tamarack

Same reaction to the GFS bowling ball around the same time - EPO at 961 mb.

Since I like snow in any part of snow season, I'd take the 30" March. Another reason is that, even though December averages 12% more snow than March (19.6" to 17.6"), March has recorded 9 storms of a foot or more compared to 4 such events in December. A third is average snow depth. Over 21 winters Dec. 1 has averaged 1" (only 5 had 1"+) and increases to 9" by the 31st. March begins with 21" on average and still has 13" on 3/31. To each their own. Do you know why that is exactly? (Why sunsets are later but the days are still getting shorter?) Years ago I read a fairly detailed reason for this, and came away confused. Not sure whether that was due to a poor explanation or my lousy comprehension.

Only 4 of 21 Decembers with wire-to-wire, with another 6 having 26-30 days with 1"+. Average duration is 21 days and median 24. Years with 130"+ consecutive. * means 31 in Dec. 18-19* 162 days 13-14* 142 14-15* 142 07-08 140 02-03* 137 16-17 136 17-18 132 Other end of the spectrum - years with <100 cons days 11-12 73 15-16 80 99-00 84 (zero in Dec) 05-06 95

Only 1/2" RA so far, thus still 4" of high-LE stuff at the stake this morning, likely down to 2-3" by evening depending on when the CAA gets working. Might disappear with the end of week event, probably only the 2nd time I've would've seen a pack with 2"+ LE disappear during met winter, the 1st being Jan. 1995 in Gardiner when 36 hours of 50+ temps/dews augmented by 1/2" RA ate a 14" pack.

New Year's Eve 1962, by far the coldest WCI I experienced before moving to northern Maine. NYC temp was 13/4 while my NNJ home had 5/-8, and winds that tipped large bare-limbed oaks out of semi-frozen soil, smashed windows and nearly tore the 10-12" ice from a nearby reservoir, piling about 20 ft worth of it on the lee shore. Along with the 1950 Apps gale, the strongest winds I've ever felt. It was the backside NW-ies of a monster storm for the BGR region. I was hoping Tex (whom I always watched if at all possible) would have some memorable comment on that day's wx but he'd had too much New Year's Eve cheer to be coherent.

Would be, except there's only a small arc between aiming too close to the neighbor's house (500' away, but still) and shooting my tool shed. Tiller is over 40 years old but it still works; would hate to lose it to friendly fire. Dense fog lasted less than 2 hours in Augusta, with visibility currently about 3/8 mile in moderate RA. Real warmth hasn't reached here yet, but 40° temp/dews still not nice to the pack.

Have not fired the .45 Hawken reproduction in several years, though I ought to burn some powder next fall. However, we've been putting the house back in order from the rearrangements needed to host daughter/husband/7 grandkids over Thanksgiving in a small house with one bathroom. Might still be worth a look at how the deer travel before reaching our lawn, for some future ambush.

Elevated valley? We were a relatively modest +1, only the 3rd coldest morning of the season. In other news, now that the general firearms season for deer has ended, those critters have become interested in the abundant drops beneath our most productive apple tree - had 7 in our 1/20-acre yard yesterday afternoon. It's traditional - no matter how many fruit-softening frosts and freezes in November (a lot these past two years), the deer don't move in before December.

Dusting of gritty flakes earlier at my place. Now awaiting the bad news.

When we lived in northern Maine, occasional cloudless and calm mornings with temps -20 or colder would feature tiny sun-reflecting crystals seemingly coming from nowhere as the intense cold was wringing out the last tiny bit of moisture from the air. This generally occurred within an hour or so of sunrise. The French had a term for it that translates as "the cold coming down."

Forecast: zero. Verification: 0.1" Not exactly worthy of "bust."

One moonless evening last winter we had light snow and the brighter stars were visible. Probably the flakes on my face came from clouds that had moved east while the snow drifted downward. 0.1" dusting last evening, which was 0.1" more than expected here.

Assuming that "all of us" refers to SNE east of the Berks plus Maine/NH coastal plain. My little 6" pack has 2" or so LE and points in Aroostook have 15-20" OG. If we get enough warmth/rain to take out all of that, we'll have some flood headlines to go along with it. My guess for here is that the torch leaves the yard with a bulletproof 3". Early Grinch isn't a true GRINCH.

Thanks. Didn't want to think I was adding stuff for nothing.

My 7A-7A measurements are for cocorahs, while I've been doing obs at 9P since moving to Fort Kent on 1/1/76 and wish to keep that data as uncorrupted as feasible. For the snow table, I pick the snowiest and/or most impactful date of a multi-day event to add to my record. That retains the depth of entire storms. Last April is illustrative: For my 9P obs on 4/8 I recorded 3.5" with 0.2" falling soon afterwards. Then came 3" in 2 hours the evening of the 9th with another 0.5" coming after 9P. My daily records show 3.5" for the 8th, 3.2" for the 9th, 0.5" for the 10th, while my entries into the snow table show storm #1 at 3.7", labeled as on the 8th, and storm #2's 3.5" called the 9th. May seem more complex than necessary but it works for me. Edit: Just read Kevin's "combining" post (after posting the above, of course.) Since that's how my entries are made, such combining should not be needed.

The bottom half of my 7" is like armorplate - the grandkids stayed on top and sometimes Idid too. The period Nov. 18-24 brought 2.02" precip and 1.6" snow with only one day getting milder than 34 - the 21st with 38 and no precip. Toss in the Thanksgiving event and it's 3.01" precip and 4.1" snow, with almost no melting but some settling. The 2.8" Tuesday is the fluff coat that could quickly vanish in a warm rain, but the stuff beneath is a lot tougher.

That's how I've recorded my "SnowLiquid" spreadsheet for my years in Maine, though I haven't included the smaller events, mainly those 2"+. Full winters have run from a high ratio of 13.62-to-1 for 1981-82 in Fort Kent to the low of 8.33-to-1 last winter.

06z GFS op shows Augusta with RA and 60° at 00z on the 11th. Blecchh! GFS is infamous for showing cutters (or blizzards) at 10 days out and beyond, and which then disappear, but the mess for 10th-11th has been there for several days now.

Despite my location's ability to build and hold pack, it's currently (and mapped accurately) surrounded 360° by deeper snow, one level more to the south and 2 levels to the north. (Farmington's "square" lies almost exactly centered between the N tip of NH and the head of Penobscot Bay.) We finished with 2.8" from 0.25" LE, ratio 11:1. First all snow event this season other than a 0.1" dusting. Had a smattering of graupel near the end, but that's a snow form IMO.

About 3" at my place, with one more small patch upstream. Two-thirds came noon-3 PM. Interesting trip to Augusta during those hours - light snow as we set out, to moderate within 5 miles, then S++ coming out of Belgrade Village with visibility about 100 yards, could never see 2 utility poles at the same time. That lasted to Christy's Irving, another 5 miles or so, with 6" snow piles in the not-recently-plowed road to add some challenge. Back to light snow in Augusta, then very light for the trip home.

Apologies for meanness, but I hope not, at least until noon or later. Family heading home to SNJ should get to LEW about 11:20 or so, were entering I-95 in Augusta at 10:40 and I advised them to stay on that road rather than take the usual 295 thru PWM. In between bands atm, not quite to our 1st inch. Grandkids enjoyed the feathers we saw around 9.

0.1" at 7 AM with no flakes in sight, though light snow resumed about 7:30.

Family/grandkids had scheduled their trip back to SNJ for tomorrow in a large (there are 9 of them in total) 2WD van. Journey starts at the flakeless-to-date foothills, thru Augusta then 95-495 (probably skip ORH)-Pike-84. They're wondering if they ought to wait a day. Once they clear the hill here in New Sharon, where the 2" of fluff (my guess for their getaway time) shouldn't be much of an issue, the non-290 route has essentially no real hills until DIT country.

lol. Would not be pleased to see Hiram with 30" while I'm in that 1-2" snow hole NW from Augusta.

Fallen firs got cut out of the trail segment on our woodlot last Saturday, and there's a couple tracks made since Thursday morning. Given the rocks and wet holes, hope it was their old sled.