NNE Winter Thread

[J.Spin]

Event totals: 2.8” Snow/0.21” L.E.

 

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

 

New Snow: 0.1 inches

New Liquid: Trace

Temperature: 24.8 F

Sky: Cloudy

Snow at the stake: 20.0 inches

[CoastalWx]

2 hours ago, Angus said:

Skied at Cannon yesterday where there was just a bit of mixing in the base area from around 2PM onward. Stopped at cottage in Meredith on way south, lots of activity on lake with ice fishing tournament going on. Ice is about 18" thick. Probably 8-10" snow on ground with a very wintry feel. Temperatures rose very quickly just north of Concord.

Exit 18, mile marker 50. I’m telling you, it’s a different world north of that line all the time. 

[wxeyeNH]

1 hour ago, CoastalWx said:

Exit 18, mile marker 50. I’m telling you, it’s a different world north of that line all the time. 

I live about 3 miles due west of about Exit 24 latitude.   The big hill rise just north of Exit 20 is also a climate changing point.  

[dendrite]

53 minutes ago, wxeyeNH said:

I live about 3 miles due west of about Exit 24 latitude.   The big hill rise just north of Exit 20 is also a climate changing point.  

I used to notice it more between 22 and 23. And then north of the Campton exit as you start getting pre-Whites.

[eyewall]

We have some occasional ZR ongoing here in the BTV area. That is never fun. 

[wxeyeNH]

1 hour ago, dendrite said:

I used to notice it more between 22 and 23. And then north of the Campton exit as you start getting pre-Whites.

The relief really starts changing at Exit 23.  As you drive north on Rt 93 its fairly flat past your area with a gradual rise of elevation.  Really noticeable on that long hill past Exit 20.  Then when as you get towards Exit 23 you see Peaked Hill (Elevation 1960) with the cell tower on it. That is my town of Bridgewater.To me that begins the real foothills of the Whites when snow flurries start picking up.  My house is one mile northwest of that cell tower on the west side of Peaked hill as it desends towards Newfound Lake. Peaked Hill descends in elevation but briefly rises again to 1300 feet which is my "sub" hill on the west side.  Then the real Whites begin on the north side of Plymouth.  Okay too much information!

In this video that I took on January 18th you see Peaked Hill from the vantage point of my house.  Cell tower that is visible on Rt 93 is towards the end of the vid.  

 

 

[CoastalWx]

I'm sure you can go deep into tons of microclimates, but It is noticeable in summer and winter. In summer when you pass that area, you get the sky loaded with puffy fair wx CU and the temp drops 8 degrees...just enough for my wife to b*tch about no sun and colder temps. In the winter, the snowpack grows substantially around there...right in the land of CAD. I'll never forget my escape from SNE hell in Feb 2012...coming up to at least 8" OTG and pure winter that weekend. It's crazy how different it is when you pass Canterbury.

[uncletim]

3 hours ago, wxeyeNH said:

I live about 3 miles due west of about Exit 24 latitude.   The big hill rise just north of Exit 20 is also a climate changing point.  

One of the fun things about NNE in general is that it abounds in these kinds of lines where the climate seems to change more than a casual assessment of the latitude and altitude might suggest. This one on 93 is familiar, and in Maine, I think most people who drive up the coast know that the Bath bridge is a link between different worlds in the summer. Our summer home in Rangeley is completely different from Farmington, both in summer and winter. The contrast seems much more dramatic than the 1000 ft altitude differential would indicate. In  the mid-Atlantic, where I've lived most of my life we have nothing like this - you can go up 2 or 3 thousand feet, and it might be a smidge cooler, but it doesn't feel like a  fundamentally different climate.

[wxeyeNH]

1 hour ago, CoastalWx said:

I'm sure you can go deep into tons of microclimates, but It is noticeable in summer and winter. In summer when you pass that area, you get the sky loaded with puffy fair wx CU and the temp drops 8 degrees...just enough for my wife to b*tch about no sun and colder temps. In the winter, the snowpack grows substantially around there...right in the land of CAD. I'll never forget my escape from SNE hell in Feb 2012...coming up to at least 8" OTG and pure winter that weekend. It's crazy how different it is when you pass Canterbury.

I think its because the real SW to NE ridgelines cross Rt 93 start right in the Canterbury area.  It's just downslope into the flatlands SE of that.  My vantage point faces south so on many, many days Im in Cu in the summer flurries in the winter but  look to my south and see the clouds just melt away.  The climate really changes rapidly starting around Brian's casa and north....

[tamarack]

1 hour ago, uncletim said:

One of the fun things about NNE in general is that it abounds in these kinds of lines where the climate seems to change more than a casual assessment of the latitude and altitude might suggest. This one on 93 is familiar, and in Maine, I think most people who drive up the coast know that the Bath bridge is a link between different worlds in the summer. Our summer home in Rangeley is completely different from Farmington, both in summer and winter. The contrast seems much more dramatic than the 1000 ft altitude differential would indicate. In  the mid-Atlantic, where I've lived most of my life we have nothing like this - you can go up 2 or 3 thousand feet, and it might be a smidge cooler, but it doesn't feel like a  fundamentally different climate.

One sees some change climbing the long hill out of Phillips, but the real difference comes between Smalls Falls and Beaver Mountain Pond - totally different ecosystems only a few miles apart.

[borderwx]

Another day under the cloud blanket. 2” of new snow, 4.5” for the weekend. The sun poked through this AM while we were on the rink. Skied this afternoon in drizzle and freezing rain, but great skiing. Overall a great winter weekend, just with flat light and shades of grey. 

 

 

[eyewall]

Minutes before freezing rain began here:

[MarkO]

Yeah, I agree with all that has been said about travelling up 93. The pack remains pretty solid most winters north of Concord. Obviously as you head farther north on 93 the pack generally increases until you get to Franconia notch. But usually if there is snow (as opposed to rain) to fall in the whites, it tends to be north of exit 28 where the foothills become mountains. There have been times when it's raining my whole way north just to flip to snow as I get off the exit and gain a little elevation, but generally I don't get much more snow than Gene, and he's probably not much more than Brian. But there is a huge difference between where Brian is than here in Lowell. 

This weekend is a classic example. We were snowing all Friday night/Saturday morning, and it only reached 33 around 3pm. At that same time it was pouring and 49 in Lowell. I posted in the ski thread how incredible the skiing was Saturday. The powder was deep and light, it wasn't even sticky!

I'm still trying to figure out how much snow my area of Thornton averages. If I were to guess it's probably around 95 inches, but varies based on elevation.

[alex]

1 hour ago, eyewall said:

Minutes before freezing rain began here:

What is that??? Looks ominous 

[alex]

This weekend busted badly here. The 3-6” that was in the forecast turned into low to mid 30s all weekend with some occasional drizzle. Rather springy. Would actually have been really enjoyable had it been sunnier! I know, I know... blasphemy. Truth is, I love winter but if it were to end today I’d have no regrets. I’ve already seen as much snow as I did in my first winter in Boston (95-96), so how can I complain? But the snow is still deep and the calendar says mid February, so I’m pretty sure it’s not over...

[uncletim]

9 hours ago, tamarack said:

One sees some change climbing the long hill out of Phillips, but the real difference comes between Smalls Falls and Beaver Mountain Pond - totally different ecosystems only a few miles apart.

Absolutely. It's always fun to watch the thermometer on the trip down the valley.

[eyewall]

What is that??? Looks ominous 

Abandoned fueling platforms

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[J.Spin]

Heading west right now I just ran into some snowfall as I hit Richmond – presumably the snow is in association with the cold front moving through, and it’s showing up as what looks like a WNW flow on the radar:

 

[mreaves]

47 minutes ago, J.Spin said:

Heading west right now I just ran into some snowfall as I hit Richmond – presumably the snow is in association with the cold front moving through, and it’s showing up as what looks like a WNW flow on the radar:

 

Lol.  I saw about 6 flurries when I walked across the street to DMV and I said to myself "Ha! And DIT said no more snow in February!"

[tamarack]

8 hours ago, uncletim said:

Absolutely. It's always fun to watch the thermometer on the trip down the valley.

Car thermometers aren't always that accurate, but fun for watching trends - wish my 2011 Ranger had one.  Temp shown on our Forester usually drops 1-2° in just the 2000' of gravel road between the tar and our home.  Our frost pocket location has a south-sloping field just to our north, and level dense forest immediately south of the lawn, so on good radiating nights the cold drains into the yard and can't infiltrate well into the woods.

[J.Spin]

49 minutes ago, mreaves said:

Lol.  I saw about 6 flurries when I walked across the street to DMV and I said to myself "Ha! And DIT said no more snow in February!"

 

LOL!  From the NNE perspective, I figured his comment was just the usual Hollywood hogwash meant to evoke that “Glad we don’t live there” response that so many on the forum seem to love.

[backedgeapproaching]

My road is NHL worthy slick. Awful weekend with days of rain, what's mess.

Had to zip down to Bennington and they are pretty much wiped out.didn't expect brown.

[wxeyeNH]

Driveway was also a sheet of ice this AM.  Fortunately, mine gets full sun.  I have snowblowed after each storm and tried to get down to pavement as much as possible.  We had the 1/2" of snow on Saturday and then the 33F rain which made a glaze mess.  Got up to 34F the past 2 hours so have out there with a metal spade trying to break it up.  Came up in big sheets.  A success for the most part!

[dendrite]

9 hours ago, tamarack said:

Car thermometers aren't always that accurate, but fun for watching trends - wish my 2011 Ranger had one.  Temp shown on our Forester usually drops 1-2° in just the 2000' of gravel road between the tar and our home.  Our frost pocket location has a south-sloping field just to our north, and level dense forest immediately south of the lawn, so on good radiating nights the cold drains into the yard and can't infiltrate well into the woods.

Tell me about it. I'd love to install a factory caliber one in my 09.

[Lava Rock]

My road is NHL worthy slick. Awful weekend with days of rain, what's mess.

Had to zip down to Bennington and they are pretty much wiped out.didn't expect brown.

Holy mackerel. That's some serious ice.

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[powderfreak]

On 2/11/2018 at 2:29 PM, CoastalWx said:

I'm sure you can go deep into tons of microclimates, but It is noticeable in summer and winter. In summer when you pass that area, you get the sky loaded with puffy fair wx CU and the temp drops 8 degrees...just enough for my wife to b*tch about no sun and colder temps. In the winter, the snowpack grows substantially around there...right in the land of CAD. I'll never forget my escape from SNE hell in Feb 2012...coming up to at least 8" OTG and pure winter that weekend. It's crazy how different it is when you pass Canterbury.

That's a really meaningful observation, IMO.  There's something about when the valleys are clear and sunny, while the hill towns are dotted with Cu that mark a dividing line.  Sort of like, you've entered the zone of topographical influence in one way or another.

[CoastalWx]

2 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

That's a really meaningful observation, IMO.  There's something about when the valleys are clear and sunny, while the hill towns are dotted with Cu that mark a dividing line.  Sort of like, you've entered the zone of topographical influence in one way or another.

I mean the lakes region is relatively low, but proximity to the mtns certainly keeps the CU going. It's sort of funny...you should hear how aggravated my wife gets..lol. Meanwhile, I'm thanking God for the clouds. 

[powderfreak]

6 hours ago, backedgeapproaching said:

My road is NHL worthy slick. Awful weekend with days of rain, what's mess.

Wow.  I thought mine was bad...you have to get to the car here by holding onto the side view mirror (probably not the best idea) but there are small patches that aren't glare ice and have grip. 

Mine looked more like that after the last thaw...just a mirror surface that you could see your reflection in it and where you could get into a slow speed uncontrolled fall, ha.

[powderfreak]

4 minutes ago, CoastalWx said:

I mean the lakes region is relatively low, but proximity to the mtns certainly keeps the CU going. It's sort of funny...you should hear how aggravated my wife gets..lol. Meanwhile, I'm thanking God for the clouds. 

Yeah it's just in a more general area with undulating terrain (and flats where the lakes are) when compared to the coastal plain and wider valleys like CT River, Hudson River, Champlain Valley.

[adk]

Was driving through addison county yesterday and many of the fields look like that road. Just rock solid glare ice. Sun was beaming in Middlebury in the mid-day and there was no wind...temps were in the mid 30s....darn it was nice.  If we aren't going to get snow, can we get more of that?