DeltaT13

Good post Wolfie. I was a regular happy go lucky guy until April of 2007 when I had my first unprovoked panic attack while sitting and watching tv on a random Wednesday night (with absolutely no external stressors). From that day on, I've never been the same person. The genie is out of the bottle. Anxiety is the strangest and most unpredictable thing I've ever experienced. Before this time, I never understood people who had anxiety, or what a panic attack was...I kind of thought they were just being dramatic. Afterwards, I fully understood. I've had several years that were pretty dark and full of anxiety, I've then had reprieves of several years where I had very little anxiety, but I always know its lurking and waiting for a trigger to rear its ugly head again. As the years have gone by, I've learned to recognize the signs and signals of impending anxiety and depression (which are oddly intermingled and don't always present the way you think they would). As Wolfie stated, Anxiety will mimic real physical pain and prey upon your fears. It will manifest as real tangible pain even though nothing is wrong. I have also been to the ER a few times thinking I was dying or having a heart attack....and of course they never found anything...because it was anxiety induced and mostly in my head. Last fall was a hard time for me, then I did alright until the last few months where I have once again been fighting the anxiety demons. Your symptoms do sound somehow anxiety related. I'm not saying this is a for sure thing but something to consider. Keep getting tests and going to the doctor. I've found that once a doctor cleared me of a supposed ailment, my anxiety had less ability to convince me something was wrong. I think your body was in strange state on that Sunday, maybe a little dehydrated, little tired, then the alcohol, caffeine, and exertion just set something off. Now your nervous system and brain are in overdrive trying to identify something wrong (or a reason for the episode) and amplifying normal sensations into panic inducing ailments. It's a nasty feedback loop. You feel little dizzy, you get worried, the worry makes you more dizzy, you panic more, etc etc. I ****ing hate it, but that's life. Some of us have fragile brains. If you've never experienced anxiety, be extremely grateful. It can be crippling.

Do you have a decent winter vehicle? We could caravan into some bands in the next few weeks if things continue to trend that way.

This almost sounds like some form of atrial fibrillation. Just try to stay calm and follow the doctors advice. The body is miraculous thing and can usually bounce back from a lot. Staying mentally positive is important in getting things back on track. I'm sending you some healing vibes and you'll be in my thoughts. Keep your head up bud.

Pretty good article from a reputable source on the current climate change situation. We are paying the price right now for decades of massive carbon releases....and I can't say I find any of it hard to believe with what we are seeing in our backyards and around the world. https://www.llnl.gov/news/paying-emissions-weve-already-released?fbclid=IwAR1MiYs7b-rz2TIYDQWu0op-rl6-rj8NjNs-MGHeduiKkUZq8EAx2nG1XGM

Another interesting fact for this bizarre winter. It has been anomalously cloudy. The last day in Rochester that was considered "Mostly Sunny" was November 10!! Almost 2 full months since we had a sunny day. My one weather station that has no battery backup and relies solely on solar power has basically stopped working aside from the most barebone functions, pretty shitty timing for me to set that one up. I honestly can't remember it ever being this cloudy for this long. Just weeks and weeks of low clouds....and not a damn snowflake to show for it.

I have never seen it so green and lush this time of year. It's actually quite fascinating at this point. The grass even seems to be slowly growing the tiniest bit. We don't even have any residual snow piles anywhere aside from the largest parking lots. It's like we live in a brand new climate, almost surreal.

Just take a 30 minute cruise down the 390 for that answer. Places from Avon to Dansville commonly received 40-60" a year (in a good year!). That seems reasonable if we removed all lake influences.

This storm doesn't know if its coming or going! haha

I agree with this. My point was that from a safety standpoint, I wouldnt count out lightning during any month of the year as I've personally experienced it year round at some point or another over the last few decades. That said, what are the odds of this actually being a concern, insanely miniscule.

Heavy burst of snow on 12k NAM hits and lasts for about 3 hours right at kickoff tomorrow. Would love to see it in a fairly pointless game (for Buffalo at least) as it always adds to the entertainment value and reinforces the stigma that Buffalo is the snowiest place in the world **eye roll**

7-8 months?! I think lightning is in play on average 10 months a year around here and definitely possible in all 12 months but a little more rare for that to happen. I’m guessing December and January have the least amount of strikes in WNY outside of the two main snowbelts that commonly experience it. Interesting question though. My tempest also was sending alerts last night too, pretty cool feature. Good point on getting it grounded so you don’t burn the place down!

Thats a great add on! A drifting mechanism. First it lays down a mound of snow and then its whips it into 10 foot drifts!!!

I'm right there with you. I'll take sleet every single day over another stupid rain storm (I type this as the rain is pounding against my living room window).

This trend might bring us some flakes for the Bills game which would be nice!

Im a huge proponent of fission. I wish it didn’t have the stigma. That said, things like Fukushima highlight some pretty egregious shortsightedness in planning and building these plants. I wish we were building more plants across the world right now instead of retiring them. It’s sad.

I meant pack a 20 person house with 20 people. Not pack 20 people into a 6 person house, lol. I’m right there with you. I need my own room and space. But I still love huge ski trips with a ton of people.

Yeah I had friends there that day. That said you just referenced arguable the busiest weekend of the entire year for HV (and they had fresh snow!). I avoid most resorts on weekends and holidays if at all possible. I’m sure I can pick some days later this winter when places will be dead.

Yes and no. The whole ski resort experience is a little less fun with all the restrictions. I’m pretty paranoid of covid so I don’t take many chances. You are right though, that a good powder day will still be fun at a local resort....but the big wild trips and all the après-ski stuff is out the window. Gone are the 20 person trips packing an Airbnb, the 2 hour post mountain drinks at the lodge, closing down the bars while parading around town with a shot ski till 2am. It’s all so depressing. I’ve done well with being isolated so far, but I feel like its getting harder not being around people the way I’m used to. The cracks are beginning to show.

I agree with that, but Its the airports, planes, hotels, ubers, and restaurants that worry me. Along with all the testing and protocols to get into and out of the state. Just not worth the hassle.

If we are going to have a complete dumpster fire of a winter I think this is the year to do it. I can't travel anywhere to snowboard so no huge loss really. If this was the epic season where resorts were getting buried weekly with feet of snow but I couldnt travel; I think I would completely lose my mind. I think I am making peace with this winter (or lack thereof). Lets roll this shitty winter up with Covid, toss it out in the spring, and try again next year.

Will be interesting to see how that plays out for you. The system responsible is on the move the entire time so your thermal profiles should be continually changing which might help alleviate concerns as this isnt some stalled out stationary front where you just get rocked with steady state freezing rain for 24 hours. I expect you'll have icing but nothing crippling as its almost assuredly going to change over to rain.

And another good graphic showing that a dismal start almost always means a dismal end too.... 75% of the time that we end December with snowfall this low we basically won't crack 60 on the season. oooof

Rochester obviously isnt inflating any numbers this year, LOL. We are really scraping the bottom of the barrel this winter... (Image courtesy of Stacey Pensgen)

This is a bit anecdotal but still quite interesting. I always like to compare the high peaks snowpacks as a consistent metric for the intensity of our winter. These higher elevation locations are less susceptible to quick warmups and thus give a nice average of where things stand. Unfortunately, high peaks snowpack in the Northeast is flirting with all time record low territory. Sadder yet, I can only find a couple years where snowpack on this date is as low as it is now....... the dreaded 2015-2016 season, and 2011-2012 season. Basically the 2 most recent years without winter for many us. Snowpack is currently a solid 2 feet less than normal and almost 5-6 feet lower than good years. This does not bode well for where things stand and the the next 2 weeks already look atrocious. I really think the writing is now on the wall for a very lackluster winter. I was holding out hope but its just not looking good. Current Season The year without winter - 2015/2016 2011-2012 "Winter"

Haha, this is great. One of my friends and I have taken some videos of us snowblowing during the big winter storms. He usually hashtagged #Ariens and #kingofsnow and after one of the videos he posted, Ariens sent him a box of Swag. It was actually pretty cool shit, hats, gloves, stickers, etc.