 2 inches or 12. Anything to brighten up the landscape is good by me. The hit last week is already a big plus. We've had a lot of virtually snowless Decembers recently (or so it seems) here in WorcesterWorld, absolutely no excuse to whine on my part.

I don't ever recall having so much snow in a storm and never having gotten above a WWA. I guess it is the amount over time. Anyhow, I'll take a long lasting snow storm anytime. I get the coverage and the duration. Can't really beat it.

Think I'm fairly close to accurate when I say 10 yesterday plus another six (and its still ripping) last night. May be a little more actually. These are pictures fr0m where I work in downtown Worcester.

Why not go for 90 with a 75 DP?

I have no problem liking both now that I am in my 7th decade. I really don't like the sloppiness of the melt down after a snowy winter and spring is a non starter here until May. Summer is whatever. If I'm near the ocean I can tolerate it most of the time without the AC (we have a great cross breeze in our little contel a mile from the water in Maine). But fall, when its dry and warm in the day and just chilly at night.. who can complain about the October feel in the air and the smell of fallen leaves? If a foot of snow comes on Sunday, then Hallelujah to that, too.

I'm dreaming (for the first time in years) of a white Christmas. Snow deep on the ground and floating in the air. All that great stuff. Would make two "perfects" in a lifetime that is now close to halfway into its seventh decade.

Ratters and torches already. At least things are consistent. It like Br'er Rabbit and Br'er Fox, if we keep talking up a big ratter with hysteric torches, then maybe the weather god (Br'er Fox) will throw us into the brier patch of hysterical cold and snow up to the eves.

Looks like after weekend stays AN but not by extremes and DP stays comfortable. Kind of hard not to like. And as we all know Sept Oct have little to do with the following months.

Uh oh.... Torchtember Torchtober? Guess we might as well cancel winter. (Flat affect intended).

It was miserably hot and humid up here on the Maine coast yesterday. Right on the beach near and just after sunset it got pretty cool due to a very local sea breeze. Humidity was atrocious. It didn't reach 100F but a lot of people looked pretty miserable. We had a deck of high thin clouds to hold down temps in the am. They made up for it when the sun came out. Same thing today. Heat warnings and advisories have been justified. Only an idiot would have been doing serious physical activity during the daylight hours. If you are in a locale that had clouds and rain this morning you may be enjoying temps (dwpts?) low enough to take a sopping wet run or mowing of the grass, but when/if the sun comes out it will be a repeat of yesterday. Since most of us don't really notice the difference between 93/70 and 95/74 (we are miserable at either temp) arguing about the precise temp/dwpt differences is merely theoretical. Same way between -10F no wind and +3F/ 10 mph wind. On the other hand very few of us think of a 4" snowfall as being the same as 8", much less 12" or more, which explains the different perceptions of a "bust".

more like misread it.

which storm is being discussed right now?

Holden measured 25. Closest to me (2 or 3 miles as the crow flies); Airport (about 5 mi) 21". I'll go in the middle for 23. Seems realistic considering the height of the drifts and sheer volume of it. No complaints here.

Dude, you are welcome to join us. Just remember that New England is synonymous with crabbiness. It's not that we can't be friendly; some of us just don't want to be. Stick around, you'll get used to us. For instance, you would have been happy to get 4-6 inches today (and in a bad winter so wouldn't we), but when its seems like everyone around you got 20" and you got 4 or 6.....well it's sort of like watching the Patriots lose the Super Bowl.... kind of an entitlement issue.

I lived in Amherst and Northampton for a number of years. Truly the "happy valley", but we always seemed to get into the screw zone between the big hits east of us and/or west of us. A natural sinkhole for snowfall. Born here in Worcester and spent most of my years here. Rarely got screwed here unless it was a scraper/south of the pike deal or a rainer (like the first in this train of three). We almost always do well, even when we aren't the jackpot. A notable exception was the "Boxing Day" storm. The airport officially measured about a foot; here on the east side it was more like six inches of dust. I remember watching the bands to the left, bands to the right while we sat in the snow hole all night. I feel for the valley snow lovers; not as bad as CC for annual totals, but a lot of nickle and diming to get there.

This has to have been the biggest snowfall of the season here. Got a good hit in January 17" with lots of wind, etc., but the drifting and general depth of today's storm outdid that one.

Don't know if its off topic, but are those possible heavy bands of squalls they say may be coming tomorrow significant for further accumulations?

back her up a few more miles....still coming down hard on my side of town, though