powderfreak

It’s still snowing. Unbelievable stuff out there on the mountain. Just deep powder everywhere. Today’s stake reading should put this year back in the all-time #1 position for this time of year since 1954. And it could be by like a half foot too.

It's not accumulating very fast, but there's some steady gusty small flake (arctic sand) falling. It covers things up quickly but doesn't stack very well. Cold shallow moisture continues to stream into the region on NW flow. Nocturnal inversion is trying to squeeze out all remaining moisture from an arctic airmass.

December 11th and we have already measured roughly 33% of the seasonal snowfall at the Mt Mansfield plots. I know I harp on this, but I think the measured part is important when comparing years. If it’s not measured, but eyeballed, guessed, estimated… it’s hard to compare year to year. It becomes more vibe based, than data based. Both methods can tell a story, but this season being at 30+% of annual measured snow (in a controlled manner) is incredible to me… as someone who’s personally been involved in the process for almost 20 years now. This isn’t a marketing ploy. The various data points support it. Last year at this time the FourRunner Quad had been running for exactly one week. This year it’s been 3+ weeks of deep, skier supporting natural snowpack.

It truly is around a once a generation start based on the 70+ years of Mansfield stake data. It’s December 11th. It feels and looks like February.

Just absolutely rugged out. 9F, gusty winds, arctic fine flake snow adding 2-3” more today, blowing snow, sub-zero wind chills.

Some might call it a candidate?

Nighttime is definitely more productive upslope and my theory has always been it has to do with the developing nocturnal inversion that happens at night. It tends to allow for a more concentrated band of low level snow. Daytime heating tends to disrupt it to some degree (of course unless it is just a monster set up and moisture/wind overpowers it, ie northern Greens)... I feel like the most concentrated upslope bands occur once the nocturnal inversion tries to set in aloft, trapping moisture in the low levels too, enhancing the terrain's influence further... while daytime heating causes it to go more cellular or convective showers. I think we see it with Lake Effect too... you see more cellular squally stuff during the day but then at night you get those diesel bands of 3-5"/hr that just park themselves.

Another 3” overnight on the car, around 6” for the event.

That’s nice.

4” at base snow plot.

3” so far at all elevations from town to upper mountain. Really no change with elevation it seems.

Will’s got me beat. I don’t think in two decades I’ve ever seen Will post from a state of anger or despair. Dendrite too. I do remember losing it in January 2014 though… more inches of rain than snow while Philly is under their 6th winter storm warning…and if I hear Leon Lett, I might have flashbacks.

Ha, I’m like that too. Some might say overly optimistic and can find a positive in falling face down into dog shit (is that corn?). I’ve been told it would be better if I got more upset… sports, weather, life, etc.

I will say over the years when DIT gets down, he doesn’t stay down for long.

The woe is me cycle can be incredibly hard for some people to get out of… and draining for all around too.

Only 6 other years (out of 140) since 1884 have had 3 days with below 0F temps in Burlington, VT by 12/9. The last time was 36 years ago in 1989. That seems moderately impressive.

What? This? I went looking expecting like 80F and 6” of rain.

Yesterday's daily mean temperature at MVL was -1F . -27 daily departure. -12.4 on the month.

-18.2F. This is absurd for 12/9. Like 35+ degrees below normal. Relative to normal its like an 18F low in mid-July. SLK, HIE, BML all at least -20F or lower.

4” overnight, 5” measured in 24 hours… fellow reporter MT checking Barnes Camp stake in the base area pre-dawn while VTRANS plows.

-13F at 10pm. Teens all the way down to the south coast. Region-wide well-below normal night. Sorry for the cold spam, but it’s noteworthy for the time of year.

Radiational cooling or not, it has been a bit since we’ve seen these type of departures sustained over a couple weeks. At any time of year. The low level air masses have been legit. Today was brutal cold at the mountain, sub zero with strong wind.

It’s the trade off to like an unnecessary cool 42F night in the summer, while south of the Pike is enjoying 60 dews.

I’m praying my car’s battery also finds it fake tonight. It struggled the other day and took a couple tries to turn over. Only 3 years old so might need to get that looked at.

Just listening to the deck and trees pop and crack this evening.