Connecticut Appleman

Some serious rain would be welcome - I was digging a trench last weekend and at 2-3 feet, the soil was bone dry.

Drought still holding strong - only 0.26 inches today.

14 feet is generally the maximum width for wide loads. I had a 16 foot wide prefab shed and it had to be delivered in 2 pieces which were then married together and the roof had to be constructed in place.

So far the rain has been the most impressive component.

Knowing that area very well as I grew up in Norfolk - chasing would have been nearly impossible as it traveled through areas where there aren't any roads and they are almost all tree covered with little view.

I used to be in Ellington - moved in 2018. In Ellington - we never were close a jackpot with the eastern hills right to the east.

One the few times where things lined up just right to keep having it pulse up on top of the hill. We rarely jackpot here.

Just over 2 inches of much needed rain here on the days so far. Came down hard for better part of an hour.

Can't buy a drop of rain here. We have certainly been on losing streak here for since last year. We moved here almost two years ago and only had one thunderstorm actually hit us and that was last winter...

Just added to the Tor watch.

Awesome snow shower right now. Hardest it has snowed all year. Down to 32 degrees.

Down to 53, cloudy with a stiff wind - ugly. Was planning to do a few things outside this afternoon. So much for that plan.

I just like the fact that I look smart for not taking the blower off the tractor. Reality was that I was lazy last weekend, but now...genius!

Recycling sand on roadways is just about impossible as traffic running over it tends to round the sand particles which makes it act like marbles and does not help as much with traction. It also creates a ton of very fine particles which turns to mud. Sand/salt mix works well on gravel roads - particularly right after application as the dissolution of the sodium chloride is endothermic (absorbs heat) and can cause the road to ice up temporarily. Every state has different application rates, but the use of straight salt does increase the amount of salt used some, but it is not as much as most people think, since the salt in the sand was doing the work for snow and ice removal so you just had to apply a lot more material to get the desired affect. When CT switched from a sand/salt (de-icing) mix on state roads to all salt (anti-icing), the number of crashes occurring on roads with snow, slush or ice was significantly decreased. The idea of anti-icing is preventing the bond of the snow pack to the pavement which ultimately requires less salt to get the pavement bare at the end of the storm. The idea is to maintain a layer of brine between the snow and the road. For salt to be "melt snow", it needs to be a brine - dry salt does not affect ice. And for what its worth - salt (sodium, calcium or magnesium chloride) does not damage asphalt pavement. The same can not be said for Portland Cement concrete. I will apologize for the dissertation on winter operations - it is something that I have spent a lot of time on.

The sand does temporarily help with traction, but after 30 cars or so go over it, depending on speed, there is no sand left in the wheel paths. I have done a lot of work on this for CT and as chloride levels in ground water continue to increase, it is amazing to me how many people think of the good ole days of sand not realizing that there was salt mixed in with it. Without the salt, it would have frozen in the back of the truck. The sand is an environmental headache as they clog rivers and streams and generate hundreds of thousands of tons of sweeping that need to be disposed of which is not a cheap or simple problem.

Last year we built a new house with really good insulation and buried 2-1000 gallon propane tanks. We used just over 400 gallons of propane from the beginning of February to mid-October. Cost us just over $500 to top off in October for the winter. It is well worth owning the propane tanks to make shopping for it possible where as with leasing, you are stuck with the company you leased from. We use the propane for heating, hot water and whole house generator. We also installed solar panels which we purchased, with a break even period of around 9 years. It sure is nice getting a monthly bill from Eversource for $10!

We have been light here all day. Have not actually measured but would be surprised if we broke 4 inches. The tops of the casters on gas grill are still visible. Happy for all who scored big. I grew up in Norfolk so jack potting was almost always guaranteed.

Ironically - the best snow of the entire event over the last hour or so.

It is finally trying to snow with a sense of purpose. Hopefully this holds for a little bit.

Even as the band to west is dying a slow death - it just won't cross the border into Tolland County to give me 10 minutes of excitement. Hope others fare better.

We have been stuck in the middle for quite a while - hopefully this fires up soon or time will run out.

Currently sandwiched between the two bands - Currently snowing lightly. Hopefully, we can get into a couple hours of heavier snow.

There are a lot of us thinking the same way - I'll admit that I'm snow greedy.

Let's get these two bands to come together over us and rot!

I'm hoping the bands in eastern CT keep pushing west for a while - otherwise it could be a long day here in Ellington.