NNE rollin' through summer

[HoarfrostHubb]

Did you get to fly the whirlybird, too?

You have the best life eva

[bobbutts]

Thanks. I went for a drive last night and judging from the leaf debris in the road, the hail swath was quite narrow. This storm was just for me I guess.

I feel ya.. I just wanted a pedestrian hurricane and got the eye of Charley

it looks like an amazing garden, at least you'll always remember the year it got pelted

[powderfreak]

Did you get to fly the whirlybird, too?

You have the best life eva

Ha, nope didn't fly in the bird. It was all business with that thing because let me tell you, renting a helicopter is not cheap. Given the cost of fuel, every minute that thing is in the sky means dollars.

And I've known since a very young age that I didn't want a "normal desk job" as cliche as that sounds. I love skiing, snow, and mountains so I was not getting stuck in a cubicle in Hartford, CT or something like that. Even when I'm in the office, its fun... discussing weather, looking at radar and models, topographic maps, and monitoring all of our weather instruments around the resort. You won't get rich in the ski industry, but can you put a price tag on getting to play in the mountains everyday (be it on skis, an ATV, snowmobile, snowcat, or other heavy machinery)?

[eekuasepinniW]

I just realized how brutally Brian got screwed from that storm... the evasive action that storm took to avoid him was quite impressive. He probably would have enjoyed those purple pixels a little more than I did.

[NorEaster27]

Ha, nope didn't fly in the bird. It was all business with that thing because let me tell you, renting a helicopter is not cheap. Given the cost of fuel, every minute that thing is in the sky means dollars.

And I've known since a very young age that I didn't want a "normal desk job" as cliche as that sounds. I love skiing, snow, and mountains so I was not getting stuck in a cubicle in Hartford, CT or something like that. Even when I'm in the office, its fun... discussing weather, looking at radar and models, topographic maps, and monitoring all of our weather instruments around the resort. You won't get rich in the ski industry, but can you put a price tag on getting to play in the mountains everyday (be it on skis, an ATV, snowmobile, snowcat, or other heavy machinery)?

Powder, you are living the dream

[borderwx]

49 for the second time this week. figured I'd share a few from the morning walk

Jay Range. Our town down there in the fog somewhere.

Missisquoi kicking off great fog to fill in the valley. Mont Sutton in the distance

there were about 1,000 of these guys seemingly floating in the field

PF - good on you for living YOUR dream. Awesome pics

[Allenson]

Wow, Eek--impressive garden before and impressive hail you had to deal with. I can relate--last summer our vegetable garden was shredded by hail in the same storm that wiped out about two acres of our woodlot. Storms can be fun, but scarry as hell when they reach that level.

[adk]

Stellar morning in SBTV. Temps were 59.8 at 5:45. Why I was up at 5:45 after 13 hours of testing and a vermonster I have no idea. BUt I was and it was splendid. Took the coffee out to the back deck and stared down a chimpmunk. Little bastard wanted my basil plant. I told him winter was coming and he needs to learn to find his own food or else face certain death.

Now some mid level moisture is moving in and I suspect we'll see an increase in humidity and T-storms later in the week.

Speaking of winter...I know there is a very long and in depth thread about what people see but I think its gone so far down the rabbit hole nobody can see the forest anymore. Wondering what you all see. Personally I'm not a fan. I wanna say we see something like 2006_2007 or 2007-2008

[mreaves]

Beautiful night here at the Nation's sight of excitement, Thunder Road! I haven't been to the races in years. Hopefully the rain holds off tomorrow, I'm playing in a golf tournament. Our Lt. Governor, Phil Scott just won his first heat race.

Anyway, there is nothing more "Vermont" than a Thursday evening at Thunder Road eating Al's Fries!

[powderfreak]

49 for the second time this week. figured I'd share a few from the morning walk

Jay Range. Our town down there in the fog somewhere.

Those are awesome pics dude! Love that shot of Jay Peak above the fog. Looks very similar to here with every single clear sky morning resulting in valley fog down in the 700-900ft elevation range... anything above 1,000ft is above the clouds. Beautiful stuff this time of year when it gets down into the upper 40s and lower 50s.

[tamarack]

A few years back when Exeter, NH had the bad hail storms, alot of roofs were damaged and insurance cos paid to replace them. You may want to call your agent.

In the 8/2007 storm that defoliated 7,000 acres in Rome and New Sharon (trees are still dying from the damage, as many were partially debarked as well), one homeowner in Rome village had his insurance adjuster come good for windows, roof, and siding. They had 2" hail there, but not the complete leafchopping that hit a bit to the west, where the hail topped out at about quarter-size but accumulated 4" deep, with runoff-collected piles several feet deep that lasted two days in 60F nights and 80F afternoons.

I'll admit to significant disappointment at missing such a once-in-a-lifetime event by 5 miles, but I also was glad to still have my garden. It stinks to have all that work chopped to trash in a few minutes.

Given the cost of fuel, every minute that thing is in the sky means dollars.

Fuel is just the beginning. That ship looks like a dollar-a-second rig (or at least a half-dollar.) When my (then) brother-in-law was flying the bigger Chinooks in the mid-90s, he said the going rate was $2,500/hr.

[ApacheTrout]

2.32" between 3:30 pm and 6:30 pm today.

[MaineJayhawk]

I knew it had rained last night but had no idea how much. 2.81" at PWM and nearly 2" in my 'hood. Must've been pretty torrential as it mostly occurred in a five hour period. What was a dry July for PWM (1.67" out of a normal 3.32") has suddenly become a wet July.

[wxeyeNH]

.80" here, nice soaking light to moderate rain for a few hours, perfect!

[Allenson]

Damn, missed some of the heavier stuff once again it seems.

Picked up just shy of 1/2" last evening which was nice--but one of these days we'll jackpot.

[MaineJayhawk]

Damn, missed some of the heavier stuff once again it seems.

Picked up just shy of 1/2" last evening which was nice--but one of these days we'll jackpot.

Jackpots only count in the November through March timeframe.

[eekuasepinniW]

Didn't seem like much was going to fall here but the last two hours of precip were the most intense I've seen this year, though that's still only a 1.82"/hr rain rate.

1.06" final total.

[MaineJayhawk]

Vacation started yesterday. One week with the kids ... hvy hvy playground action. Folks are driving in from Kansas Monday night and staying til Thursday. Gonna hit the beach on a warm sunny day, prob'ly Tuesday. Weather will feel frigid to my folks, having endured 95+ for weeks on end.

[Snow Bow]

Vacation started yesterday. One week with the kids ... hvy hvy playground action. Folks are driving in from Kansas Monday night and staying til Thursday. Gonna hit the beach on a warm sunny day, prob'ly Tuesday. Weather will feel frigid to my folks, having endured 95+ for weeks on end.

Awesome. Thankfully we don't have to endure weather like that all summer. A day or two here or there is fine. I long for the days the cat declines to go outside due to the cold and snow bit till then gotta make the best of it and hit the beach and playground while we can. Have fun with the folks.

[powderfreak]

I'm down hanging out in SNE for the week... got down here Friday to mist and drizzle, but the last two days have been golden. Low humidity and comfortably warm temps for lounging and floating on the lake. I'm down at the extended family's lake house(s) in North Woodstock, CT about 1 mile from the MA border. It reminds me a lot of Vermont with dairy farms, stone fences, and rolling hills. We are right at 800ft elevation based on google maps; so about the same as I am in Stowe. Blue dot below is the area. Currently 82F with a nice breeze coming off the lake. Perfect.

The only difference I noticed is that since we are up on a hill and not in a valley at this elevation, temperatures stay up at night. I doubt we got much below 65F last night, though I see the Stowe-Morrisville Airport got down to 50F... so it must've been nice and cool up north last night. Pretty soon it'll regularly be getting into the 40s with the first chance for frost a month away.

[dryslot]

SPC has slight risk today for severe with super cells possible, I would just be happy with a few showers as we have not seen much precip this month here, Its been pretty much hit or miss and we have been on the miss side...

[Allenson]

Jackpots only count in the November through March timeframe.

And really, during a summer thunderstorm downpour, only the first inch or so counts as beneficial for the state of the well. The rest just runs off anyway.

Wouldn't mind seeing a storm today.

[dryslot]

And really, during a summer thunderstorm downpour, only the first inch or so counts as beneficial for the state of the well. The rest just runs off anyway.

Wouldn't mind seeing a storm today.

A good steady 8-12 hr soaker is what is needed, These quick hitting showers as you said do nothing for the groundwater as it just runs off..

[eekuasepinniW]

Not sure I've ever actually rooted against storms before. Gentle stratiform rain is the new awesomeness for me.

I've lost my edge.

[powderfreak]

I like how BTV is currently 91/50 with a 24% RH... that's some dry heat for the northeast.

[tamarack]

I knew it had rained last night but had no idea how much. 2.81" at PWM and nearly 2" in my 'hood. Must've been pretty torrential as it mostly occurred in a five hour period. What was a dry July for PWM (1.67" out of a normal 3.32") has suddenly become a wet July.

0.11" from that event IMBY, so that July finished at 3.43", a bit below my avg and 8th most of 14 Julys. The only lower amounts for that event I saw from cocorahs were a bit north in Solon and New Portland, as the second wave dumped 1/2" to 1"+ in N. Maine. Another near miss this evening. A cell that dropped 3/4" hail in Weld and probably (according to radar) pea/grape hail in Wilton and Farmington kind of fell apart as it arrived in my neighborhood - haven't checked the gauge but I'm guessing under 1/10" of rain, and probably no lightning within 3 miles or more, too far to be worth counting the thunder delay. One nice thing was how pretty the "cauliflower" looked in mid-aft as the storms built up 50 miles to our west - it's been uncommon recently to have such cloud-free skies ahead of TS.

Edit: Got 0.08" from the "TS", and another cent from a shower overnight.

[dryslot]

Today looks to be a better day for some showers here as my yellow and brown lawn could really use it, We have been in the screwzone for most of these showers over the last month...

[free_man]

Not sure I've ever actually rooted against storms before. Gentle stratiform rain is the new awesomeness for me.

I've lost my edge.

You'll change your tune after 81 NE stratiform events in a row

[J.Spin]

Pretty soon it'll regularly be getting into the 40s with the first chance for frost a month away.

Last year at this time I noted in a post in the NNE thread that our overnight low at the house had been in the mid 40s F, so indeed lows like that are probably not far away for the mountain valleys. The mountain temperatures are already there - looking at the point forecast for the higher elevations of the Greens in the Mt. Mansfield area, lows in the 40s F are readily appearing, and we’re not in an especially cool temperature regime based on BTV’s numbers. Looking at the point forecast for our location, it’s generally got highs in the 70s F and lows in the 50s F, so I guess that’s pretty average for our area as we enter August. There was a definite contrast though as over the weekend I checked out forecasts farther south and saw highs around 90 F expected for places like Hartford and NYC; it made me wonder if temperature disparities are a little larger when autumn approaches in the North Country and summer hangs on a little longer to the south.

I also commented in that post on how I’d put August 1^st as the start of our fall in the Greens; it’s definitely a round and arbitrary date, and heat can hang around for the first week of the month or so, but it’s a pretty good fit from what I’ve seen if one chooses a monthly cutoff. Getting into the 90s F in August really seems pretty tough to do from what I’ve seen living in the Greens the past few seasons, and for me, that sort of knocks it out of contention for summer. My wife used to lifeguard during the summer at a pool in Burlington, and she noted that around August 10^th was when people seemed to stop coming to swim because the days weren’t warm enough. As a kid I can recall August being that way in the Champlain Valley as well – as we moved through August you could swim if you wanted to (and of course as kids we always wanted to), but it quickly felt as if the summer heat had lost its fervor and there wasn’t really any need to cool off in the water based on the usual temperatures. Since it often runs a few degrees cooler even out in the low elevations of Greens relative to the Champlain Valley, I wouldn’t be surprised if we get to that point out here a bit earlier in the month. Noting the data from the climatological peaks thread, we’re already more than two weeks past the peak temperature for MPV, and we’re several weeks past peak sun angle. I’m sure those are factors in why the August sun and heat often seemed tepid (especially relative to July). I know a common use of “Dog Days” is in association with August heat, but I’d argue that doesn’t really apply too often around here – we get most of our Dog Days in July. I can definitely recall wanting to get some of those really hot days in August that are warm enough for swimming in the colder swimming holes, and I eventually just started to write August off in that regard because the temperatures never seemed to come back. I think another factor that slows down the swimming around in this area is the way in which the air often seems to dry out as we get into August; it’s much colder when you get out of the water into dry air (I noticed this to the extreme in Arizona in June), and of course if the air is dry there may be less need to cool off in the water anyway. Even though the typical August weather may not make for prime swimming around here, the weather tends to get even better for other activities like hiking, biking, camping, etc., so that’s a nice upside.

If I had to break down the seasons in the Greens among discrete months (especially with the higher elevations factored in), I’d put August, September and October as Fall, November through April as winter, May and June as spring, and July as summer. There’s also “mud season” in there, but that’s really part of spring. I was thinking about the joke that people often say in Northern New England about X months of winter and X months of summer etc. and when I searched for that online I found a quote in Frommer's Vermont, New Hampshire & Maine By Paul Karr: “The well-worn joke about the climate in Northern New England is that it has just two seasons—winter and August. There’s a kernel of truth in it, but it’s mostly a canard to keep outsiders from moving here.” Personally, I’d put July as that odd month out based on my experience with the stronger sun, those July temperatures, and the humidity that can sometimes come along for the ride. Another quote on that page that I found descriptive was the following that talks about autumn, in which I really found the second sentence insightful: “Don’t be surprised to smell the tang of fall approaching as early as mid August, when you’ll also notice a few leaves turning blaze-orange on the lush maples at the edge of wetlands. Fall comes early to Northern New England, puts its feet up on the couch, and stays for some time.” I totally agree with the way he indicates that the fall is somewhat extended around here; it can seem to go right from August through to when those first touches of snow come in October. That may not be long relative to winter, but it’s rather long relative to spring and summer. There was a spring comment that I grabbed as well: “Spring lasts only a weekend or so, often around mid-May, but sometimes as late as June. One day the ground is muddy, the trees barren, and gritty snow is still collected in shady hollows. The next day, it’s in the 80s, trees are blooming, and kids are swimming in the lakes.” I was thinking back to our June ski trip over to Mt. Washington this year, when lows at our campground were in the 30s F; we had certainly hadn’t moved into what most people would consider a very “summery” temperature regime by that point. I’d actually say Paul Karr’s seasonal breakdown isn’t all that far from my own.

In terms of some recent local observations, Sunday had some really nice weather, and as usual the higher elevations were cooler. I was up at Bolton in the 2,000’ – 2,500’ range on Sunday afternoon and the temperatures dropped right through the 70s F as I ascended the access road. I forgot to look at the temperature at the top, but I bet it was in the upper 60s to around 70 F. For rainfall, our location received 3.46” in July, which is a bit more than last July (2.94”). The addition of the July liquid brings the total for the calendar year to 39.16”, with BTV to our west at 31.60” and MPV to our east at 31.24”.

[Lava Rock]

Good thunder boomer here in PWM at the moment