wxeyeNH Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 Looking beyond the early week storm things don't look too bad for winter weather next weekend. Many different possibilities. For those of us that missed the upslope event it sure has been a quiet January. So whatever happens a week from now looks at least interesting to watch. We are almost getting to the time that the solar insolation is strong enough to start heating the interior of your car or eating away at snowbanks even if the air temperature is well below freezing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhineasC Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 I need to get used to this snow retention stuff. The bottom 10 inches of my pack has been compressed into very dense sheet that is exhausting to shovel away and laughs at my snowblower. I basically can cut it into blocks and stack it. The snow in MD melts away long before it has a chance to turn into this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wxeyeNH Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 20 minutes ago, PhineasC said: I need to get used to this snow retention stuff. The bottom 10 inches of my pack has been compressed into very dense sheet that is exhausting to shovel away and laughs at my snowblower. I basically can cut it into blocks and stack it. The snow in MD melts away long before it has a chance to turn into this. I call it glaciated snow. It takes a lot of energy to melt it off. One 40F of sunny weather can melt away 6" of fluff but once it goes threw it's melting and refreezing cycles it is very, very durable. A cutter does not easily melt it easily either. In the begining of April you can make a vertical cut in it and see the different layers from the many storms over the winter. That is why once you get a durable pack like this your good until spring. Once we get into April there will be big disparities between south facing sunny slope and north facing shady ones. Snow pack is great but once you get to May 1rst and still have snow and bare trees it starts getting old. I'm getting off track but I find that I run about 3 weeks later in the spring season than my folks in Pikesville. I bet your at least a month later than your place down there. I'll get a call from my folks in Metro Baltimore saying the trees are almost fully leafed out while it is still bare up here. April is spring down there while May is our spring month. Black flies are a whole other discussion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamarack Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 3 minutes ago, wxeyeNH said: I call it glaciated snow. It takes a lot of energy to melt it off. One 40F of sunny weather can melt away 6" of fluff but once it goes threw it's melting and refreezing cycles it is very, very durable. A cutter does not easily melt it easily either. In the begining of April you can make a vertical cut in it and see the different layers from the many storms over the winter. That is why once you get a durable pack like this your good until spring. Once we get into April there will be big disparities between south facing sunny slope and north facing shady ones. Snow pack is great but once you get to May 1rst and still have snow and bare trees it starts getting old. I'm getting off track but I find that I run about 3 weeks later in the spring season than my folks in Pikesville. I bet your at least a month later than your place down there. I'll get a call from my folks in Metro Baltimore saying the trees are almost fully leafed out while it is still bare up here. April is spring down there while May is our spring month. Black flies are a whole other discussion! For a couple of our Fort Kent years we were taking the kids to an allergy specialist in Lawrence, MA (it worked - multiple allergies reduced to almost none) and on a mid-April appointment we would see some green on the early-riser trees. Local folks would comment on the green-up and asked about our area and we'd report the 25" or so still on the ground. Good for the occasional jaw-drop. Coldest morning this season though only by 1-2° from the -5 in Dec. Maybe <-10 by tomorrow sunrise? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 1 hour ago, PhineasC said: I need to get used to this snow retention stuff. The bottom 10 inches of my pack has been compressed into very dense sheet that is exhausting to shovel away and laughs at my snowblower. I basically can cut it into blocks and stack it. The snow in MD melts away long before it has a chance to turn into this. I made the mistake of letting that accumulate under the roofline of my garage my first year here. First time it rained, all the water coming down from the roof channeled right into the garage, where it then froze solid. Took me weeks to get rid of the dam, and had a frozen garage all winter. Not doing that again! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhineasC Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 19 minutes ago, alex said: I made the mistake of letting that accumulate under the roofline of my garage my first year here. First time it rained, all the water coming down from the roof channeled right into the garage, where it then froze solid. Took me weeks to get rid of the dam, and had a frozen garage all winter. Not doing that again! Yes. I made the same mistake with ice from the roof melt and now I have a mess. It will take days to clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backedgeapproaching Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 1 hour ago, wxeyeNH said: I call it glaciated snow. It takes a lot of energy to melt it off. One 40F of sunny weather can melt away 6" of fluff but once it goes threw it's melting and refreezing cycles it is very, very durable. A cutter does not easily melt it easily either. In the begining of April you can make a vertical cut in it and see the different layers from the many storms over the winter. That is why once you get a durable pack like this your good until spring. Once we get into April there will be big disparities between south facing sunny slope and north facing shady ones. Snow pack is great but once you get to May 1rst and still have snow and bare trees it starts getting old. I'm getting off track but I find that I run about 3 weeks later in the spring season than my folks in Pikesville. I bet your at least a month later than your place down there. I'll get a call from my folks in Metro Baltimore saying the trees are almost fully leafed out while it is still bare up here. April is spring down there while May is our spring month. Black flies are a whole other discussion! April was always my favorite month in the Mid Atl. No bugs and lots of nice days with lots of blooming, trees, flowers etc. Its literally the only month I would take out of the12 months vs here in VT. The rest of the months in Mid Atl are too hot or not snowy enough. The bugs are ridiculous here though--best time of summer for me is AUG/SEPT when the fly family goes away and weather is just perfect. Screened in porch FTW in NNE, that along with a bad ass mudroom...ha. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 26 minutes ago, PhineasC said: Yes. I made the same mistake with ice from the roof melt and now I have a mess. It will take days to clear. I eventually won the battle just dumping salt and taking an axe to it breaking it into pieces 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timp Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 Falling fast down to -2 already. Should be the coldest night of the winter so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreaves Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 3 hours ago, backedgeapproaching said: April was always my favorite month in the Mid Atl. No bugs and lots of nice days with lots of blooming, trees, flowers etc. Its literally the only month I would take out of the12 months vs here in VT. The rest of the months in Mid Atl are too hot or not snowy enough. The bugs are ridiculous here though--best time of summer for me is AUG/SEPT when the fly family goes away and weather is just perfect. Screened in porch FTW in NNE, that along with a bad ass mudroom...ha. When I retire, if I leave VT, it will be from March 15 — May 15. Those 2 months suck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patriot21 Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 -8 right now, I do not think I have been below -10 yet this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhineasC Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 -1.5 It's a radiator night so I will not keep pace with the rad pits. Alex down to -8.5 already, for example. Still some breezes down the hill here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#NoPoles Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 My car battery tells me this is the oldest night yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skivt2 Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 1 hour ago, mreaves said: When I retire, if I leave VT, it will be from March 15 — May 15. Those 2 months suck. My favorite time in VT but I’m a bump skier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreaves Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 17 minutes ago, Skivt2 said: My favorite time in VT but I’m a bump skier. Mud season everywhere away from the slopes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 -13/-27. Deck popping loudly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dryslot Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 -3.3°F, Coldest night this season for us coastal dwellers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreaves Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 -7.9°/-12.6°. Coldest night of the season for me, by far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skivt2 Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 3 hours ago, mreaves said: Mud season everywhere away from the slopes. Yup. When you are skiing in a mesh bug proof jacket and head net and you need a nice sunscreen/bug dope combo to protect your skin you park a gallon of water at the bottom of the lift and make sure you have something salty in your pocket for a snack. It could be 80 and sunny or snowing and it could also thunder and pour rain at any minute. I don’t miss a day once Killington goes to 3 days a week in May. Nothing like carrying your skis on and off a moving lift and having to hike to get to the snow. Protip.....the black flys are worst where the mud meets the snow and you have to stop hiking and put your skis on. And those F’rs will bite through the vents in your helmet. I know mud season skiing well. I’m a slush specialist lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dendrite Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 HIE and BML pushing -20°. Just a hair below 0° here at -0.5° so far. My 6” soil is down to 30° That’s the coldest since late Jan 07 I believe. It’s the first time we’ve had below zero temps with patchy cover in awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dendrite Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 Alex, BML, and HIE sporting the -20° now. Looks like Maine wins with a couple of -25s. Island Pond with a -24° as well. Tamarack finally got his -10s for the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borderwx Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 -14 on top of the hill this morning... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dryslot Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 -20.6 here. Blah 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhineasC Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 Bottomed out at -11. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 -8f here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dendrite Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 MWN is currently the warmest in the state with +14°. Meanwhile -20° at HIE. Heavy, heavy inversion. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#NoPoles Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 21 minutes ago, alex said: -20.6 here. Blah No thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmcginvt Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 -15F here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamarack Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 15 hours ago, alex said: I made the mistake of letting that accumulate under the roofline of my garage my first year here. First time it rained, all the water coming down from the roof channeled right into the garage, where it then froze solid. Took me weeks to get rid of the dam, and had a frozen garage all winter. Not doing that again! February 1981 was nearly 15° AN in northern Maine, but after the early near-50 RA temps dropped well below zero. Runoff from the rain/thaw backed up from the plow piles and the result was 5-6" of ice in our detached garage. Unfortunately, the Chevette was parked inside and I had to use the ax (carefully!) to free it. -19 at 7 AM here, trees are popping. In other news, the club groomer is still disabled on our woodlot. The tractor is a Gilbert 01339 - I've no idea of its provenance but it looks anything but young. They're now using a 4' drag pulled with a snowsled and it's a tight fit between an 8" diameter oak and the dead groomer, but there were a few sleds running the trail yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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