NNE Summer Thread

[mreaves]

I figured that the winter of 2017-18 has seemingly drawn its last breath so it would be time to fire up a NNE spring thread.  All in all this past weekend was decent, with Saturday being a real beauty.  I played in the VT Golf Association Spring 4 ball tournament and we even managed to miss the rain yesterday as it held off until we were done with our round.  Below is a picture from the 12th tee at Equinox on Saturday.

[tamarack]

Nowhere near the earliest leaf-out here (2010 is a lap ahead of that field), but so far it's one of the fastest.  Driving home in Wednesday's heat we saw essentially no green on the trees, but 24 hours later the aspens had clearly begun, and since then the maples have followed suit, beech/birch ready to pop.

Only a few drops yesterday instead of the 1/4" modeled and forecast, disappointing as I'd spot-seeded the lawn Saturday where the moles had left dirt-piles under the snow, and a nice little drink would've been a plus.

[eyewall]

Leaf out is definitely happening at a rapid pace here in the CPV. It can be like a 2nd foliage season in some ways.

[mreaves]

1 hour ago, eyewall said:

Leaf out is definitely happening at a rapid pace here in the CPV. It can be like a 2nd foliage season in some ways.

Definitely a second foliage season.  It blows me away the sheer number of different shades of green nature produces.

[wxeyeNH]

Leaf out is in full force up to about 1250 feet.  Ridges above that are bare.  Forsythia have now bloomed and the first dandelions appeared today.  Lawn mowing will begin by this weekend.  

[tamarack]

56 minutes ago, mreaves said:

Definitely a second foliage season.  It blows me away the sheer number of different shades of green nature produces.

Spring color is like impressionistic pastels, rather than the bright contrasts of autumn.  Both are beautiful.  One of my favorite spring colors comes from bigtooth aspen, leafing out 2-3 weeks later than its quaking cousin.  Its unfolding leaves have dense whitish-green hairs on their undersides.  From a distance these young leaves look silver, and since BTA often grows in clonal clumps, the silvery patches really stand out from other foliage.  (BTA is an autumn winner as well, with colors ranging from bright yellow to deep orange, rather than the somewhat lighter yellow that characterizes QA.)

[#NoPoles]

Was wondering when you guys would fire up a spring thread

[powderfreak]

RT 108 from Stowe to Jeffersonville through Smugglers Notch still has a little bit of melting to do. 

VTrans photo from yesterday.  

[tamarack]

April 2018 was the coldest of 20 here, about 0.5° below 2007.  After a +5 on April Fools, 21 of the next 22 days were BN (13th the streak-breaker) and that span averaged -6.5.  Then the final 7 days were all AN, with the month finishing at -3.5.  The numbers:

Avg max:  47.2  (Avg is 52.1)  Warmest was 72 on the 24th. Had 3 days with max 32 or below, 5 (32), 15, 16 (both 31).  Only 8 such days in 20 Aprils; apart from 2018, never later than 4/5.

Avg min:  26.2   (Avg is 28.4)  Coldest was 7 on the 6th.  Mildest min was 46 on the 26th.

Mean was 36.7  (Avg 40.2)  Mildest mean was 53.5 on the 28th, coldest 22.5 on the 6th.
 

Precip:  3.72"  (Avg is 4.00")   Largest calendar day was 0.98" on the 17th, which included some very minor ZR at the start.

Snow:  4.5"  (Avg is 5.0")  Two thirds of that 4.5" came in a 75-minute period on the 6th, during the prettiest feather-fest I can remember. 
(Pics on pg 8 of "Snow Blitz - Napril 6", separate posts, during and next morning)

Snowpack was 14" on 4/1, peaked at 16" on the 6th, and remained 1"+ thru the 18th.  (Avg is 4/6, median 4/8)   SDDs 1,997,  115% of Avg

[powderfreak]

A nice evening on the snow beach.

Still skiing the glades on May 8th, lol. 

Almost time to "shut 'em down" as a certain poster likes to say when it hits 40 degrees in January.

[wxeyeNH]

I consider mid-spring to be the time when most of the forest canopy is at 50% leaf growth.  Rapidly approaching that time but not quite there yet.  Maybe 3 more days...

[Angus]

17 hours ago, powderfreak said:

A nice evening on the snow beach.

Still skiing the glades on May 8th, lol. 

Almost time to "shut 'em down" as a certain poster likes to say when it hits 40 degrees in January.

Just amazing. Admit it...you wish the lifts were still running at the mountain!

[beavis1729]

On 5/8/2018 at 11:52 AM, tamarack said:

April 2018 was the coldest of 20 here, about 0.5° below 2007.  After a +5 on April Fools, 21 of the next 22 days were BN (13th the streak-breaker) and that span averaged -6.5.  Then the final 7 days were all AN, with the month finishing at -3.5.  The numbers:

Avg max:  47.2  (Avg is 52.1)  Warmest was 72 on the 24th. Had 3 days with max 32 or below, 5 (32), 15, 16 (both 31).  Only 8 such days in 20 Aprils; apart from 2018, never later than 4/5.

Avg min:  26.2   (Avg is 28.4)  Coldest was 7 on the 6th.  Mildest min was 46 on the 26th.

Mean was 36.7  (Avg 40.2)  Mildest mean was 53.5 on the 28th, coldest 22.5 on the 6th.
 

Precip:  3.72"  (Avg is 4.00")   Largest calendar day was 0.98" on the 17th, which included some very minor ZR at the start.

Snow:  4.5"  (Avg is 5.0")  Two thirds of that 4.5" came in a 75-minute period on the 6th, during the prettiest feather-fest I can remember. 
(Pics on pg 8 of "Snow Blitz - Napril 6", separate posts, during and next morning)

Snowpack was 14" on 4/1, peaked at 16" on the 6th, and remained 1"+ thru the 18th.  (Avg is 4/6, median 4/8)   SDDs 1,997,  115% of Avg

Great info.  Impressive to have 2 consecutive sub-freezing high temps in mid-April!  Interesting that a -3.5 departure is your coldest April in the past 20 years.  I imagined April being a more variable month...but perhaps the general nature of the month (cloudiness and precip) tends to keep things more consistent from a temperature standpoint from year to year.

In Chicago (ORD), the mean temp in April 2018 was 41.2, a departure of -7.7.  Coldest April in Chicago since 1907.  Unfortunately, the obs site has moved around so much over the years (plus UHI increasing), so it's difficult to compare apples to apples since records began in 1870.  Warmest April is 57.0 in 1955.

[tamarack]

20 minutes ago, beavis1729 said:

Great info.  Interesting that a -3.5 departure is your coldest April in the past 20 years.  I imagined April being a more variable month...but perhaps the general nature of the month (cloudiness and precip) tends to keep things more consistent from a temperature standpoint from year to year.

In Chicago (ORD), the mean temp in April 2018 was 41.2, a departure of -7.7.  Coldest April in Chicago since 1907.  Unfortunately, the obs site has moved around so much over the years (plus UHI increasing), so it's difficult to compare apples to apples since records began in 1870.  Warmest April is 57.0 in 1955.

The spread from warmest April to coolest is only 8.24°, and only July/Aug/Sept are lower.  Greatest spread is February (21.32°), thanks to 2015 being 14.38 BN. 
The Farmington co-op, with 125 years of record, naturally shows much greater extremes.  The April span is 14.42°, Dec 25.74° with 1989 being 15.25° BN.  Even July, with their least varying extremes, has a span of 11.34°.  (These departures are from the full 125-year averages.  Due probably to a warmer location 60+ years ago biasing that LT average, the Dec 1989 departure from the then-valid 30-year norms was "only" 12.69°.)

[eyewall]

A look at the causeway from Colchester to South Hero VT following the storms last week:

[powderfreak]

On 5/9/2018 at 1:22 PM, Angus said:

Just amazing. Admit it...you wish the lifts were still running at the mountain!

I will say I'm torn a bit, but I truly do enjoy this time of year when you have the mountain mostly to yourself.  For one, the skiing this late in the spring isn't necessarily great...and a lot of days its not good at all.  If the sun is out and it's warm, the glacier snow softens to fun turns.  If its like 40s and cloudy (not uncommon at those elevations even in May), the glacier doesn't soften and its rough, suncupped base layer ice.  It's odd.  It isn't as easy as "above freezing" means good skiing.  Those are the days when its just nice to take one top to bottom run and get some exercise. 

I think at this point, working in the industry it changes your perception a bit on some stuff, also living down the road too.  Ski 130 days a winter and you get over it a bit...and when the ski resort isn't open, its Monday through Friday work, 8-4 type stuff.  You are more like a normal person rather than waking up at 4am on every weekend and holiday and whatever from Nov-Apr. You see your family again, ha.  So you almost look forward to the ski area closing, like a teacher looks forward to summer vacation.  I do think if I work outside of the industry and resort, which I will someday, it'll be a little different maybe?  7 months without a weekend day, a sick day, any travel, etc...I love it but I you also start to love the slow seasons, when you have tallied up a whole lot of paid time off all winter that you can now use, and things just move at a slower pace.  Even the town calms down, it's a nice break. 

When I lived down near Albany and skied 30 times a season, I feel like I would've been like "what a waste to close with so much snow!" though.

[J.Spin]

I was out for a Mansfield ski tour on Thursday, and can pass along some snowpack info and a few pictures.  Coverage on Nosedive was top to bottom down to the level of Crossover, and Perry Merrill is close, with just a couple of breaks.  The snowpack on the south side of the Cliff House has really been thrown around by the plowing for summer activities, but the north side is in good shape for connection to the lower trails.  PF’s picnic tables are still going to require a bit of thawing before they’re ready for use.  A few shots from tour:

[mreaves]

I don't know if its physically possible to be much nicer than the last two days.  If all summer could be like this, with enough rain to avoid the normally devastating New England drought, I would love it.

[wxeyeNH]

Could definitely use some rain for the garden and lawn.  April 25th was the last good rain.    Our pond was in spring overflow mode 2 weeks ago but has fallen about 3 feet since then.  

[powderfreak]

Looks like it was good to get even some rain.

Active forest fire season from what I've heard.  This was a photo from a fire near Plymouth, VT last night.  WCAX had something on it (not my photos).

[ApacheTrout]

9 hours ago, powderfreak said:

Looks like it was good to get even some rain.

Active forest fire season from what I've heard.  This was a photo from a fire near Plymouth, VT last night.  WCAX had something on it (not my photos).

That's pretty impressive for Vermont.  Any word on fire in the canopy?  It looks like the flames are mostly at ground level, but this could be deceiving.

[Hitman]

On 5/16/2018 at 6:11 AM, ApacheTrout said:

That's pretty impressive for Vermont.  Any word on fire in the canopy?  It looks like the flames are mostly at ground level, but this could be deceiving.

looks like Hawaii

[J.Spin]

I was out for ski tours on Mt. Mansfield on Friday and Saturday, so I can pass along a few pictures and snow updates.  I actually got to chat with PF on the slopes on Friday, and I see he’s posted some recent shots in the ski thread.  There was still a pretty good bang for your buck over the weekend in terms of % snow top to bottom on Liftline, but the % decreases every day, so folks will have to decide when it hits their own point of diminishing return.  That upper section of Liftline offered up some of the best turns though, and should still offer some decent skiing this week.  A few shots from those outings:

[powderfreak]

Was up in the vicinity of the Mansfield stake at work yesterday so went to take a look.

Still natural snow in the woods up there and even natural snow trails like Rim Rock and Cliff Trail still have some snow on them, along with the Nosedive glades.  It is amazing how long that natural snowpack lasts up there above 3,000ft.

That's the NOAA camera in front of it.

 

Looked to be down around 15" officially.

[wxmanmitch]

I had this deer stop by this evening outside my kitchen window as I was washing the dishes from dinner. It looked right at me as I opened the back door to take this photo. 

The deer definitely migrate to the valleys during the winter to escape the deep snow pack that we have up here. Although not the primary carrier of black legged ticks, this fella probably brought some up here from the lower elevations. Now I need to be extra careful and apply bug spray to my feet and legs when walking near or in the woods.  

I'm hoping to see a moose one of these days. Unfortunately they are on the decline due to parasites like brain worm and the winter tick. 

[powderfreak]

I had a moose run in front of my car on Mountain Road here on my way to work...luckily he was far enough out in front that I wasn't really in any danger of hitting him.  Then we saw another real young moose up at 3,600ft outside the Octagon Lodge.  They seem to be on the move to the higher terrain like the deer.

[moneypitmike]

11 hours ago, wxmanmitch said:

I had this deer stop by this evening outside my kitchen window as I was washing the dishes from dinner. It looked right at me as I opened the back door to take this photo. 

The deer definitely migrate to the valleys during the winter to escape the deep snow pack that we have up here. Although not the primary carrier of black legged ticks, this fella probably brought some up here from the lower elevations. Now I need to be extra careful and apply bug spray to my feet and legs when walking near or in the woods.  

I'm hoping to see a moose one of these days. Unfortunately they are on the decline due to parasites like brain worm and the winter tick. 

And yet the population in Mass continues to grow.

[tamarack]

I think the moose in Maine may be acquiring some resistance to the brainworm - either that or the collapse of deer populations in Northern Maine has reduced the threat.  When we first moved to Maine in the 1970s, there were dozens of "moose disease" cases annually.  Nowadays, we hardly ever hear of one, even in the southern part of the state where there are lots of deer and a moderate amount of moose.  (Tests for brainworm done on deer - mainly on skulls donated by successful hunters - have consistently found 90%+ having the infection, so it's not the lack of inoculum.) 

[alex]

We've had Moose sightings every day or two in the past several weeks, way more than I remember last year. I wonder if it has anything to do with the late leaf-out we are still just bidding at my elevation and the higher terrain is bare trees, so they may be hanging out to enjoy the new growth. Unfortunately I've also seen 5 road-killed so far this year 

[wxeyeNH]

12 hours ago, alex said:

We've had Moose sightings every day or two in the past several weeks, way more than I remember last year. I wonder if it has anything to do with the late leaf-out we are still just bidding at my elevation and the higher terrain is bare trees, so they may be hanging out to enjoy the new growth. Unfortunately I've also seen 5 road-killed so far this year 

Hi Alex,

Maybe you are seeing more moose since the nice leafy greens are down at lowest elevations,  less to eat above until leaf out occurs at elevations.  Hate to hear about moose kills on roads.  That is so sad.  Happens down here too but much fewer moose to hit.