NNE Warm Season Thread 2021

[DavisStraight]

On 5/15/2021 at 11:58 PM, Whineminster said:

Why do people call black flys may flys?  Makes me mad. 

Everyone around me calls them May flies, probably because they're at their worst in May.

[dendrite]

We get a ton of actual mayflies here along the river. When they're at peak I can't even pump gas at the Cumby's in Tilton down by the Winni River...just swarms of them. No confusion here.

[mreaves]

1 minute ago, dendrite said:

We get a ton of actual mayflies here along the river. When they're at peak I can't even pump gas at the Cumby's in Tilton down by the Winni River...just swarms of them. No confusion here.

Yeah, I've never heard of them being called mayflies around here.  The blackflies were pretty thick on the golf course last night so not quite past prime season up here.  Another swarming insect we will get treated to when the warm weather gets here flying ants.  Those things come out in massive numbers.  I just looked them up and learned that they are normal black ants with wings.  New queens and male ants fly to establish new colonies.  The  queens chew off their own wings after mating.

 

[tamarack]

5 hours ago, dendrite said:

We get a ton of actual mayflies here along the river. When they're at peak I can't even pump gas at the Cumby's in Tilton down by the Winni River...just swarms of them. No confusion here.

Anyone who fly fishes for trout knows exactly what mayflies are.  Many years ago two of us in a canoe on Allagash Lake heard a whining sound from shoreward near the end of evening twilight, and commented about what fun it would be going ashore among the billions of mosquitos, including the hundreds that would sneak into our tent when we opened to flap to enter.  We paddled in and maybe 50 yards from shore ran into the most incredible hatch I ever expect to encounter - green drakes, common name for one of the largest species of mayfly.  Dozens were bouncing off us at a time and one wanted to breathe thru one's teeth to avoid getting a couple stuffed up one's nose.  Moby Trout and his best buds were rising all over the place, sucking down the protein.  Unfortunately neither of us had a flashlight, so tying on a bigger fly wasn't an option and the fish ignored the smaller ones we'd been fishing earlier.  

[powderfreak]

This evening’s dog hike revealed mosquitoes in big numbers.  Stopped to take some photos and when the wind stopped blowing, I had a half dozen on my legs almost instantly.  It was impressive how fast they were on you the moment the wind ceased.

[#NoPoles]

Last 2 days have been magnificent! The leaves are growing now, for sure! FB memory post said May18 of last year I called Leaf out. I thought we were going to go early this year- end of March first half of April was warm and things started growing. Then we went back to being cold and not a lot of sun and everything took a siesta. Yesterday and today woke everything up!

[powderfreak]

Strong RAD cooling conditions... or fake cold.  Down along the river, at the bottom of the Stowe CC golf course, the clear/calm conditions can be efficient along West Branch. The thermal gradient can be so close to the surface in these flows.

[wxmanmitch]

High end category 3 black fly conditions, category 5 pollen. Between the two, it's damn near impossible to be outside right now. Can we just skip to September please?

[dendrite]

7 hours ago, wxmanmitch said:

High end category 3 black fly conditions, category 5 pollen. Between the two, it's damn near impossible to be outside right now. Can we just skip to September please?

Mine just started to die down yesterday after being unbearable for 5-7 days. Give it a week. The pollen is bad here too. Sheets of yellow-green everywhere.

[tamarack]

Last 6 days have averaged 74/36, with diurnal ranges 34 to 42.  May at its finest, except for the bugs.  Pollen isn't too bad but the white pine is about to change that.  On another subject, very few bumblebees are working the hugely abundant apple blossoms.  Hope there's enough to get a good crop set after last year's total failure - total of one single bird-pecked fruit from the 3 trees.  The 27° morning last June 1 probably contributed to lousy fruit set.

[SJonesWX]

i haven't found the black flies to be all that bad this year. the pollen is a different story. it's bad, we need some rain to wash it away

[wxeyeNH]

Looks like my high is going to top out at 80.7F.   The last time it was warmer  (82F) was on 9/9/20.  I installed the AC unit today since my allergies are going nuts.  We need one good shower to knock down the pollen.  Really no rain to speak of in 3 weeks.

My apple tree blossoms seem to be at peak with the first pedals falling off. 

 

[tamarack]

5 minutes ago, wxeyeNH said:

Looks like my high is going to top out at 80.7F.   The last time it was warmer  (82F) was on 9/9/20.  I installed the AC unit today since my allergies are going nuts.  We need one good shower to knock down the pollen.  Really no rain to speak of in 3 weeks.

My apple tree blossoms seem to be at peak with the first pedals falling off. 

 

Upper 70s here.  We had nearly 1.5" RA on April 30, only 0.69" since.  A few more pollinators in the apple trees this afternoon compared to earlier in the week.  Good thing as petals are beginning to fall.

[J.Spin]

On 5/14/2021 at 12:59 PM, powderfreak said:

Nice J.  I've stopped skiing for the season, mostly because I love wandering with the dog and she's a pain in the ass to ski with.  Just barks and tries to get in front of me.  So I'm just wandering around on foot with her.

We were up there on Main Street last night.

Thanks for the update – I can definitely see that the width of the available snow has contracted some since when I was there on my outing.

I had time on Sunday, so I headed back out for a hike and some more turns.  Based on what I’d seen on Spruce on my last outing, as well as the views across to Mansfield at that point, I decided it was time to check out something by the Mountain Triple.  There’s some easy access snow right down to the base over there, and that fit the time I had.

As I walked along past the Triple, I surveyed the snow situation and headed toward Lower Standard, which seemed to have the best coverage.  That area makes for a pleasant stroll because it’s generally quite grassy with modest pitches.  Somebody had built the shape of a heart out of rocks on the ground near the ropes course, so that was kind of a nice accent to the area.  The snow on Lower Standard is definitely more broken up than what it was a week earlier, and there are a couple of gaps near the bottom that are really best walked vs. trying to skip across on your skis.

Sunday was the day we had those thunderstorms around, and as usual, there were some great views surrounding the resort and toward the Notch as the peaks worked their magic and forced the clouds around.  While I was hiking I started to hear thunder to the east and northeast, off past Spruce Peak and over toward Madonna and Sterling.  Eventually I started to see some tendrils of virga over there, and the thunder was becoming more expansive.  I was just getting up toward the Crossover elevation, which was about where I was going to stop anyway because the snow petered out there, but the timing seemed good with the thunder building.  I started seeing the first visible flashes from lightning just as I was getting back to the car, and the first drops of rain began to fall, so that worked out.  I would have stayed around for some lightning photography over toward the Notch, but none if was producing visible bolts, it all seemed to be well up in the clouds or too distant.

A few shots from the outing:

[#NoPoles]

Last night I had the heat on. Tonight when I got home from work, I ran the AC for a bit. We got pretty toasty hear today. I want to say 85, or 86 degrees?

Same thing last year, I went from Heat to AC. Never got a chance to just have my windows open and everything turned off.

Granted, I only ran the AC for about 8 minutes to take the warmth off the air., and I now  have the windows open. 

I CAN NOT sleep if the room temp is above 68 degrees.

[wxeyeNH]

86.7F today.  Just got a direct hit from a developing shower.  .10"  just enough to temporarily cleanse the everything of pollen

[dendrite]

Just now, wxeyeNH said:

86.7F today.  Just got a direct hit from a developing shower.  .10"  just enough to temporarily cleanse the everything of pollen

Big time jealous. Looks like it's heading this way. but fizzling.

[Patriot21]

64 now at 8:30, not sure of the high. Got swarmed by black flies while weed whacking

[backedgeapproaching]

87.4F today. What a torch, too early for this IMO.  Black flies all but done here, couple stragglers still providing a nuisance.

Was away for a few days and got back this afternoon, perennial gardens just exploded last couple days.  Annoying to have to water everything though..need a drink from mother nature.

[tamarack]

11 hours ago, backedgeapproaching said:

87.4F today. What a torch, too early for this IMO.  Black flies all but done here, couple stragglers still providing a nuisance.

Was away for a few days and got back this afternoon, perennial gardens just exploded last couple days.  Annoying to have to water everything though..need a drink from mother nature.

Passing the torch to the deerflies, with mosquitos ruling the night.  

[backedgeapproaching]

18 minutes ago, tamarack said:

Passing the torch to the deerflies, with mosquitos ruling the night.  

Of course, enjoying the brief interlude though now before they take over in full force during daylight. Haven't seen many........yet 

[powderfreak]

Hiked up to the fabled Mansfield stake to see the end of the natural snowpack in Vermont.  The upper Toll Road forests are very widely patchy snow cover.  I do believe aside from any random holes in the ground or whatever, that the northeast facing  The site has been down to a trace since mid-week when the snow became fractured around the stake.  Now it's down to a few small patches around the site.

It is hard to explain just how big the 12-foot stake is when you are standing on the ground.  Just a couple years ago in spring of 2019 that thing got over 10 feet of solid depth.

The dog gives the height of the stake some context.

 

Of course the dog visited every patch, making sure to cool off every time.

 

[Angus]

Smart dog.

[DavisStraight]

Your dog's on a good pile of snow.

[tamarack]

Unlike our black Lab, who would be in the water any time, anywhere, any temperature, any water condition (except frozen), our current Lab mix doesn't like water at all.  However, she'll roll in any snow that's available despite being a rescue from TX - maybe still getting over the heat of the Lone Star State.

Barely got under 60 last night.  May get toasty before the front arrives about midday.

[wxeyeNH]

67/65 line of showers is through. Cells split east and west.   We managed the gap perfectly   .02".   

[PhineasC]

Got swarmed by black flies today down in the field. I definitely don't remember these assholes from last spring. I don't know where they were last year. But they are here now.

[wxeyeNH]

22 hours ago, powderfreak said:

Hiked up to the fabled Mansfield stake to see the end of the natural snowpack in Vermont.  The upper Toll Road forests are very widely patchy snow cover.  I do believe aside from any random holes in the ground or whatever, that the northeast facing  The site has been down to a trace since mid-week when the snow became fractured around the stake.  Now it's down to a few small patches around the site.

It is hard to explain just how big the 12-foot stake is when you are standing on the ground.  Just a couple years ago in spring of 2019 that thing got over 10 feet of solid depth.

The dog gives the height of the stake some context.

 

Of course the dog visited every patch, making sure to cool off every time.

 

 

Scott,  what is the environment around the snow stake?.  Obviously it is put in a spot that is representative  of the surrounding area.  No branches above it but it looks like it is in the woods with perhaps clearing in front of it?  On my property on windy days snow blows off my open fields into the forest along the perimeter.  I would assume the edge of the forest may have a deeper depth do to that fact.  A  video would be interesting so that I could see the area around the stake.

[tamarack]

12 hours ago, wxeyeNH said:

Scott,  what is the environment around the snow stake?.  Obviously it is put in a spot that is representative  of the surrounding area.  No branches above it but it looks like it is in the woods with perhaps clearing in front of it?  On my property on windy days snow blows off my open fields into the forest along the perimeter.  I would assume the edge of the forest may have a deeper depth do to that fact.  A  video would be interesting so that I could see the area around the stake.

That birch tree behind the stake seems rather close, though midwinter pow will sift right thru its branches.  That said, being in mature forest should give a reasonably valid view of the overall pack.  Sometimes small holes in a spruce-fir canopy can be snow collectors, gaining depth as winds blow the snow out of the treetops.  The mixedwood character near the stake should avoid that potential bias.

[powderfreak]

13 hours ago, wxeyeNH said:

Scott,  what is the environment around the snow stake?.  Obviously it is put in a spot that is representative  of the surrounding area.  No branches above it but it looks like it is in the woods with perhaps clearing in front of it?  On my property on windy days snow blows off my open fields into the forest along the perimeter.  I would assume the edge of the forest may have a deeper depth do to that fact.  A  video would be interesting so that I could see the area around the stake.

 

45 minutes ago, tamarack said:

That birch tree behind the stake seems rather close, though midwinter pow will sift right thru its branches.  That said, being in mature forest should give a reasonably valid view of the overall pack.  Sometimes small holes in a spruce-fir canopy can be snow collectors, gaining depth as winds blow the snow out of the treetops.  The mixedwood character near the stake should avoid that potential bias.

The site seems pretty valid for that upper east side wall... as for skiing it's very similar to Nosedive, Bypass, Kitchen Wall, Bypass Chutes, Nosedive Glades, etc.  The stake is nailed to that Birch tree.  It is in a cold pocket facing northeast (much like the ski terrain in that area that holds snow so well and so long into the spring).  It is right off the Toll Road, literally just like 10 yards or less from the road surface.

The value in the Mansfield Stake though isn't the depth itself.  I mean there's really nothing to compare it to on other mountains or even on Mansfield itself.  So it's not something that can be used as a comparison to other areas, so in that regard the siting honestly doesn't mean that much to people.  It's hard to say if it's right or wrong, but it seems representative of that area of the mountain.  And it's well known to the local ski community because you pass it on your way up the Toll Road to steep back/side country terrain.

The true value though is from it's period of record and it's consistency to compare to its own readings over time.  Whether the siting is right or wrong, it's consistently right or wrong.  Having depths from 1954 onward, gives it real value as a comparison to itself.  And since it's been around for so long, skiers and riders know what the values mean.  That's why we have so many benchmarks for ski terrain... at 25" you might be able to wander into some low angle woods very tentatively.  At 40" the glades are generally skiable. At 60" most everything is skiable and in good shape depth wise.  At 80-100" all of the big backcountry lines are full to go like the "Hundred Inch Chute".  Things like that are even named based on the depth the stake is at when it's skiable.