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NNE Summer 2013 Thread


klw

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When you guys take core samples, you do it off a snowboard and take the core with the larger, outter tube? Then melt and pour into the smaller tube? I figure if the dimensions are right for rain it would be the same for snow?

You guys don't collect the snowfall in the gauge though do you? I would assume you collect on a snow board and then take a core with that gauge rather than letting the snow just fall into the gauge?

 

I don't use a snowboard.  For that to work, I'd need to keep our Lab in the house throughout the storm, and that's not happening.  So I use a flat and untrammeled surface; when it's cold, the Tonneau cover on my pickup is ideal, being at a nice working level.  For new snow in excess of one tubeful, Jeff's cardboard is something I need to try.  However, for a snowpack core, the lower layers are often too solid for cardboard to survive - I slide the snow shovel into the face of the snow and bring the gauge down onto it, withdraw both shovel and tube then invert, and dump the tubeful into a bucket.  Then the bucket contents get melted and run thru the inner gauge. 

(The real challenge came in 1984 in Ft.Kent, when I took a core from a 50"+ pack that included a massive ice layer at 2', a 3-inch span that had 1.9" LE from a Dec ZR/IP event, and about 16" total LE.  I was using a 16-oz steel can - Welch's grape juice concentrate - and had to warm the edge so it would melt its way thru the ice, which was hard enough to carry a running moose.)

 

Noisy and (briefly) intense TS yesterday about 10:30 AM, a delphinium destroyer.  Our 5'-tall flower had three large purple bunches almost fully opened, and two were badly damaged by the +RA.  Gorgeous morning, low well down into the 50s, no fog so the TD might've been 50 or less - nice air.

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We never go that long without getting into the 50s at least...and last July we had a grand total of 5 days with mins above 60...more days were spent with morning temps in the 40s than in the 60s last July.

 

Same as July 2012 at my place, 5 with 60+, 7 under 50.  Over 15 yr, I've averaged 6.33 July days with minima 60 or above, with 7/19/05's 71 the lone 70+.  We've averaged 7.33 days per July with lows 49 or below, including 5 days (none since 2007) in the 30s.

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I don't use a snowboard.  For that to work, I'd need to keep our Lab in the house throughout the storm, and that's not happening.  So I use a flat and untrammeled surface; when it's cold, the Tonneau cover on my pickup is ideal, being at a nice working level.  For new snow in excess of one tubeful, Jeff's cardboard is something I need to try.  However, for a snowpack core, the lower layers are often too solid for cardboard to survive - I slide the snow shovel into the face of the snow and bring the gauge down onto it, withdraw both shovel and tube then invert, and dump the tubeful into a bucket.  Then the bucket contents get melted and run thru the inner gauge. 

(The real challenge came in 1984 in Ft.Kent, when I took a core from a 50"+ pack that included a massive ice layer at 2', a 3-inch span that had 1.9" LE from a Dec ZR/IP event, and about 16" total LE.  I was using a 16-oz steel can - Welch's grape juice concentrate - and had to warm the edge so it would melt its way thru the ice, which was hard enough to carry a running moose.)

 

Noisy and (briefly) intense TS yesterday about 10:30 AM, a delphinium destroyer.  Our 5'-tall flower had three large purple bunches almost fully opened, and two were badly damaged by the +RA.  Gorgeous morning, low well down into the 50s, no fog so the TD might've been 50 or less - nice air.

 

I core sample ea storm off the board so the cardboard  works out quite well, The cardboard gets replaced if its wet snow after ea use or i also have a piece of 1/4" plywood the same size that i use as well but find it easier to scrape the excess off the cardboard into the gauge once i flip the gauge back upright

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I use a large mason's trowel for my snow cores and it's always off of a snowboard. Letting it accumulate in the can will give you undercatch. I always melt my snow down by using a measured amount of hot water from the small cylinder and pouring it into the outer one with the snow. Then you just subtract out what you added later when adding up the totals.

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Beautiful morning, low was near 50.  Love it.

 

Since I chicken out and bring in the plastic gauge for the cold seasons, I catch precip in a 5-gallon pail - have two, so I can switch and melt/measure from #1 while still getting a catch.  Actual measurement is done by pouring the meltwater into a smaller container of known catchment area compared to that of the pail.  I often do both a core and the pail as a check, and for measured accumulations under 8" I've found both methods to come out very close, unless there's strong wind (which makes the pail useless and even cores less than precise.)  After 8", even light winds will bring the sloping snow in the pail to above the edge, so I lose some.

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71/63F bright overcast. Really enjoying the cool cloudy day. I know whats ahead so savoring this. Low last night was 59.3F.

Good test coming up on my hydroseeded south facing sloping lawn. Hot, humid and low rain chances till the end of next week. Lots of watering coming up. Hopefully next weeks fropa produces a T storm or 2.

Sunsets are now 5 minutes earlier. Daylight starts dropping off faster next week as we approach the climate high temps around July 20-23rd. Downhill from there!

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I have not had a low under 60 for 16 days...pretty sure that is a record.

 

This would normally be absolute bliss for the gardens, but the amount of fungal disease die-off this year is brutal.   Diasica, nemisia, petunias, and zinnias dropping like flies.

Never understood why those in the landscaping, gardening, lawn care business would root for hot humid weather. Fungal disaster.

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Lots of clouds this midday. Just another warm, muggy, meh day. Currently 80/70 after a min of 64.5.

Had some periods of fog this morning. I wish I could stream an archive of my cam images automatically.

 

We are getting up now to mid 80s and its hot/humid.... but as you said in the other thread, the high dews don't allow for really high heat as well... but this is plenty warm right now.

 

Looks like west of the mountains is more in the upper 80s while its mid 80s east of the mountains.  Elevation obviously matters as well.

 

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Lots of clouds this midday. Just another warm, muggy, meh day. Currently 80/70 after a min of 64.5.

Had some periods of fog this morning. I wish I could stream an archive of my cam images automatically.

 

If you are using a linux server could start with this code snip I use to generate movies from still images..  With a little work you can output better formats, robo-upload to youtube, etc etc

 

edit: argh, it ate the code, code box seems broken here.. used the quote instead but you lose my comments because I'm not typing them out again

 

edit: quote box ate the code too.. pm me if you want this

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Gave my VP2 its first full deep cleaning in a couple years.  I hate touching it since, after 8 years baking in the sun, it feels like it's going to crumble.

 

The cloth stuff that covers the temp/hum sensor tore when gently brushing it.  That cloth works well... the inside of that thing was immaculately clean.  There's a big crack around one the bolts that holds the radiation shield together.  The bubble level on the solar radiation sensor apparently froze and burst over the winter.

 

I'm thinking about getting a new ISS and using the old as a temp/hum sensor in the greenhouse.

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If you are using a linux server could start with this code snip I use to generate movies from still images..  With a little work you can output better formats, robo-upload to youtube, etc etc

 

edit: argh, it ate the code, code box seems broken here.. used the quote instead but you lose my comments because I'm not typing them out again

 

edit: quote box ate the code too.. pm me if you want this

Eek has been hosting my data and images so I would have to defer to him for server side options.  

Gave my VP2 its first full deep cleaning in a couple years.  I hate touching it since, after 8 years baking in the sun, it feels like it's going to crumble.

 

The cloth stuff that covers the temp/hum sensor tore when gently brushing it.  That cloth works well... the inside of that thing was immaculately clean.  There's a big crack around one the bolts that holds the radiation shield together.  The bubble level on the solar radiation sensor apparently froze and burst over the winter.

 

I'm thinking about getting a new ISS and using the old as a temp/hum sensor in the greenhouse.

Station refurb is calling you. $100 and everything gets repaired. Did you catch the number of the temp/hum sensor? 11 or 15?
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A sunny day forecast for the mountains so I planned a trip that according to the White Mountain Guide had magnificent views - 4501' Mt Garfield. Hiking partner Sara and I were driving through Crawford Notch and were surprised to find overcast skies. Heading above the notch I was dismayed to see some peaks covered in cloud. We arrived at the Garfield Trail - a clever name given to the trail that heads to Mt Garfield - and gathered our gear. The car thermometer read 72F in the parking area at an elevation of 1500'. It was an uneventful hike to the summit and no viewpoints until the summit itself - a 5-mile hike. I noticed as we reached the summit cone that clouds occasionally drifted through.

The summit of Mt Garfield features rocky ledges with views to all directions and an old fire tower foundation. Today we only had views to the south. Clouds were wrapping around the summit from behind us as we reached the summit.

post-254-0-18669500-1373838358_thumb.jpg

But after five minutes they lifted a bit. Still we had no views of Lafayette to the west or the Twins and Bonds to the east, but the view south over Owl's Head to Flume, Liberty and the Osceolas was nice.

post-254-0-76074400-1373838386_thumb.jpg

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I took a temperature reading at the summit. It was 68F with a hint of a breeze every now and then. Sara actually resorted to putting on a light jacket as the breeze made her sweat-soaked clothes chilly. On one occasion the sun did come out, and it was pretty damn warm on those rocks!

After a half-hour of waiting for the clouds to hopefully vanish we decided to head back. Along the way I noted that there was quite a bit of blue sky overhead. Nearing the trailhead I took another temp reading. It was 75F and pretty humid. I didn't use the sweat towel on the descent, but it was within grasp! Anyway, driving back it was a splendid sunny day. The summit buildings atop Mt Washington were in the clear and I later read their temperature at the time was 61F. In North Conway the car thermo read 91F. A 3-roll day at the lower altitudes, but no rolls required at 4.5k.

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I use a large mason's trowel for my snow cores and it's always off of a snowboard. Letting it accumulate in the can will give you undercatch. I always melt my snow down by using a measured amount of hot water from the small cylinder and pouring it into the outer one with the snow. Then you just subtract out what you added later when adding up the totals.

 

I just dump out the core into a small pot and melt it on low heat

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