NNE Cold Season Thread 2020-2021

[wxeyeNH]

Friday before the recent storm I went up to Franconia Notch with the drone.  There is a stone face called "The Watcher" .   It can't be seen from the road but I wanted to see if I could fly the drone up to get a shot.   I screwed up and flew to the wrong cliff.  It was windy at elevation and I was having a problem with my camera moving around.  Still it is interesting to see Cannon Mt and Lafayette from a different perspective.

 

[dendrite]

Would love a little sun today to melt the snow and ice off of the trees. 28° and overcast isn’t going to get it done.

[jculligan]

Tagged North Doublehead again this afternoon, just to check out how much snow fell at 3k around here. Not surprisingly, it was absolutely crushed. There was a lot of drifting right on the summit which made it hard to estimate exactly how much fell up there...but I was breaking trail up to my knees on the way up. I passed an ambitious split boarder who can now claim the first descent of Doublehead this season - I'm happy to let the base consolidate before I attempt to ski the woods around here!

I think another 200-300' of elevation would have made all the difference at my place. Above 2000' there was definitely a foot of snow imby.

[PhineasC]

Getting a decent burst of almost moderate snow here now. 20 degrees and breezy. 

[alex]

Took the kids skiing, pretty fantastic first day. Snow intensity has picked up again a bit, 1.1" since the last measurement, bringing the total to 13.3". Snow stake is at 13" which makes sense since I didn't really do any interim measurements and only measured this morning, so there was a lot of compaction. Would probably be more like 14-15" if I had done proper measurement but who cares.

[wxeyeNH]

1 hour ago, PhineasC said:

Getting a decent burst of almost moderate snow here now. 20 degrees and breezy. 

This is how you and Alex do so good in NH.  Just mostly cloudy here with downslope while the snow machine goes on and on north of the Whites.

Just got our power back and searching the net.  NWS just put out this snowfall map for NH/Maine.  Who reported 17.9" in Alex's area?  That seems awfully high but there is also a 15" east of Mt Washington.  Alex how much did you measure?  Looks like trees took a beating in your area.  I know you like snow on the trees.  Doesn't look like a melt soon.  Maybe late in the week you break 32F?

Edit:  Alex, just saw your snow report as I was typing this

[alex]

22 minutes ago, wxeyeNH said:

This is how you and Alex do so good in NH.  Just mostly cloudy here with downslope while the snow machine goes on and on north of the Whites.

Just got our power back and searching the net.  NWS just put out this snowfall map for NH/Maine.  Who reported 17.9" in Alex's area?  That seems awfully high but there is also a 15" east of Mt Washington.  Alex how much did you measure?  Looks like trees took a beating in your area.  I know you like snow on the trees.  Doesn't look like a melt soon.  Maybe late in the week you break 32F?

Edit:  Alex, just saw your snow report as I was typing this

Don't know who reports around here... Not me! 18" is not outrageous if you were following the 6 hour rule. I measured about 18 hours into the storm lol so plenty of compaction but good enough for me. 

[PhineasC]

33 minutes ago, wxeyeNH said:

This is how you and Alex do so good in NH.  Just mostly cloudy here with downslope while the snow machine goes on and on north of the Whites.

Just got our power back and searching the net.  NWS just put out this snowfall map for NH/Maine.  Who reported 17.9" in Alex's area?  That seems awfully high but there is also a 15" east of Mt Washington.  Alex how much did you measure?  Looks like trees took a beating in your area.  I know you like snow on the trees.  Doesn't look like a melt soon.  Maybe late in the week you break 32F?

Edit:  Alex, just saw your snow report as I was typing this

It’d be nice if they had the data for those numbers. You can’t really see where they even are. I’m usually a little wary of numbers from the ski resort PR people, for example. 

[backedgeapproaching]

53 minutes ago, wxeyeNH said:

This is how you and Alex do so good in NH.  Just mostly cloudy here with downslope while the snow machine goes on and on north of the Whites.

Just got our power back and searching the net.  NWS just put out this snowfall map for NH/Maine.  Who reported 17.9" in Alex's area?  That seems awfully high but there is also a 15" east of Mt Washington.  Alex how much did you measure?  Looks like trees took a beating in your area.  I know you like snow on the trees.  Doesn't look like a melt soon.  Maybe late in the week you break 32F?

Edit:  Alex, just saw your snow report as I was typing this

GYX PNS said the 17.9" was Mount Washington CO-OP observer. Not sure if that means summit or what?  Oceanstwx would know or maybe someone else.

[PhineasC]

LOL Gorham did not have 15 inches. I was just down there. Unless like 13 inches melted away this afternoon. 

[PhineasC]

The only way that is accurate is if it was “Gorham Heights” which is right across rt 2 from me. Some of those guys live a decent ways up the side of Pine Mountain and should have weather similar to here. That’s about as close to actual Gorham as I am. 

[#NoPoles]

5 hours ago, alex said:

Hmm that may just be a radar thing. We had really heavy snow yesterday evening. Just ask Diane lol

We didn't take any pics while I was stuck in your driveway

[wxeyeNH]

15 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

The only way that is accurate is if it was “Gorham Heights” which is right across rt 2 from me. Some of those guys live a decent ways up the side of Pine Mountain and should have weather similar to here. That’s about as close to actual Gorham as I am. 

There is always lots of debate on the forum about how people measure.  Especially with the low water content "fluff" snow that falls with upslope.  If you clear the snow board every 6 hours your snow totals will be much higher than taking measurements less frequently.  It doesn't matter as much (I don't think) with wet snow but the upslope fluff decompresses to nothing and also must settle easier.  With the wind and cold temperatures it is really hard to get good measurements. Many of the Mid Atlantic storms have marginal temperatures but add wind to a 10F airmass and everything flies around.  I try to take several measurements in open but sheltered areas  but for the casual observer it is very easy to cheat to get the higher amounts.

[JakkelWx]

What is the snowiest place in Vermont/New Hampshire?

[powderfreak]

28 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

LOL Gorham did not have 15 inches. I was just down there. Unless like 13 inches melted away this afternoon. 

Ha, I picture you being insulted by a high Gorham number.  Weather is so varied around the mountains...looks like there are some 1,200-1,700ft elevations in Gorham.  It’s like in Stowe... the ski area vs the village... it all files under “Stowe, Vermont” in the PNS.  One spot gets 250” a year and another could get 120” and it’s all listed as the same town.

I bet regardless of what town you are in, if you got up to 1300ft or above it was 12-16” in your area pretty evenly.

But that’s why it’s hard to just broad brush towns.  No doubt there are parts of Gorham on the WNW side there that get the same snow or very similar.

[powderfreak]

Just now, JakkelWx said:

What is the snowiest place in Vermont?

Jay Peak area.  Either the base area village and nearby.  There’s a neighborhood called Alpine Heaven near there that is easily one of the snowiest spots in New England inch for inch.

[backedgeapproaching]

35 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

The only way that is accurate is if it was “Gorham Heights” which is right across rt 2 from me. Some of those guys live a decent ways up the side of Pine Mountain and should have weather similar to here. That’s about as close to actual Gorham as I am. 

I don't even see a current Gorham CO-OP on Xmacis, but guess there is one somewhere...lol.  See 2-3 old ones that are no longer active.

But yea, what PF said is right, so much variation within town limits it's ridiculous.  I live very, very close to the Winhall town line, but I'm still in Manchester.  So a couple houses down would be considered "Winhall", same area as Stratton and many houses that are in the 2000-2400' range.  You could have one of my nearby neighbors report 4" from Winhall (from the valley) and then have another "Winhall"  up near Stratton report 20"  in the same storm (theoretically under the right specific conditions ) 

[bwt3650]

12 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

Jay Peak area.  Either the base area village and nearby.  There’s a neighborhood called Alpine Heaven near there that is easily one of the snowiest spots in New England inch for inch.

Still waiting for that this year...need a solid event to get things rolling.  I need to start getting the Phin anxiety.  It just got him a foot and a half. 

[PhineasC]

19 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

Ha, I picture you being insulted by a high Gorham number.  Weather is so varied around the mountains...looks like there are some 1,200-1,700ft elevations in Gorham.  It’s like in Stowe... the ski area vs the village... it all files under “Stowe, Vermont” in the PNS.  One spot gets 250” a year and another could get 120” and it’s all listed as the same town.

I bet regardless of what town you are in, if you got up to 1300ft or above it was 12-16” in your area pretty evenly.

But that’s why it’s hard to just broad brush towns.  No doubt there are parts of Gorham on the WNW side there that get the same snow or very similar.

Yeah Gorham Heights is one such area for sure. My plow guy lives over there and his weather is similar to here. 

[Damage In Tolland]

7 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

Yeah Gorham Heights is one such area for sure. My plow guy lives over there and his weather is similar to here. 

How close are you to Jefferson? We vacationed every summer up in that area when my daughters were younger. Both in high school now. We’d stay in Jackson , hit Storyland, hike the Whites, hit Santa’s Village etc. I recall that area in Gorham with the mobile homes along the main road with huge hills in the backyground. You’ve gotta be in that general area.

[PhineasC]

Just now, Damage In Tolland said:

How close are you to Jefferson? We vacationed every summer up in that area when my daughters were younger. Both in high school now. We’d stay in Jackson , hit Storyland, hike the Whites, hit Santa’s Village etc. I recall that area in Gorham with the mobile homes along the main road with huge hills in the backyground. You’ve gotta be in that general area.

About 15 mins to the town line. But I have a significant elevation advantage.  

[PhineasC]

The Gorham Walmart parking lot has one of the best views in the entire area, BTW. LOL

[powderfreak]

27 minutes ago, bwt3650 said:

Still waiting for that this year...need a solid event to get things rolling.  I need to start getting the Phin anxiety.  It just got him a foot and a half. 

It does work for sure.... even in SNE that last storm was said to be a 100 to 1 chance hail mary with the "better pattern coming up behind it" and people starting to worry a bit.  There are definitely several cases of anxiety and worry then leading to a big event out of the blue.

You'll get it... I always go with climo.  Sooner or later it happens.  But I also bet you've had snow cover (even if just 2") up there at Jay more than anyone else on the forum since like October if you were to tally it up. It just hasn't been able to stick around yet.  Hopefully the GFS's two cutters don't come to pass in the longer term.

[powderfreak]

15 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

The Gorham Walmart parking lot has one of the best views in the entire area, BTW. LOL

Hilarious you mention that... when out in Utah we went to get some stuff from a Walmart situated on one of the SLC benches, and literally behind it was like 11,000ft peaks and one of the most dramatic elevation rises in a short distance I've ever seen.  I remember I have a photo somewhere of it... the dichotomy of this bland corporate big business box store, set in a scene that's literally out of a postcard cracked me up big time. 

[alex]

1 hour ago, #NoPoles said:

We didn't take any pics while I was stuck in your driveway

I thought about it. But thought you might not appreciate it. 

[powderfreak]

33 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

About 15 mins to the town line. But I have a significant elevation advantage.  

Jefferson looks pretty high up there, no?  Looks like the town is just under 1,500ft? 

Not in this image but looks like there are some neighborhoods up near 2,000ft too.  I was surprised but there doesn't seem to be any decrease in elevation from Randolph to Jefferson on RT 2.

That place has to radiate like mad looking at a topo map.

[bwt3650]

16 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

It does work for sure.... even in SNE that last storm was said to be a 100 to 1 chance hail mary with the "better pattern coming up behind it" and people starting to worry a bit.  There are definitely several cases of anxiety and worry then leading to a big event out of the blue.

You'll get it... I always go with climo.  Sooner or later it happens.  But I also bet you've had snow cover (even if just 2") up there at Jay more than anyone else on the forum since like October if you were to tally it up. It just hasn't been able to stick around yet.  Hopefully the GFS's two cutters don't come to pass in the longer term.

Yeah, inch for inch I would guess we are about normal.  Maybe someone has the data, but there have been plenty of days with snow in the air.  The 10 days leading up to thanksgiving were pretty solid, but it all washed away that Wednesday and the biggest single total was probably that early upslope event that was just too early in the season. We have “cover” now, but I wouldn’t call it a pack.  I’m not worried, but do have to admit that I would like to get a solid event out of the way to start building the pack and get some help getting terrain open.  Jay just doesn’t have the fire power to blow their way to a big terrain expansion.  And those cutters in the long range make me nervous of losing anything we might start.  We need one of those to break for up here.  Once to January, above normal temps are fine because the averages are so low, as long as we don’t get dews in the 40s with rain and fog.  So I guess not nervous or complaining, but maybe anxious.  

[alex]

18 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

Jefferson looks pretty high up there, no?  Looks like the town is just under 1,500ft? 

Not in this image but looks like there are some neighborhoods up near 2,000ft too.  I was surprised but there doesn't seem to be any decrease in elevation from Randolph to Jefferson on RT 2.

That place has to radiate like mad looking at a topo map.

I don't spend much time in Jefferson but it seems to be a snow hole for whatever reason 

[PhineasC]

14 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

Jefferson looks pretty high up there, no?  Looks like the town is just under 1,500ft? 

Not in this image but looks like there are some neighborhoods up near 2,000ft too.  I was surprised but there doesn't seem to be any decrease in elevation from Randolph to Jefferson on RT 2.

That place has to radiate like mad looking at a topo map.

Hmm, I guess you are right. I have never looked that closely at the topo map over there. I know they do not seem to do as well with upslope just based on driving past there up to my house, which is a frequent occurrence. I swear it feels like I have to climb back up from there to my house in the car. But maybe it's just an illusion. I don't really know of any good obs from that area so impossible to say how they do on the averages. I'm sure there are little neighborhoods tucked here and there around the area that are snow heavens. Just need to have ORH_wxman tell you about them. LOL

[PhineasC]

1 minute ago, alex said:

I don't spend much time in Jefferson but it seems to be a snow hole for whatever reason 

In my limited experience, that's what I have seen. Already seen several occasions in marginal setups where they are couple degrees warmer than me and still a mix yet it's snowing up on Randolph Hill.