NNE Autumn 2013 Thread

[mreaves]

That early snowpack is a good way to insulate the ground from freezing.

I know that for snowmobile trails, early season deep snow isn't all good. Ground and water crossings need to freeze before we get deep snows to build a solid base. I also like heavy wet snow for trails at the begining rather than fluffy, light powder.

[OceanStWx]

I know that for snowmobile trails, early season deep snow isn't all good. Ground and water crossings need to freeze before we get deep snows to build a solid base. I also like heavy wet snow for trails at the begining rather than fluffy, light powder.

 

Heat transfer through snow is poor. So that leftover heat energy from the warm season is even more slowly lost to the atmosphere when there is a fresh blanket of snow over it.

 

Conversely, when there is good early season cold without snow the ground freezes quickly, and then any snow pack helps to protect it it from thaws for the same reason.

[dryslot]

Heat transfer through snow is poor. So that leftover heat energy from the warm season is even more slowly lost to the atmosphere when there is a fresh blanket of snow over it.

 

Conversely, when there is good early season cold without snow the ground freezes quickly, and then any snow pack helps to protect it it from thaws for the same reason.

 

Bring me the cold then snow, Its helpful this year so far we have not had a lot of precip this fall, So we can freeze things up possibly for snowmobiling purposes without having major water issues in the lowlands and bogs

[powderfreak]

It has been flurrying for like 10 hours straight now. Big fat flakes just floating through the air...sometimes going up, sometimes down, all around. Like snow globe stuff.

And out of 10 hours we now have a fresh coating but it's impossible to measure because on a snowboard or car or any surface that isn't other snow, the stuff clumps together. Half the surface is bare, but then there's clumps of measurable, lol.

There's been less snow today than this pic seems as the stuff on the windshield is blow-over off the roof, but shows how this very light but persistent snow accumulates in clumps. Even on the ground it's blown around so some areas of the parking lot are completely bare, while there's clumps in the edges.

It's like trying to measure those fluffy seeds in the spring that float through the air.

[eyewall]

Just as an interesting aside this front brought snow as far south as Columbia, SC and for them it was only the 3rd time in 124 years of seeing snow in November! They also reported thundersnow tonight!

[dendrite]

Heat transfer through snow is poor. So that leftover heat energy from the warm season is even more slowly lost to the atmosphere when there is a fresh blanket of snow over it.

 

Conversely, when there is good early season cold without snow the ground freezes quickly, and then any snow pack helps to protect it it from thaws for the same reason.

Yeah...07-08 I didn't even hit 32F at 6"...it just flatlined at 33F all winter.

[Lava Rock]

20f. Nice and brisk.

[eyewall]

It was amazing to see some of the reports coming out of there. I daresay experiencing snow fall in the south can be a bit more exciting than getting spoiled (sometimes) up here. 

 

This is true. In NC I was there for the Jan 25th, 2000 Carolina Crusher where a 3-5" forecast turned into 21"! One of the most incredible storms I have witnessed anywhere.

[dryslot]

20f. Nice and brisk.

 

Lower then me 22F was the low, Steady breeze all night held temps up

[Nittany88]

Just as an interesting aside this front brought snow as far south as Columbia, SC and for them it was only the 3rd time in 124 years of seeing snow in November! They also reported thundersnow tonight!

Earliest snowfall on record at ILM!

[Allenson]

S'up dudes? 

 

Had 2.2" over this past weekend (Sat night into Sun morn) and another 0.4" with the fropa two nights ago.

 

The ground is whiteish here in the yard but not enough snow in inhibit the ground from freezing.  It's getting pretty solid.

 

Agreed that too much snow too early isn't a good thing--it's nice to get the ground good and frozen before building the pack.  Not that we have any choice in how it happens, mind you. 

 

All that said, warmer days on the horizon....

[tamarack]

 

Heat transfer through snow is poor. So that leftover heat energy from the warm season is even more slowly lost to the atmosphere when there is a fresh blanket of snow over it.

 

Conversely, when there is good early season cold without snow the ground freezes quickly, and then any snow pack helps to protect it it from thaws for the same reason.

 

With sufficient snow depth, the early frost may be softened from below. Back when my work area was in the NW tip of Maine, we rarely encountered significant frost in the ground when building winter roads, except in rare instances of minimal snowpack. At the other extreme, Nov-Dec 1983 had 16" total precip and 75" snow (at my Ft.Kent home; closer to 100" NW of Allagash Village), and the soils remained unfrozen (and often saturated) throughout the winter as snowpack increased to 60-80".

[Ginx snewx]

Earliest snowfall on record at ILM!

On the beach Myrtle Beach

3	08:53	NE 16 G 23	10.00	Fair	CLR	37	19			30.49	1032.5			
13	07:53	N 8	10.00	Fair	CLR	34	20			30.48	1032.0			
13	06:53	N 7	10.00	Fair	CLR	32	20	35	31	30.45	1031.3			
13	05:53	N 9	10.00	Fair	CLR	32	21			30.43	1030.4			
13	04:53	N 9	10.00	Fair	CLR	33	23			30.41	1029.6			
13	03:53	N 6	10.00	Fair	CLR	33	29			30.38	1028.9			
13	02:53	N 6	10.00	Partly Cloudy	FEW080 SCT095	34	29			30.37	1028.6			
13	01:53	NE 12	10.00	Overcast	FEW016 OVC070	35	30			30.36	1028.2			
13	00:53	N 9 G 23	9.00	 Unknown Precip	SCT012 BKN020 OVC070	35	31	56	35	30.36	1028.1			
12	23:53	N 17 G 28	5.00	 Light Snow	OVC060	37	27			30.36	1028.2	

[Lava Rock]

Lower then me 22F was the low, Steady breeze all night held temps up

yeah, that won't happen often. lol.

[j24vt]

0.2" overnight (measured at 7am).

[OceanStWx]

Another upslope event, another busted forecast in Pittsburg, NH. They've picked up about a foot in the last several days, I'm not sure we had half that in the forecast.

[J.Spin]

Event totals: 1.7” Snow/0.10” L.E.

 

It was the return of Powderfreak’s land of the snow globe this morning, with light snow filtering down comprised of big flakes.  These latest rounds of additional snow, which included an additional 0.2” through 6:00 P.M. yesterday and 0.5” on the board this morning, have been quite dry; I’ve only been able to get traces of liquid out of the fluff.

 

Details from the 6:00 A.M. Waterbury observations:

 

New Snow: 0.5 inches

New Liquid: Trace

Temperature: 20.8 F

Sky: Light Snow (5-10 mm flakes)

Snow at the stake: 1.0 inches

 

On a seasonal note, a look through my data indicates that we’re ahead of the game by about 10 days in terms of snowfall at the house.  The forecast suggests that it’s going to be a few days before snow is back in the picture on the weather roller coaster ride; between high pressure and some warmer weather with a storm passing off the northwest, we’ll have to wait until the beginning/middle of next week for snow chances:

 

.LONG TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY/...

GIVEN EXPECTED FROPA TIMING AND RIBBON OF DEEP MOISTURE WITH PWS BTWN 1.0 AND 1.5" WITH FULL LATITUDE TROF WL MENTION LIKELY POPS LATE MONDAY INTO TUES. EARLY QPF ESTIMATES LOOK TO RANGE BTWN 0.50 AND 1.25" BY TUES AFTN...WITH SOME TRANSITION BACK TO SCATTERED MTN SNOW SHOWERS BY TUES. SIMILAR TO OUR PREVIOUS EVENT...A SECONDARY MODIFIED ARCTIC BOUNDARY LOOKS TO MOVE ACRS OUR CWA LATE TUES INTO WEDS OF NEXT WEEK WITH ADDITIONAL SCATTERED RAIN/SNOW SHOWERS POSSIBLE. OVERALL THE ROLLER COASTER OF TEMPS AND WEATHER WL CONT FOR THE NEXT 7 TO 10 DAYS WITH SEVERAL MUCH ABOVE NORMAL DAYS EXPECTED ON SUNDAY/MONDAY...FOLLOWED BY A RETURN OF BLW NORMAL TEMPS BY THE MID OF NEXT WEEK.

[eyewall]

Jspin I always enjoy your reports. We are running below normal in snow by 1.2 inches or so according to BTV for my area (I am about a mile from the runway and maybe 2 from the terminal).

[powderfreak]

J.Spin...

 

Here's the persistent flurry radar from last night.... I only reported 1-3" today at the mountain, but several folks have said at least another 4-6" of fluffy fell last night on the upper mountain.

 

[powderfreak]

Cell phone picture from a little while again...

 

[ono]

Blue

 

J.Spin...

 

Here's the persistent flurry radar from last night.... I only reported 1-3" today at the mountain, but several folks have said at least another 4-6" of fluffy fell last night on the upper mountain.

 

 

Well, bluebird this morning @7:30 BTV, but the clouds draped the mountains still.  Haven't been up top today?

[dryslot]

Another upslope event, another busted forecast in Pittsburg, NH. They've picked up about a foot in the last several days, I'm not sure we had half that in the forecast.

 

I can move up there and provide some obs if you like .............lol

[powderfreak]

Blue

Well, bluebird this morning @7:30 BTV, but the clouds draped the mountains still. Haven't been up top today?

I haven't personally. Rumor is there's more snow. Flurries just started falling again. I'll be up tomorrow. We are opening to Pass Holders on Saturday.

This was Jay Peak today...evidently they got another foot last night.

[OceanStWx]

I can move up there and provide some obs if you like .............lol

 

Going to be hard to outdo http://johnsnhweather.com/

[dryslot]

Going to be hard to outdo http://johnsnhweather.com/

 

Nice sight

[wxmanmitch]

Going to be hard to outdo http://johnsnhweather.com/

 

Nice location. 2K in Pittsburgh, NH just above the 45th parallel must be ultra special as I think 2K in the Berkshires is special.

 

I'm always curious what's going on weatherwise up in that neck of the woods because there really aren't too many spotters up there or radar coverage for that matter either.

[powderfreak]

Monthly departures not including today:

MVL...-0.3

BTV...-0.7

MPV...-2.4

1V4...-1.7

Again I cannot figure out why MPV is always the coldest relative to normal, and almost always 2F colder than MVL's departures. It's like MPV's averages are from downtown Montpelier and then the obs are taken at 1200ft at the airport.

I just always think of departures as an equalizer, but something seems off.

[Lava Rock]

Jay peak = omg. Thats killer for so early in the season

[J.Spin]

Jspin I always enjoy your reports. We are running below normal in snow by 1.2 inches or so according to BTV for my area (I am about a mile from the runway and maybe 2 from the terminal).

Thanks eyewall, I think many here on the board are excited to have you participating with your great reports and photography from the Burlington area.  Getting more reports from upstream in the Champlain Valley is great, and in my case I’ve already felt the benefits as you alerted me to that snow changeover the other night.  I’d say we’re lucky in this part of the Northeastern U.S., because with the combination of mountains and latitude, once winter gets rolling, we don’t usually go too long without some sort of snow to talk/write about.  It’s easy to keep the vibe positive because there’s almost always another snowstorm of some sort just around the corner.  Just think, if this year has a typical number of events, there are still over 40 accumulating snowstorms yet to come for the mountain valleys – and even more if one includes the higher elevations. It’s nice that you’re close to BTV to be able to use their numbers for reference – that’s the downside of being in one of these microclimate locations, there’s not really a reference site around that is likely to be representative for this area.  It’s one of the things that keeps me diligent on the record keeping.  Anyway, although of course nowhere near as extensive as BTV’s data, we’re currently 2.8 inches above normal for seasonal snowfall at this site based on the data I’ve collected.

[eyewall]

Thanks eyewall, I think many here on the board are excited to have you participating with your great reports and photography from the Burlington area.  Getting more reports from upstream in the Champlain Valley is great, and in my case I’ve already felt the benefits as you alerted me to that snow changeover the other night.  I’d say we’re lucky in this part of the Northeastern U.S., because with the combination of mountains and latitude, once winter gets rolling, we don’t usually go too long without some sort of snow to talk/write about.  It’s easy to keep the vibe positive because there’s almost always another snowstorm of some sort just around the corner.  Just think, if this year has a typical number of events, there are still over 40 accumulating snowstorms yet to come for the mountain valleys – and even more if one includes the higher elevations. It’s nice that you’re close to BTV to be able to use their numbers for reference – that’s the downside of being in one of these microclimate locations, there’s not really a reference site around that is likely to be representative for this area.  It’s one of the things that keeps me diligent on the record keeping.  Anyway, although of course nowhere near as extensive as BTV’s data, we’re currently 2.8 inches above normal for seasonal snowfall at this site based on the data I’ve collected.

 

Thank you and yes I love being able to contribute in that sense and to provide pics as well. I agree with being able to be positive, and certainly -1.2 now is not really an indicator either way of what lies ahead. It can be highly variable for sure. It is good to be able to give a heads up for sure. When it comes to documenting weather I am definitely a chaser who likes to find the worst conditions possible for footage lol. We see a lot of before and after in storms but I do my best to get the peak of what is going on during. I hope next week pans out when the cold makes a comeback after a warm up.