TheSnowman Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Because I had seen so many news reports about the 79" Snow Depth in Andover, ME, And many other snow depth reports of 60"+, I decided to create a trip to see something that would stun me; a 5'-6' base. Maybe I'd see 15' to 20' snow banks on the side of the road. What do you do with 70"+ compacted of Snow!? Well...... it was ALL BS. I had one of the worst drives of my entire life into deep Maine, where there is no service to the point that you're navigation doesn't even know where your bubble is, there are no roads intersecting so you have no idea where you are even if you're smart, and there are hardly any people, hardly any houses, hardly any gas stations, hardly any ANYthing. All to see what I would say was..... 35" - 40" at MOST on the ground. Definitely saw more around our area in mid-February 2 years ago. I may NEVER Again do a Weenie Drive for depth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HIPPYVALLEY Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 What was your route? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanStWx Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Not sure where our observer lives in Andover exactly (I believe it's north of town center though), but she lost 6 inches Saturday and probably as much today. Most of our coops reported losses of at least 12 inches this weekend from melt/compaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSnowman Posted February 20, 2017 Author Share Posted February 20, 2017 I went straight up from Portland / 95. And I went Saturday earlier. There was likely no melting Friday. About an hour south of Andover the Base seemed to be about 35", so I thought WOO I'm going to see 70"! And the piles and base just never grew. The highest Banks of pushed snow along the side of the road were only about 5.5 Feet. I thought I was going to see 6 Feet Everywhere and piles of automatically 10 feet and up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanStWx Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 44 minutes ago, TheSnowman said: I went straight up from Portland / 95. And I went Saturday earlier. There was likely no melting Friday. About an hour south of Andover the Base seemed to be about 35", so I thought WOO I'm going to see 70"! And the piles and base just never grew. The highest Banks of pushed snow along the side of the road were only about 5.5 Feet. I thought I was going to see 6 Feet Everywhere and piles of automatically 10 feet and up. Maybe yes, maybe no. The sun can still melt at temps below 32. But it's not all about melting. Actually the biggest factor in initial snow depth changes is from changes in crystal structure (allowing compaction). Even a dry and cold air mass can change the crystals enough to allow them to settle. Digging into Andover specifically, she's at about 900 feet elevation tucked into the east slopes of the Mahoosucs. Her exposure is NE. I've never seen it, but looking at the map she has a real weenie spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damage In Tolland Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Wait until Ginx sees this. He's gonna strangle Corey with his own accordion . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanStWx Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 7 minutes ago, Damage In Tolland said: Wait until Ginx sees this. He's gonna strangle Corey with his own accordion . Deep, deep anger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CapturedNature Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 It might be a protected location and with depths like that, I'm thinking that they are using a snow stake as opposed to averaging individual measurements. I know that I'll often still have snow on the ground several weeks after most of the town has had bare ground and there are places that I know of that have snow even longer. The 70+ values were probably valid for that yard but most places might have had lower values. The other problem is that banks on the side of the road don't always tell the whole picture because they get pushed back. I remember during my April 2008 trip to Quebec that where they used those giant snowblowers you could see the full height of snow on the ground but along the highway between cities, the banks didn't look as impressive. They were impressive, but not as high as you would think. It really wasn't until we got into town and started looking down driveways or places where houses were next to each other that you could really see how deep the snow was. I would expect that the town centers had to look impressive but you don't know what it looks like without snow. Not having seen the town without snow kind of hurts because once the snow gets to a certain point, you can't really tell how deep it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damage In Tolland Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 31 minutes ago, OceanStWx said: Deep, deep anger. I mean dude's gonna lose it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 38 minutes ago, Damage In Tolland said: Wait until Ginx sees this. He's gonna strangle Corey with his own accordion . The Sultan of Snow Depths will definitely be defending this with another pic of him dancing next to a parking lot snow pile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanStWx Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 13 minutes ago, MetHerb said: It might be a protected location and with depths like that, I'm thinking that they are using a snow stake as opposed to averaging individual measurements. I know that I'll often still have snow on the ground several weeks after most of the town has had bare ground and there are places that I know of that have snow even longer. The 70+ values were probably valid for that yard but most places might have had lower values. The other problem is that banks on the side of the road don't always tell the whole picture because they get pushed back. I remember during my April 2008 trip to Quebec that where they used those giant snowblowers you could see the full height of snow on the ground but along the highway between cities, the banks didn't look as impressive. They were impressive, but not as high as you would think. It really wasn't until we got into town and started looking down driveways or places where houses were next to each other that you could really see how deep the snow was. I would expect that the town centers had to look impressive but you don't know what it looks like without snow. Not having seen the town without snow kind of hurts because once the snow gets to a certain point, you can't really tell how deep it is. Yeah, our coops all have snow stakes. They could resort to an across their yard average if they had reason to believe their snow stake measurement was somehow inaccurate, but we don't require that kind of effort on a daily basis. And as early as Friday they were already cutting down the banks and removing snow in front end loaders around here so that there weren't accidents from people pulling out blindly into traffic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lava Rock Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 I went straight up from Portland / 95. And I went Saturday earlier. There was likely no melting Friday. About an hour south of Andover the Base seemed to be about 35", so I thought WOO I'm going to see 70"! And the piles and base just never grew. The highest Banks of pushed snow along the side of the road were only about 5.5 Feet. I thought I was going to see 6 Feet Everywhere and piles of automatically 10 feet and up. So sorry u were disappointed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Also they claimed 146" right? Did any other places nearby have that much? Even Tamarack only has just over 100 I think. It's probably a good idea to spot check those numbers, but my guess is they probably were checked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 1 minute ago, Lava Rock said: So sorry u were disappointed Meh wins again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lava Rock Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Which the heck uses snowbanks as a measuring tool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanStWx Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Just now, CoastalWx said: Also they claimed 146" right? Did any other places nearby have that much? Even Tamarack only has just over 100 I think. It's probably a good idea to spot check those numbers. Yeah. She's about 70 years old, so we take what we can get. The snowfall numbers are always whole or half inch amounts, so not perfect but also not wildly affecting seasonal totals. She also doesn't just take a 10:1 like some observers occasionally do. Every storm has a different ratio, which is what you would expect to see. And the snow depth numbers aren't just a (what was on the ground yesterday + what fell today = new depth) equation which you can get sometime. So she is taking the compaction into account. My guess would be she's just reading what the stake says is on the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanStWx Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Although xmACIS is only tallying up 117" for her this year. But that 146" came from our WCM who called her the day she reported 79" SD, so it's possible he just got the info wrong. Her reporting looks fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damage In Tolland Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Either way whether it was 80 or 40", it's all a dream by this weekend .. even there. Hopefully rebuild for any ski trips planned during cold period early- Mid Morch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanStWx Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 5 minutes ago, Damage In Tolland said: Either way whether it was 80 or 40", it's all a dream by this weekend .. even there. Hopefully rebuild for any ski trips planned during cold period early- Mid Morch Bare ground from Tolland to the Canadian border? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damage In Tolland Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 7 minutes ago, OceanStWx said: Bare ground from Tolland to the Canadian border? Mtns will keep it thankfully . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amarshall Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Bethel Maine, looks like Park City. There were 10 ft snow banks from Gray to Bethel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyewall Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 If you wanted to see big snow banks you just had to go to the south end of Smugglers Notch in VT by the Stowe Resort: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Seems like Weymouth still holds the record from 2 yrs ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamarack Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 3 hours ago, CoastalWx said: Also they claimed 146" right? Did any other places nearby have that much? Even Tamarack only has just over 100 I think. It's probably a good idea to spot check those numbers, but my guess is they probably were checked. Rangeley's average snowfall is more than 40% higher than that for Farmington, so Andover being 40%+ more than my place is no surprise. The posts above on plowing technique are well said. Maine's plow drivers (probably same for other high-snow areas in the Northeast) travel at speeds sufficient to toss snow well back from the pavement, as any driveway shoveler knows. Then they're back the next day pushing/winging the banks back. In our part of the world, plowing for the current storm must also include preparation for the next one. If the disappointed one had chosen to climb over those banks into the fresh stuff behind, it might've been a surprise. If he wanted to see 10' snowbanks, he should've come to my place. We paid a payloader operator to clear out the end of the road so the letter carriers could access our mailbox, but those steep-sided piles are definitely not what the plow operators want to leave. Another option would be Weeks Mills Road, which connects Route 2 in New Sharon with Route 43 in Farmington, passing over several hills. One of those hills in in hayfields, and the drifting last Friday was epic, as are the piles made while clearing the windblown snow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dendrite Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 You expected 15 to 20ft banks on the side of the road in the boonies? Like tamarack said, the plows toss the snow way back and manipulate it in a way to prepare for the next one. Did you even get out of your car to walk into the woods and do an actual measurement? Did you seriously drive that far and only judge it by the snow banks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 3 minutes ago, dendrite said: You expected 15 to 20ft banks on the side of the road in the boonies? Like tamarack said, the plows toss the snow way back and manipulate it in a way to prepare for the next one. Did you even get out of your car to walk into the woods and do an actual measurement? Did you seriously drive that far and only judge it by the snow banks? Climbed on top, did a little and left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lava Rock Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 10 minutes ago, dendrite said: You expected 15 to 20ft banks on the side of the road in the boonies? Like tamarack said, the plows toss the snow way back and manipulate it in a way to prepare for the next one. Did you even get out of your car to walk into the woods and do an actual measurement? Did you seriously drive that far and only judge it by the snow banks? this was my point as well. who uses snow banks to assess level snow depth otg? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dendrite Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 12 minutes ago, CoastalWx said: Climbed on top, did a little and left. If he wanted to see 20ft snow piles he could've went to the Tilton Outlets parking lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 4 minutes ago, dendrite said: If he wanted to see 20ft snow piles he could've went to the Tilton Outlets parking lot. Yeah you gotta get out and survey. He should know that. If I'm driving to Maine Appalachia......i'm definitely trespassing in some yards to get measurements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dryslot Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Those snowbanks, Were probably already shelved twice..............lol, If he went off trail in the woods, He would still be in the woods up here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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