The annual countdown to May 1st thread ©

[Baroclinic Zone]

 

 

I'm not sure how he lived in Florida without hanging himself in winter considering he thinks 50-60 inches per year is bad.

He should go become one of those hippies out at Lake Tahoe...enjoy 400-500 inches of snow per year.

 

Yeah, hit up the Rockies.

[weathafella]

Pickles, avoid having kids or you'll have trouble living somewhere with that much snow. If you're willing to "settle" for 75 inches, there are lots of options and you can even have a family some day.

[weathafella]

Boulder, CO 81 inches.

[CoastalWx]

 

 

I'm not sure how he lived in Florida without hanging himself in winter considering he thinks 50-60 inches per year is bad.

He should go become one of those hippies out at Lake Tahoe...enjoy 400-500 inches of snow per year.

 

That was a triple bunner if there ever was one...

 

Pickles would love Lake Tahoe....lots of wealthy people visiting there and needing massages.

[Damage In Tolland]

That was a triple bunner if there ever was one...

Pickles would love Lake Tahoe....lots of wealthy people visiting there and needing massages.

Plenty of happy endings

[Damage In Tolland]

Boulder, CO 81 inches.

Yeah but that's fake snow out there. And it's 70 degrees the next day and no snowpack retention. No thanks

[powderfreak]

Pickles, avoid having kids or you'll have trouble living somewhere with that much snow. If you're willing to "settle" for 75 inches, there are lots of options and you can even have a family some day.

Not up this way. But he knows that. Tons of folks up this way have families with access to great schools and all the comforts of more urban spots.

You can average 125-175" depending on exact location AND still be less than 20 minutes from a Best Buy and 20 screen movie theaters and all other suburbanite things. Look at JSpin...he has a respectable university job, raising a family within 25 minutes of work (BTV) and averages over 150".

[It's Always Sunny]

For someone who wants to get slammed regularly w "blizzards" get ready for a winter of despair w a cpl days of joy. I am not getting my snow fall fetish met by the majority of sne snowfall seasons and i dont plan on trying to convince my self that 50 inches is good. At some point i will relocate to somewhwere that sees 150 minimal annually or at minimum have weekend access to places that do (minimum)

Well without blizzards then this winter is going to flat out suck then. I'm not sure what to expect this winter. Some say it's going to be good, some say it's going to be bad. It's obviously too early to tell, and I know there are certain teleconnectors that can imply this or that but I'm not sold on anything yet. One thing I know is that we're looking at a very weak La Nina/neutral ENSO last I checked which doesn't even hold that much weight with me. NAO/AO blocking patterns always hold the most weight. One thing I feel comfortable about is that we'll have less snow than this past winter, but there's that reasonable doubt that there's always that one storm that can alter everything. In the meantime, keeping my fingers crossed for a stars-alignment of a +NAO/-PNA/+EPO/-PDO.

[weatherwiz]

Well without blizzards then this winter is going to flat out suck then. I'm not sure what to expect this winter. Some say it's going to be good, some say it's going to be bad. It's obviously too early to tell, and I know there are certain teleconnectors that can imply this or that but I'm not sold on anything yet. One thing I know is that we're looking at a very weak La Nina/neutral ENSO last I checked which doesn't even hold that much weight with me. NAO/AO blocking patterns always hold the most weight. One thing I feel comfortable about is that we'll have less snow than this past winter, but there's that reasonable doubt that there's always that one storm that can alter everything. In the meantime, keeping my fingers crossed for a stars-alignment of a +NAO/-PNA/+EPO/-PDO.

 

When it comes to winter, about 90% of the people on this board will say every winter is going to be good  People love to look at ENSO as a major signal but it really comes down to more than just ENSO and even the major global teleconnections.  People love -NAO's but when it comes to the NAO it's much better to the NAO transitioning from positive to negative while a storm is coming up the coast and you don't want the NAO to be too negative.  

 

As for this upcoming winter, it's just way too early to have an idea right now.  People can look for signals or such but they really mean very little right now.  

[CoastalWx]

Well without blizzards then this winter is going to flat out suck then. I'm not sure what to expect this winter. Some say it's going to be good, some say it's going to be bad. It's obviously too early to tell, and I know there are certain teleconnectors that can imply this or that but I'm not sold on anything yet. One thing I know is that we're looking at a very weak La Nina/neutral ENSO last I checked which doesn't even hold that much weight with me. NAO/AO blocking patterns always hold the most weight. One thing I feel comfortable about is that we'll have less snow than this past winter, but there's that reasonable doubt that there's always that one storm that can alter everything. In the meantime, keeping my fingers crossed for a stars-alignment of a +NAO/-PNA/+EPO/-PDO.

 

I'm sure convection will save that day next summer.  

[N. OF PIKE]

Funny stuff, scott what makes u think i do massages , u tight? Lol

I didnt follow thread after i posted but looking at responses i would say , that i forsee myself having flexability to move to somewhere snowy if the economic option is viable w also the option to do it for a year or so available. 80 inches like kev alluded to in boulder,co is Awful, rather live on a hill near ORH.

Tahoe area you will get crushed, although depending on elevation, even areas like the sierra snow lab (6950') are subject to lots of winter rain (like last year below 7500') but last year seems to be a definite outliar wrt higher snow levels on a cpl huge QPF producers. But point bein 6500 in sierra will see fair share of rain (i hate winter rain on smowpack more than i like snow) Mammoth village has plenty of places 7.9-8.4k which usually even thou your a good 75 miles s of tahoe (8100-8200) is usually good enuf for snow levels. Prob 250 consistent snowy inches at 8k in mammoth. 400 at summit. I would prob edge more toward mammoth as its sunny or snowy and can dump into may. That is if i could make it work rent/job/ski time

But my heart has always been in new england and id like to find a way to make it work here.

[It's Always Sunny]

I'm sure convection will save that day next summer.  

This upcoming winter season better save that day. You had to struggle through winter '11-'12 and you jack-potted this past winter so hopefully that trend pertains to next summer. Active summer of 2014 coming soon...

[CoastalWx]

This upcoming winter season better save that day. You had to struggle through winter '11-'12 and you jack-potted this past winter so hopefully that trend pertains to next summer. Active summer of 2014 coming soon...

Luckily those winters are not that common.

[J.Spin]

Tons of folks up this way have families with access to great schools and all the comforts of more urban spots.

You can average 125-175" depending on exact location AND still be less than 20 minutes from a Best Buy and 20 screen movie theaters and all other suburbanite things. Look at JSpin...he has a respectable university job, raising a family within 25 minutes of work (BTV) and averages over 150".

 

Based on the very specific title of this thread, I don’t often stop in, but I checked in after I saw all the recent activity.  It’s not quite the conversation I would have expected with respect to May 1^st.  Anyway, PF is right about the family thing, clearly it’s possible to raise a family in snowier locales; I’d argue that the tens of thousands of families up here in Vermont are proof of that.  If you casually browse around on the internet forums and look into what people say about living in Vermont, they’ll say it’s way too expensive and you can’t afford it.  I think issues arise if people have very specific professional skills and expect to find a job in a location like Burlington as easily, or with the same salary, as they would in a large metropolitan area.  Snowy locale or not, if you’re overly specialized, you’re going to need some combination of ingenuity, perseverance, adaptability, or luck to live exactly where you want outside the reach of big cities.  We know multiple families up here at our school with 6+ children, and the families lead perfectly normal lives on one salary (and these are just typical professionals, we’re not talking doctors, lawyers, etc.)  PF also knows what he’s talking about in terms of suburbanite life.  Speaking from direct experience, living in the Champlain Valley can easily be taken as living in “anywhere” U.S.A. if that’s the life you want to lead, with the perk that you’re still in New England and sitting right below mountains that receive 300+ inches of snowfall a season.  The big snowfall is essentially inconsequential for the people that aren’t interested in snow of winter recreation, but it’s huge if those are important aspects of your life.  In terms of houses, one can also head eastward toward, or into, the mountains and double those 70 to 80 inches of annual snowfall that the Burlington area receives, with the added bonus that aside from the specific resort towns, housing costs typically go down and the snowfall/snowpack goes up as you head farther east.

[J.Spin]

Tons of folks up this way have families with access to great schools and all the comforts of more urban spots.

 

I’m adding a second follow up to PF’s comment because I just read a very pertinent article in the fall issue of Vermont Life.  The piece focuses on the apparent/presumed exodus of young people from the state, but talks extensively about professionals choosing Vermont for starting/raising families.  It seems as though the career choke point is at the beginning, not at the later stages where people are often starting families, as the following quote implies:

 

“So while the state is undeniably lean in entry-level opportunities for 20-somethings, many who go out to start careers elsewhere eventually settle here, as do other established midcareer professionals who come to start families or just take part in the general quality of life.”

 

It’s certainly an interesting article, and apropos with respect to the “snowier places to live” discussion.  It provides of number of examples of professionals that have chosen the state as the place to build their careers/families and the paths that took them here.  It seems due in part to the modern convenience of internet access essentially removing location restrictions that might have existed previously.