IowaStorm05

I believe you though my experience in Interior CT is limited. I lived a larger number of years in Rhode Island and note that Interior CT is a little bit more exciting, as it is more continental just enough to make a difference. The climate of Tolland I imagine extends through Willimantic and reaches Woonsocket before it goes marine-influential.

I know some of us have discussed the climo unlikely result of more than 1/2 inch of ice. But how do people behave in this region if we come up to the day before the event and models and forecasts insist this sort of thing is imminent? Do they shut down the state as with a blizzard? I know its a major difference versus driving when youre getting 3 inches of snow. The idea of being stranded someplace in a ravine or on the roads is something nobody wants.

Of fascinating note are the classic green direction signs that are suspended above the bridge. These are nationwide and the designs are generally uniform, with some darker green older ones still out there, especially in drier climates like Southern California. What I can say is that these seriously are designed to last a lifetime. Some of these green signs on smaller roads are just several feet off the ground, and many of them I have walked by have date stamps on them! Well, in Mansfield, CT a couple miles away there is one green sign pointing people towards RT 6. I walked by it, and noticed that without a doubt, there is a date stamp on it for 1989. Well I was floored by the durability of the sign at that point because this sign looked brand new. It has been there for over 33 years and it looks shiny and fresh as ever.

And it's terrible weather for us too. It isnt fun like snow. Its cold rain or even worse, ice and other nasties. I fear the horrible prospects of the need to travel at the height of this.

Can't always have it all.

My interest of the evening has been the condition of heavily traveled typical bridges in the US. I was studying about the 2007 Minneapolis Mississippi River bridge collapse. What I read was that the bridge was built in 1967, but had design flaws. It was rated in need of replacement and that was planned for 2020 but it never made it before it collapsed. A theme I keep coming across more than one time with basic US road bridges is that A: They were built in the 20th century. B: They were designed to last a specific number of years before being replaced and C: The time for the replacement has come and gone. and C: They are receiving "Poor" or "Structurally Deficient" Ratings but are still being deemed safe to travel on. While the MN bridge that collapsed was among the worst in ratings, they stopped short of condemning it. A bridge of particular interest is the I95 Gold Star Memorial bridge that crosses the Thames river between Groton and New London. In doing curious research I was able to find that this bridge fell into most of the above bullet points I discussed. It has a rating of 4 out of 9 for structure: Poor. The bridge has outlived its intended lifespan yet is continued to be used heavily and I see no plan to actually replace it. I won't say much more except that I am glad that I do not use this bridge frequently although I did in the 2000s. I once walked across this bridge in 2020 and while I knew nothing of its structural ratings at that time, the heights were unnerving and gave me adrenaline rush until I made it to the other side. Most common road bridges are 20th century construction that has been a fixture of most of our lives as we generally have been alive since the 20th century. But the theme that all of these are going downhill fast is repeating itself and I am horrified to understand that unless drastic action is taken, these bridges are going to probably start collapsing one by one over the upcoming years and decades.

I am worried the truth is the second event that models were suggesting heavy snow inland coastal plain is being removed from the table bit by bit.

I dont like rain at all if it happens when I am working. Fortunately I have only gotten soaked once, there really has not been very much rain this winter and if I had money I would bet the precip is below normal in SNE this winter. I am not experienced with gearing up to defend my clothes and body from rain. Can you imagine pushing rows of shopping carts while your entire body and shoes are soaked for 5 hours? It has happened to me before. At least I have boots but because theyve been damaged from my toes being run over by a truck, I gotta add the E6000 gooey adhesive to seal the cracks to stop water from getting in. I hope it doesnt rain during the day Friday.

East Lyme surely has met their snow quota or slightly exceeded it. But Willimantic is a higher standard.

Ok since people are curious I will assure you that my Asexuality is probably a consequence of Paranoid Schizophrenia. The entire region responsible for facilitating sexuality goes offline. NOW I can artificially activate it with heavy doses of amphetamine-related stimulants, but that is a lethal pattern I refuse to partake in. The ADHD amphetamines I take are too low of a dose for that and merely treat my ADHD. I was a go-getter in my youth before Schizophrenia began taking hold and naturally castrating me. Now back to Weather. I dont want to be disturbing the flow here but the convo came to that so I had to explain myself.

They make a crunchy and delectable addition to salads.

For 20 years I identified as "Gay", and I could argue that for the first 10 I really was. But changes in my brain progressed and I developed into an Asexual, that increased until I finally changed my "label" in 2021 to accurately describe myself. While I acknowledge the nature of human (Great Ape) sexuality, Terminology such as this and most sex subjects gross me out. I am not offended though, I am just describing that I am a human who does not have sexuality. At all.

What about 30 miles north of the shore?

Over my life, in rain-turning-to-snow forecasts I have far more often experienced this being delayed until the storm is almost over, than I have experienced it happening sooner. And this is true in every location I have lived in that gets snow in the winter.

If you don't show me the heartwarming respect I deserve I am going to the Franklin Zoo and shall climb into the gorilla enclosure at once and beat my chest profusely while naked and making hoot sounds.

You're actually really freaking me out too dude. This model run isnt funny and fortunately I still think it is unlikely but this would be really bad.

You kant live near the coast and have a snowpack be likely to last. We supposedtly got 1/2 the snowfall that the coast did on Saturday (Which i doubt), but now twice as much snow remains on the ground here.

This is bad.

When I was a teen I was jealous of Tahoe and looked up to the Sierra as the ultimate snow utopia. 1999-2000 I was 15, I was teased about my snow obsession. It was a pretty decent winter for the mountains above 5500 feet, but terrible for Reno and Sparks, Sparks at 4400 feet probably managed about 5 inches of snow for that winter, spaced out over 4 to 5 one-inch events, which is very below normal but was typical for a few years 1999-2001. As I have gotten older I have observed and studies more years than those, and have come to realize that the middle and southern Sierra is in all actuality unreliable for heavy snow. When they get it THEY GET IT but there are some years where Lake Level at Lake Tahoe only pulls together 40-80 inches for the season. Do note, that the West shore of the lake sees 3 times as much snow as the East shore despite the distance being several miles, due to the rain shadow that is cast by the Sierra Crest just west of the lake. You think I am concerned about the SE Massachusetts coast failing to break 1 inch in a bad winter? Oh think again. With modeled predictions of global warming, the Sierra is poised to suffer massive losses in snowfall and I have zero doubt that by the late 21st century, Reno and Sparks will experience not just one or two winters without measurable snow, but that it will happen again and again all the time! The Sierra winters are not dictated by the same influences that New England is. New England is situated in a continental influence and derives its cold air from Canada. But the Sierra is dependent on atmospheric HEIGHTS entirely for getting low enough "Snow Levels" to bring snow to its altitudes because it is adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, which will be much less forgiving of increases in global temperature. The lack of Continental/Radiational cooling is why the far west is so badly exposed to the impacts of climate change, prompting concern that these mountain ranges will become relatively snowless in bad years. Cold air already struggles to make it far enough south to reach the West Coast on some years, so maybe you just end up with multiple years where you got high average snow levels... The kind of storms that will bring rain below 8000 feet and stuff. Then throw in the region's penchant for multi-year droughts, and the odds really start working against you.

Yes that’s it… Still what makes me wonder is what it was about Pinatubo that makes the chemical composition so much different. Isn’t magma relatively uniform? I am probably being naive but it’s because part of me wants ALL of the volcanoes to cool the climate for a minute.

The real deal about how these effect climate depends on the chemical makeup of the material that is spewed from them if you believe what the authority of the subject says about them. As massive as Mt. Saint Helens was, they never associate it with temporary climate cooling like that 1991 eruption. I don’t know what was so special about the 1991 eruption that made it release sun blocking chemicals. Now if the Yellowstone super duper volcano ever blew, that REALLY WOULD cool the climate for many years…. Just by sheer reduction in light regardless of what chemicals it is made up of. It’s like a physical sunscreen versus chemical. But you wouldn’t have to worry about pesky June snow because you would be dead from…. Something…. Within months… that is if your lungs survive the ash… imagine airborne ajax.

If it does snow again a lot of what is on the ground now where I live will still be there and the pack might build up.

I am expecting this has a slight possibility of trending somewhat colder and delivering some kind of mix and thump to interior Southern New England, because of kinda climo or wishful thinking. But if not we have all of the rest of February and Morch for potential. Winter can get mild, sometimes very much so, but guaranteed rain for the rest of the year is reserved for things like Barnstable or 2019-2020.

So it looks like things are beginning to trend colder? I detected that yesterday compared to prior days. It was like sniffing a bunch hunch. I saw the runs yesterday and was like hmm maybe that will trend colder. A hunch for a bunch.

I’m not a spotter. I was a spotter however in 2009-2012 and reported regular reports to NWS when I lived in Reno, NV. We do get snow there but snow in Reno usually does not drift. It is ironic that Reno snow does not drift that often because in actuality Reno is a very very windy climate and Winter storms regularly bring Southwest winds gusting to 50, 60, 70mph. But you see when that is happening it coincides with strong mountain shadowing and lenticular clouds. When precipitation finally makes it over the mountain and into Reno the wind becomes calm and the snow then falls in big flakes gently down. Snow in Reno is also usually wet. My reports were great, no drifting complications, although in February 2010 we had an event where a tiny band of snow trained over MBY out of an area Northwest of the town and calmly deposited 25 inches while most of the rest of Reno got 5-10 inches total and Tahoe got 1 inch. When I called in one of the spotter reports mid-way through the storm to report 8 inches the guy taking my call didn’t believe me…. But that storm did not drift and I used a perfectly legit yard stick in an open yard. This was a major bust because the forecast predicted 1-2 inches for the area. The idea that they never figured out SW Reno got that much snow from that band disturbs me although I’m sure they were able to see the radar. Tahoe and the Sierra itself get lots of drifting especially over the Sierra crest. But not in the lower Valleys. I am not saying it can’t happen but it’s rare.