Bundle up!

An intrepid dog walker just came by, bundled up as far as possible. You'll need it today. The temperature at 9:30 am is 12, but with the windchill, we're well below zero.
The barometer is 29.26 inches and steady under bright sunny skies
Quite an amazing wind out there!
The Cascades are still running a bit through the snow that came down yesterday, but they're freezing fast!
The snow cover has largely taken care of the icy spots on the trails for now.

Snowing!

AN ARCTIC COLD FRONT WILL CROSS SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND THIS AFTERNOON
AND EVENING. THIS WILL BRING SNOW SHOWERS AND LOCALLY HEAVY SNOW
SQUALLS WITH STRONG WIND GUSTS AND POOR VISIBILITIES. THE HIGHER
ELEVATIONS OF NORTHWEST MASSACHUSETTS AND SOUTHWEST NEW HAMPSHIRE
WILL BE MOST PRONE TO THESE SQUALLS WITH ISOLATED SNOW AMOUNTS UP TO
3 INCHES POSSIBLE OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN.

Snowing...a bit

We've got a storm front moving in, so those spots that have cleared might just possibly be white by this afternoon.
The stream, which was up to 8.2 inches on Tuesday, has fallen back down again. The Cascades are running nicely, though; come by!

The trails in the higher traffic areas are slick, as the trampled snow has frozen solid. If we get some substantial snow cover, it should take care of that, but in the meantime, take care out there.

At 9:30 it is 34 degrees and rising
The barometer is at 29.18 and steady under cloudy skies
The fire danger is LOW

Sorry for the lack of posting this week: we've had stomach flu compounded by a failing water heater!

Snowing like the dickens!

Snow, sleet and freezing rain all day!
At 9 am it is 38 degrees and barely rising.
Snowing.
The brook is running, but it's frozen at the edges.
Barometer is at 29.15 inches and steady under cloudy skies.

And it's ELECTION DAY in Massachusetts!

Warmer again

(well, relatively speaking!)

At 9 am, it is 38 degrees and rising
The barometer is at 29.23 and steady under cloudy skies
The radar looks clear out to the west, though.
The fire danger is LOW

The stream is still frozen.

Warmer?

You know it's been cold when you look at the thermometer at 8:30, it says 25, and you think, "Hey, it's warming up!"

It is!

At 9 am, it is 28 degrees and rising; we may break freezing today!
The brook is, well, frozen, though still running down the middle.
The barometer stands at 29.44 inches and steady under sunny skies.

Trail conditions are good, if you want to get out there today. Trails are snow-covered and broken, but not so packed as to be slippery in most parts of the Cascades. It also looks like it's going to be a nice couple of days for it (might be up to 40 by Saturday).

Brook is freezing!

I think Monday's post will be the last brook measure for awhile; when we checked this morning, it was frozen hard enough to walk on, right at 4 inches. It isn't frozen all the way across (it usually doesn't), but it is frozen well around the edges!
And the Cascades look like a big snowpile.

At 9am it was 18 degrees and rising, barely.
Barometer is 29.26 under cloudy skies.
We aren't seeing too much trail activity beyond dog walkers. It is COLD.
It doesn't appear to have slowed down the juncos, sparrows, chickadees, mourning doves, and blue jays, however!

It is COLD!

11 degrees here at the Lodge at 7:30 a.m.
Luckily the air is still.
This is not the sort of day where you want to have to think about windchill!
The last few days the fireplace was warmed the Lodge supplementing the furnace.

Presently:
the pressure is 29.26" of Hg and steady;
the temperature is 11 degrees;
the USFS Fire Danger Class is NONE;
there is no wind and the sky is clear;
the trails are all snow covered, with many being tracked with animal and human prints;
the Cascades Brook is running at 4.6" (after I broke through the thick ice to get to the measuring meter.)

Come on sun!
Warm it up for us!

Eagle Count Approaching!

2008 and 2009 have seen a visiting Blad Eagle in our parts.
Along the Tatnuck Brook near Cook's Pond to be precise.
(One eagle was eating an unidentifiable bird out on the ice a year back!)

The state is doing an Eagle count, so keep your eyes peeled!

HELP COUNT EAGLES

A target date of January 8, 2010 will be used for a concentrated survey of major rivers, lakes, reservoirs and the coast by staff from the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and volunteers across the state. This event is part of a nationwide Midwinter Bald Eagle Survey that is held every year in early January. “Our long time partner, National Grid, will be assisting in the survey by providing a helicopter for surveying the Quabbin Reservoir area and the Connecticut River,” said Dr. Tom French. Ground teams will also be covering known eagle territories statewide during the day. In 2009, a record 81 bald eagles were documented in Massachusetts during the one-day event. Anyone spotting an eagle from December 30, 2009 – January 14, 2010 is encouraged to report the sighting by email at Mass.wildlife@state.ma.us or by postal mail to "Eagle Survey", MassWildlife, Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, 1 Rabbit Hill Road, Westborough, MA 01581. Please provide date, time, location and town of eagle sightings, number of birds, juvenile or adult, and observer contact information.

Brrr...

It's back to work and school today (and here's hoping the sidewalks were shoveled!), and it's a cold day for it. Pretty out there, though.
At 9:45 am it is 25 degrees and rising slowly
Sunny with a barometer reading of 28.73 inches
The brook is at 4.4 inches and running.

Much of the Cascades are frozen (very pretty!), but it is running under the ice.
The resident squirrels are very busy this morning.

Report from the trails!

Intrepid hiker Tina Zlody (and her furry companions) have been out on the trails this afternoon, and sent in a report.
While we've seen people up and down our little section of the Cascades (blue circles) trail, they mostly have been breaking off to head up or down Cataract Street. Tina continued up the hill on Cascades, breaking the trail (go, Tina!). From there she followed the Silver Spring trail (yellow rectangles) up to where it heads up the hill in Boyton Park, then turned around and retraced back down.
She reports that the snow has covered the parts where it had gotten icy, so it's much less slippery going than it was earlier in the week.
It is possible, by the way, to pull into the lower lot right now, 'though it has not been cleared.
Thanks, Tina! And know that we always appreciate hearing from those out on the trails!

More Snow!!!!

There has to be between 3 and 4" out there and it is still falling and the National Weather Service doesn't see it stopping until tonight sometime!


The brook is presently running at 5";
The temperature is presently 32 degrees F;
The barometric pressure is 28.79";
The USFS Fire Danger Class is NONE;
There is only a stirring breeze at present.

While the lower lot is not plowed or shoveled out, the snows are not too deep where it couldn't be used anyway.