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NNE Winter 2013-14 Part I


klw

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No melting here today, as temp may not reach 30 and the clouds hold firm. Took me half an hour to carefully chop free the snowblower, which is stored under a tarp tied to two sticks for (usually) easy removal. 1.5" of sleet sandwich is hard to move without breaking the sticks or destroying the tarp. Snow shovel was inadequate, but the cruiser ax did the job.

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4km 12z btv wrf has r/s line @7pm from monads ene to concord ene to Rochester,nh ne to buxton/gorham just nw of Portland ,maine over to just se of Brunswick,maine.

I've noted in events like this that the r/s line likes to set up near Parker Head (about 15 miles due south of Bath) to the head of Harpswell Sound (approx 10 miles south of Brunswick). Snowfall is much less south of this line when the coastal front - rain/snow line threatens this area of the midcoast.

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Just posted in the other thread.  Terrible forecasting from Grey Maine.  No advisories, watches etc for Grafton County NH.  My point and click says rain possibly mixed with snow under 1".   Every model says otherwise.  WSW watches in adjacent VT and Maine but nothing here.  Come on guys, even a non met like me can see this is a major bust for you.  How can crap like this happen on a busy holiday weekend with many people in the area having traveling plans tomorrow night.

 

I'll edit this post, as just saw the new 18Z NAM.  850 line is way down in extreme SE NH.  This area is snow, not mix.

 

I'll edit this post one more time as I got so aggravated I called them to complain.  They said they are going to issue a Winter Weather advisory as the Met said it will go over to rain.  I just kept my mouth shut.  Glad they are at least issuing an advisory.

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Just posted in the other thread.  Terrible forecasting from Grey Maine.  No advisories, watches etc for Grafton County NH.  My point and click says rain possibly mixed with snow under 1".   Every model says otherwise.  WSW watches in adjacent VT and Maine but nothing here.  Come on guys, even a non met like me can see this is a major bust for you.  How can crap like this happen on a busy holiday weekend with many people in the area having traveling plans tomorrow night.

 

I'll edit this post, as just saw the new 18Z NAM.  850 line is way down in extreme SE NH.  This area is snow, not mix.

 

I'll edit this post one more time as I got so aggravated I called them to complain.  They said they are going to issue a Winter Weather advisory as the Met said it will go over to rain.  I just kept my mouth shut.  Glad they are at least issuing an advisory.

 

You've got an advisory... I think this looks good.  BTV's watch is more of a day-ahead of time Advisory, IMO.  I think some BTV counties (Orange, east Rutland, Windsor) may have warning criteria, but up this way I think we'll get an Advisory.

 

 

One thing to remember though, and we touch on it a lot in the more SNE-centric threads, is not to get too caught up in the whole NWS headline thing.  They usually tend to work out and whether or not you have an Advisory/Warning or nothing, isn't going to make any difference at all with how much snow you get. 

 

Also, this event has pretty poor low level thermal profiles... so just because the H85 line is south of you, doesn't mean you may not mix.  In fact, this could start as rain for most areas.

 

The forecast here in Stowe at 1,000ft has rain tomorrow afternoon and evening.

 

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Hit freezing for ~20 minutes and has since fell back to 31.0°F. Not long enough to reduce the ice build up in the trees.

 

Stayed a little cooler than expected here too.  Topped out at 30 where I was expecting a 34 or 35 maybe.  No ice in the trees here but no melting of the snow either.

 

Should be a decent hit here tomorrow night.

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Well whatever happens, the snow boards are ready to tally it up ;)

 

Unfortunately, this morning I didn't find any overnight fluff at 1,550ft...but you can see by the snow quality in the footprints that this recent shot of snow was super-fluffy.

 

 

All reset and ready to see what we can pick up on Sunday night at 3,000ft.  I love this measuring site as I have no idea how Ski Patrol ever found this... but its like the only flat, open area around in the generally dense 3,000ft forest.  Snow just falls straight down in here and it rarely sees wind at the surface, even if its gusting strong just a little above the ground.  As you can see by the snow buildup on the trees, wind is not really an issue even with the high elevation, and I think that does help a bit in maximizing the snowfall amounts.  Take the wind-compression out of the equation at that elevation and you can rack up a lot of snowfall.

 

 

 

 

I'm still looking for an automated system though, lol.  Anyone have any grants or want to do some snowfall research?  haha.

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I see that PF posted a regional advisories map earlier, but I’ve got the BTV-focused one below and their projected accumulations map, which I haven’t seen yet in this thread.  Anyway, we’re currently under a Winter Storm Watch, and the point forecast calls for 3 to 5 inches here, but as we’re below the 800’ level highlighted in the BTV NWS discussion, we’ll have to see how it goes.  Some warmth tomorrow would be welcomed in terms of melting more ice and snow out of the trees – especially if a heavy wet snow is coming.  Whatever the case, we’ll take as much liquid equivalent for the mountains as we can get, because the natural snow terrain definitely needs it.

 

28DEC13A.jpg

 

28DEC13B.jpg

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20F and some light fog to start the day here.

 

The morning light is so dim these days, it was hard to tell what the sky conditions were at 7am.  What was some light fog almost looked like snow showers on the ridge just south of here that we can see.  Tree branches and conifer needles have just a touch of ice on them.

 

Looks like game-on here for some snow later today/tonight.  Also looks to be a little earlier than expected based on radar...

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20F and some light fog to start the day here.

The morning light is so dim these days, it was hard to tell what the sky conditions were at 7am. What was some light fog almost looked like snow showers on the ridge just south of here that we can see. Tree branches and conifer needles have just a touch of ice on them.

Looks like game-on here for some snow later today/tonight. Also looks to be a little earlier than expected based on radar...

Thought the same thing when I first looked out this morning. LOL
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The Winter Storm Watch area in Vermont has been converted to a Winter Weather Advisory, with a general 4 to 9 inches projected as indicated in the advisory text below:

 

29DEC13A.jpg

 

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT

317 AM EST SUN DEC 29 2013

 

ESSEX-LAMOILLE-CALEDONIA-WASHINGTON-ORANGE-WINDSOR-

EASTERN CHITTENDEN-EASTERN ADDISON-EASTERN RUTLAND-

INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ISLAND POND...JOHNSON...STOWE...

ST. JOHNSBURY...MONTPELIER...BRADFORD...RANDOLPH...SPRINGFIELD...

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION...UNDERHILL...BRISTOL...RIPTON...

EAST WALLINGFORD...KILLINGTON

317 AM EST SUN DEC 29 2013

 

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO

7 AM EST MONDAY...

 

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BURLINGTON HAS ISSUED A WINTER

WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM THIS

AFTERNOON TO 7 AM EST MONDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER

IN EFFECT.

 

* LOCATIONS...CENTRAL AND EASTERN VERMONT.

 

* HAZARD TYPES...HEAVY WET SNOW.

 

* ACCUMULATIONS...4 TO 9 INCHES OF HEAVY WET SNOW.

 

* MAXIMUM SNOWFALL RATE...1 TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR...MAINLY THIS

  EVENING THROUGH MIDNIGHT.

 

* TIMING...A MIXTURE OF RAIN AND SNOW WILL DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON

  AND QUICKLY CHANGE TO ALL SNOW BY THIS EVENING. THE SNOW WILL BE

  HEAVY AT TIMES BETWEEN 5 PM TODAY AND 1 AM MONDAY...BEFORE

  TAPERING OFF TO SNOW SHOWERS ON MONDAY MORNING.

 

* IMPACTS...THE HEAVY WET SNOW WILL CAUSE ADDITIONAL POWER

  OUTAGES AND VERY HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS TONIGHT

  INTO MONDAY...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS.

 

* WINDS...WEST 5 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH.

 

* TEMPERATURES...HIGHS IN THE UPPER 20S. LOWS 13 TO 19.

 

* VISIBILITIES...BELOW ONE HALF OF A MILE AT TIMES.

 

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

 

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW WILL

CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SNOW COVERED ROADS AND

LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.

 

PLEASE STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...YOUR LOCAL MEDIA...OR

GO TO WWW.WEATHER.GOV/BURLINGTON FOR FURTHER UPDATES ON THIS

WEATHER SITUATION.

 

The latest projected snowfall map has been refined somewhat, with the heaviest areas of snow accumulation in the Orange County and Windsor County areas of the state:

 

29DEC13B.jpg

 

The point forecast for 3 to 5 inches has remained the same for this area, and the accompanying hourly weather forecast graph calls for 5.3” snow from 0.46” liquid:

 

29DEC13C.jpg

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Up to 26 now and there's a WS Warning now for here in the OC.

 

Accumulations have been knocked down in the grids now for my area.

 

Thanks for the heads up guys, I hadn’t really expected an update until the afternoon.  It’s nice to see the Winter Storm Warnings creeping into Allenson’s area.  The Winter Storm Warning text suggests accumulations up to 10 inches there:

 

ACCUMULATIONS...4 TO 8 INCHES WITH LOCALIZED AMOUNTS UP TO 10 INCHES EXPECTED OVER THE HIGHEST ELEVATIONS AND LESS ALONG THE CONNECTICUT RIVER.

 

MAXIMUM SNOWFALL RATE...1 TO 3 INCHES PER HOUR...MAINLY FROM 5 PM TODAY TO 1 AM MONDAY.

 

Updated maps below:

 

29DEC13D.jpg

 

29DEC13E.jpg

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With a snow storm looming for later in the day, it was no surprise that the higher summits forecast was calling for the summits in the clouds. Winds were predicted to gust over 30 as well, so a day in the trees seemed like the best bet. I plotted a route over Mt Pierce, then turning south to summit Mt Jackson and then over to Mt Webster to take in the views high above Crawford Notch.

Checking MWNobs before I left .. yup, 0.0 mile visibility. So, I braced myself for lots of gray air shots. However, arriving at the trailhead at 7:00 I could see the cloud deck was pretty high, so I was hoping to salvage something. It was a mild 28F at the trailhead (along the way in Brownfield it was 19F, so much warmer higher up). I had entirely too much clothing on and soon was sweating, but no room in the bag meant I was wearing what I brought. There was some snow on the branches at lower elevation, but it wasn't long before the branches were weighted heavily.

About 90 minutes in, I reached treeline and had a magnificent view up the spine of the Presidentials.

post-254-0-74786200-1388344593_thumb.jpg

Even the MWN summit buildings were in the clear. In addition, the wind was a non-factor. I decided to scrap my original plans and instead head up the spine, summiting Mt Eisenhower and seeing about possibly going up to Mt Franklin as well.

In the col between Pierce and Eisenhower there are many open areas among the low scrub. The iced-over bare rock resembled the surface of the ice planet of Hoth. Despite the appearance, it was a relatively mild day ... hat and gloves stayed in the bag the full day.

post-254-0-51890200-1388344636_thumb.jpg

I wore microspikes because there were numerous areas of ice floe that had no snow covering. On the other hand, there were some stashes on the north slope of Eisenhower that were up to my hip as it appeared nobody had been that way in a while. The pic below is representative of the col between Eisenhower and Pierce.

post-254-0-91137200-1388344688_thumb.jpg

I summited Eisenhower and recorded a temperature of 29F and a wind of 10mph. Wind chill of 23F. As another hiker said after I relayed those conditions, "Why, it's a summer breeze!" I descended Ike and considered heading north to Mt Franklin, but I was kind of tired of climbing so I decided to head back. I looked for the path that goes along the east side of Ike but for some reason couldn't find it. So I scaled Eisenhower again and retraced my steps. The pic below shows Washington, Monroe and Franklin as seen from Eisenhower.

post-254-0-54589100-1388344719_thumb.jpg

It was uneventful on the way back, but beautiful. I kept my eye on the skies, mindful of the approaching storm, but no cause for worry. Another great day to be in the mountains :)

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Lock it in!!

 

LOL I would love to (although that clown map is far more overblown then the one posted in the other thread from the same run, however ratios at the forecast temps will be much better than 10:1. Anyway as for tonight's system the boundary layer is about as bad as it gets here for this one. I wouldn't expect much more than rain and perhaps a tiny bit of slop. I am actually expecting the snow showers with the rush of arctic air to be more substantial than the storm itself for the CPV. The big issue will be a flash freeze.

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LOL I would love to (although that clown map is far more overblown then the one posted in the other thread from the same run, however ratios at the forecast temps will be much better than 10:1. Anyway as for tonight's system the boundary layer is about as bad as it gets here for this one. I wouldn't expect much more than rain and perhaps a tiny bit of slop. I am actually expecting the snow showers with the rush of arctic air to be more substantial than the storm itself for the CPV. The big issue will be a flash freeze.

Yeah, we started as rain but it was snowing above 1700' or so on Rt. 302 through Groton and Topsham. I would definitely be happy with the 4" or so predicted here.
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Yeah, we started as rain but it was snowing above 1700' or so on Rt. 302 through Groton and Topsham. I would definitely be happy with the 4" or so predicted here.

 

It almost looks like its raining at the Sugarbush base area web cam (37F degrees there) and MPV at 1,200ft has been -RN with 0.05" liquid last hour.

 

All across the Spine though its mid to upper 30s in the mid-slope elevation belt...with 40F at 1,100ft and 39F at 1,600ft around the Mansfield area.  Bolton at 2,100ft is 34F.  Meanwhile its 33F here at home though...colder in the valley.

 

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