powderfreak

Sounded like a lot of people got in over their heads this weekend. I was cold on Mount Mansfield wandering around, but it’s only 4,000ft and I know I can get down rapidly on foot. MWN is 2,000 feet higher (10F usually). The tourists were still in autumn mode. I always travel prepared this time of year with the basics of change of base layer if get sweaty on the way up, plus gloves and hat this time of year. It’s crazy how much those things matter. You could be in shorts even (not ideal or recommended), but if your upper body core is warm with layers, head is warm, and hands covered… those are the keys to both comfort and survival.

Classic mild 50s to 19F blizzard in Denver.

Haha I didn’t see anyone worrying about ice free Arctic… just discussion. The WinterWolf time is back… keep everyone in line with a quick show of the teeth. It has been a nice fall for sure.

Haha, I appreciate you staying on brand. There could be 500 million acres of lava in the Arctic and the answer would be “let’s see if it’s still burning in a week, we just don’t know what’ll happen.”

Keystone open today at 3pm in order to beat A-Basin for earliest opening, ha. I love the race to open out there.

First trace of the season at the Co-Op.

Back in the snow personally.

There we go, accums down through 3,500ft.

Snowing good up top.

Maybe it has. Maybe it hasn’t. We just don’t know.

Snowing up top above 3,500.

You know I left safety to go out in the hail/graupel.

Just had small hail and thunder come through.

Not every day a passenger jet smokes a weather balloon… https://onemileatatime.com/news/united-boeing-737-hit-weather-balloon-cracking-windshield-bruising-pilot/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR5AqWqARKi7Vtyd8XP1QnL6YIpIPy3yxK1sQL2Bkk4Q9Dm78GXKB2kgWqDzGw_aem_nQyt_Obm5uU4t4q4YpI1cg

Western slope communities getting crushed.

At 1.15" here. The western slope communities east of BTV in Chittenden County have gotten crushed. They got trained by several narrow bands of heavy rainfall and now the ULL and upslope flow is cranking. There are spots over 3" and pounding rain east of BTV. They could do 4"+ in this event.

Some water coming to the drought zone. Likely overdone but a soaking rainfall en-route.

Wind is blustery this evening. Sustained 15-20mph but gusts 30-40mph. Warm wind too... 64F off a high of 72F.

Min of 26F Clouds have rolled in and it’s up to 38F. Broke down and turned on some heat for the first time.

ORH warmest place in the interior northeast, by a decent margin. Only a few coastal spots like BOS can compete.

We bust balls about the long growing season and fake cold… in the end none of it really matters until the snow flies. ULL around that early Nov period on the models occasionally, maybe you can thread the needle for birthday flakes.

That’s insane to me.

Down to 29F so far. SLK at 21F.

Awesome, ha. Yeah App Gap on RT 17 gets up near 2,400ft passing MRG… no shortage of switchbacks. I bet there was rime ice from the high elevation clouds all up and down the Spine.

Cold day. High was 32F up above 3,500ft. First true day requiring hat and gloves on the hill. Frosted tips from rime up high.