NNE Winter Thread

[powderfreak]

Figured its about time to start the NNE winter thread.

1.5" at home last night and today and the flakes are still falling.  Currier and Ives style.

Up at the mountain, this latest NW flow event has brought a storm total of 11" since yesterday at 10am....41" in the past 8 days. 

Same seasonal snowfall at the mountain right now on December 9th as we had February 11th last winter.

[mreaves]

Not as much on the ground as Stowe but enough for my 12 year old to take out his beater sled and tear up the lawn. 

[J.Spin]

31 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

1.5" at home last night and today and the flakes are still falling.  Currier and Ives style.

Up at the mountain, this latest NW flow event has brought a storm total of 11" since yesterday at 10am....41" in the past 8 days. 

Same seasonal snowfall at the mountain right now on December 9th as we had February 11th last winter.

 

Interesting, our site is hitting snowfall levels that were achieved on January 13^th of last season, so roughly a month behind what you’re seeing.  I think Mansfield is just way overperforming relative to last season with all the elevation-dependent snowfall we’ve had.  Checking my numbers, this season’s snowfall thus far is fairly “middle of the pack”, ranking 5^th out of 11 seasons.

[adk]

The difference between 2500 feet and 100 ft is incredible right now. This AM I was getting faceshots and skiing steep natural terrain as if it were midwinter.  Today at lunch i walked past grass with the sun out and not a flake of snow on the ground. While it is often the case that BTV and Stowe have diverging snow totals rarely is the difference stark in the early season like this.  When NVT high elevation terrain gets pounded in december, that usually is by a nor'easter--- which tends to drop decent snow at lower elevations.  This year the sustain upslope activity has really been something different. 

[powderfreak]

23 minutes ago, adk said:

The difference between 2500 feet and 100 ft is incredible right now. This AM I was getting faceshots and skiing steep natural terrain as if it were midwinter.  Today at lunch i walked past grass with the sun out and not a flake of snow on the ground. While it is often the case that BTV and Stowe have diverging snow totals rarely is the difference stark in the early season like this.  When NVT high elevation terrain gets pounded in december, that usually is by a nor'easter--- which tends to drop decent snow at lower elevations.  This year the sustain upslope activity has really been something different. 

Even 1,500ft...not even 2500ft.

I have 5-6" in my front yard at 750ft and I had 19" at 5:30am this morning at 1,500ft Barnes Camp plot.  There's an insane amount of snow at the base for this time of year.  Think about that...19" depth on December 9th at the BOTTOM of the mountain.  Its been all orographics and the east side has done better than the west side per observations from friends who experience both sides on a daily basis.  Even in town I feel like its been quite snowy for here, as I'm keeping pace with J.Spin haha. 

 

 

[powderfreak]

Pretty crazy event that Jay Peak has picked up 16-18" last night and today and still dumping.  They have exceeded 50" for the 7-day total now.

It be snowy in the Northern Greens.  How life should be.

[LaGrangewx]

Saw this pic of jay peak and it was this morning at base elevations..

[J.Spin]

Event totals: 0.9” Snow/0.06” L.E.

 

I found 0.2” of snow on the boards from today’s snow shower activity.  I also cored the snowpack and found that it contained 0.45” of liquid, so it was about as expected and we’ll certainly need to get some additional liquid in there to have something robust enough to handle any warm temperatures.

 

Details from the 9:00 P.M. Waterbury observations:

 

New Snow: 0.2 inches

New Liquid: 0.01 inches

Snow/Water Ratio: 20.0

Snow Density: 5.0% H2O

Temperature: 21.4 F

Sky: Light Snow (1-2 mm flakes)

Snow at the stake: 3.5 inches

[Lava Rock]

Cold out there. 22 f

[alex]

Cannon was awesome today. Now back at the ranch, light snow continues and 15F (DP 3F). 1/4" overnight. Brrr...

[eyewall]

It is only an advisory level event coming but every little but helps

[mreaves]

36 minutes ago, eyewall said:

It is only an advisory level event coming but every little but helps

I was thinking the same thing. 

[backedgeapproaching]

First WSW in a few years, well see if it verifies. As is the norm, the higher you are, the better.

[eyewall]

Looks like a burst of snow rolling through this area now.

[wxeyeNH]

This question is mostly for Ocean.   Does Gray coordinate with Burlington with Watches/Advisories?   Really weird maps this afternoon.  WSWatch for much of NH.  WWadvisory for Vermont.  Yet nothing for Grafton/Coos counties in NH.  If I use the probabilistic tool about half of Grafton NH is foretasted to receive about the same amounts as the rest of NH.  I definitely understand why there is hesitation for a WS watch as the heaviest QPF seems like it will be SE but how come no advisory?  At least for continuity into Burlington's forecast area.  Here's the 2 maps.  Just curious...

[J.Spin]

I signed up for Washington County weather alert texts through VT-Alert, so I was notified of our Winter Weather Advisory just I was finishing up a backcountry ski tour today.  It was definitely nice to get that heads up right away without having to actively check, and it really doesn’t matter where you are.  Anyway, the advisory calls for a general 4-7”, which seems pretty consistent with what’s been expected of this event for a few days now.  Related maps and text are below:

 

 

VTZ001>012-016>019-110900-

/O.NEW.KBTV.WW.Y.0014.161212T0000Z-161212T1800Z/

GRAND ISLE-WESTERN FRANKLIN-ORLEANS-ESSEX-WESTERN CHITTENDEN-

LAMOILLE-CALEDONIA-WASHINGTON-WESTERN ADDISON-ORANGE-

WESTERN RUTLAND-WINDSOR-EASTERN FRANKLIN-EASTERN CHITTENDEN-

EASTERN ADDISON-EASTERN RUTLAND-

INCLUDING THE CITIES OF ALBURGH, SOUTH HERO, ST. ALBANS, NEWPORT,

ISLAND POND, BURLINGTON, JOHNSON, STOWE, ST. JOHNSBURY,

MONTPELIER, MIDDLEBURY, VERGENNES, BRADFORD, RANDOLPH, RUTLAND,

SPRINGFIELD, WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, ENOSBURG FALLS, RICHFORD,

UNDERHILL, BRISTOL, RIPTON, EAST WALLINGFORD, AND KILLINGTON

302 PM EST SAT DEC 10 2016

 

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM SUNDAY TO 1 PM EST

MONDAY...

 

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BURLINGTON HAS ISSUED A WINTER

WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM SUNDAY

TO 1 PM EST MONDAY.

 

* IMPACTS...DIFFICULT TO HAZARDOUS TRAVEL DUE TO SNOW COVERED

  ROADS, ESPECIALLY DURING THE MONDAY MORNING COMMUTE.

 

* LOCATIONS...ALL OF CENTRAL AND NORTHERN VERMONT.

 

* HAZARD TYPES...LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW.

 

* ACCUMULATIONS...3 TO 7 INCHES OF SNOW.

 

* MAXIMUM SNOWFALL RATE...UP TO 1 INCH PER HOUR...MAINLY SUNDAY

  NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY MORNING.

 

* TIMING...LIGHT SNOW WILL OVERSPREAD THE AREA SUNDAY EVENING AND

  BECOME MODERATE AT TIMES SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS

  ON MONDAY. PRECIPITATION WILL TAPER TO SCATTERED AREAS OF LIGHT

  SNOW OR MIXED PRECIPITATION BY MONDAY AFTERNOON.

 

* WINDS...SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 25

  MPH.

 

* TEMPERATURES...SLOWLY RISING THROUGH THE 20S SUNDAY NIGHT. HIGHS

  ON MONDAY IN THE 30S.

 

* VISIBILITIES...AS LOW AS ONE HALF 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.

 

&&

 

$$

 

JMG

 

[eyewall]

2-3 here. I am surprised they issued an advisory when the last time we had 2-4 there was none. This seems like it will be less impressive than the previous event for this area. 

[powderfreak]

50 minutes ago, eyewall said:

2-3 here. I am surprised they issued an advisory when the last time we had 2-4 there was none. This seems like it will be less impressive than the previous event for this area. 

Monday morning commute and the last event definitely over-performed into Advisory level.  No one thought 2-6" was coming from that...and the morning commute was terrible, thus the Advisory this time I'd assume.  

[eyewall]

Monday morning commute and the last event definitely over-performed into Advisory level.  No one thought 2-6" was coming from that...and the morning commute was terrible, thus the Advisory this time I'd assume.  

Yeah that is a good point. Even a surprise squall closed part of 89 by exit 14 this evening.

Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk

[J.Spin]

Seeing as the Mt. Mansfield Stake is at 34”, and the mountain snowpack is definitely not just fluff, I went for a ski tour in the Bolton Valley backcountry today.  I can pass along some mountain weather and snowpack observations.  I was up there in the afternoon, and temperatures in the Village at ~2,000’ were in the mid-teens F, but fortunately there was minimal wind.  There was blue sky at times, but light snow fell much of the time anyway.  Accumulations were minimal though, with about ¼“ of new snow on my car after a 2 to 3 hour tour.

 

In terms of snowpack depths, at 2,000’ the surface snow was generally 14-15” of powder over a fairly thin layer of base snow.  Up at the Bryant Cabin at ~2,700’ there was 16-17” of powder over a much more substantial base, and up at ~3,000’ on the back side of Bolton Mountain along the Catamount Trail there was a healthy 18-20” of powder.  I was able to punch through the base at one point in my measurements, and the base snow seemed to be in the 8-10” range.  So, that would put total snowpack depths up at that elevation approaching the 30” range, which seems pretty reasonable with the Mt. Mansfield Stake at 34”.

 

With the high elevation and maintenance that goes on in the Bolton Valley Backcountry Network, I’ll usually feel OK poking around on appropriate terrain once the stake kits 24” (depending on the composition of that 24”), so with 34” at the stake there’s a lot of terrain in play.  Aspect almost doesn’t matter right now because we’ve had November/December sun over the past couple of weeks… and not much of it anyway, so south-facing terrain isn’t all that different from north-facing terrain.  One does have to watch out as they get down near 2,000’ though because the base below the surface snow does start to get pretty thin, so you don’t want to ski anything with many obstacles at that point.  One could easily just lap terrain up above 2,500’ though with minimal concern about base depths.  Skiing is definitely quite good up high right now.

 

[alex]

Opened the door to let the dog out and a puff of smoke came in. Never seen that before. 1F

[J.Spin]

Event totals: 1.3” Snow/0.08” L.E.

 

Snow picked up a bit this evening with 0.4” on the boards as of 9:00 P.M.  We’ve actually got some decent flakes coming down now because a band of snow has been pushing down the Winooski Valley:

 

 

Details from the 9:00 P.M. Waterbury observations:

 

New Snow: 0.4 inches

New Liquid: 0.02 inches

Snow/Water Ratio: 20.0

Snow Density: 5.0% H2O

Temperature: 17.1 F

Sky: Light Snow (1-5 mm flakes)

Snow at the stake: 3.5 inches

[powderfreak]

6 hours ago, J.Spin said:

Event totals: 1.3” Snow/0.08” L.E.

 

Snow picked up a bit this evening with 0.4” on the boards as of 9:00 P.M.  We’ve actually got some decent flakes coming down now because a band of snow has been pushing down the Winooski Valley:

 

 

Details from the 9:00 P.M. Waterbury observations:

 

New Snow: 0.4 inches

New Liquid: 0.02 inches

Snow/Water Ratio: 20.0

Snow Density: 5.0% H2O

Temperature: 17.1 F

Sky: Light Snow (1-5 mm flakes)

Snow at the stake: 3.5 inches

Thanks for the radar image, J.Spin.

That explains where the snow came from last night.

0.75" at 1,500ft but 3" of pure dust is being reported at 3,000ft (24 hour total, there was 1" there at 4pm so 2" overnight).  Looking at that radar though that does look like how we get these very low moisture high ratio light snows.

[alex]

First subzero low of the season (-1). Currently 0 with fog

[dryslot]

On 12/9/2016 at 4:25 PM, mreaves said:

Not as much on the ground as Stowe but enough for my 12 year old to take out his beater sled and tear up the lawn. 

Looks like he is doing a good job on the lawn.......lol

[tamarack]

Dropped to about -5 this morning, first subzero in December since 2014.

[J.Spin]

Event totals: 2.0” Snow/0.09” L.E.

 

There was another 0.7” on the board this morning in part thanks to that streamer that came down the Winooski Valley last night.  As PF mentioned, it’s ultra-fluffy stuff.  I stacked three cores to make sure I got a decent average and it indeed came in at a 70 to 1 ratio within the error provided by only going out to hundredths of an inch with liquid.

 

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

 

New Snow: 0.7 inches

New Liquid: 0.01 inches

Snow/Water Ratio: 70.0

Snow Density: 1.4% H2O

Temperature: 7.0 F

Sky: Mostly Cloudy

Snow at the stake: 3.5 inches

[J.Spin]

1 hour ago, powderfreak said:

Thanks for the radar image, J.Spin.

That explains where the snow came from last night.

0.75" at 1,500ft but 3" of pure dust is being reported at 3,000ft (24 hour total, there was 1" there at 4pm so 2" overnight).  Looking at that radar though that does look like how we get these very low moisture high ratio light snows.

 

I just happened to look out back and saw some pretty large flakes coming into view at that point, so checked the radar and saw that.  We’ve actually had new snow of some type to report for the past eight days, essentially from the point at which temperatures cooled from the warm spell near Thanksgiving.  And there should be some to report tomorrow as well unless the forecast changes dramatically.  It feels like the Northern Greens in December.

[Lava Rock]

Opened the door to let the dog out and a puff of smoke came in. Never seen that before. 1F

Balmy. 15f

[powderfreak]

16 minutes ago, J.Spin said:

 

I just happened to look out back and saw some pretty large flakes coming into view at that point, so checked the radar and saw that.  We’ve actually had new snow of some type to report for the past eight days, essentially from the point at which temperatures cooled from the warm spell near Thanksgiving.  And there should be some to report tomorrow as well unless the forecast changes dramatically.  It feels like the Northern Greens in December.

Yeah a couple inches of fluff on top of the groomers today...it keeps getting better and better.  In my 10 years here the conditions are definitely into the memorable range.