Blue skies?

We are seeing blue skies here at the Lodge on and off today, as things begin to dry out a bit. The first evidence of that: our fire danger is back up to LOW as of this morning!

Today the brook is running at 4.5 inches after .2 inches more of rain overnight.

At noon, the temperature is 54 degrees and steady

The humidity is down to 73%.

The barometer is back up to 29.41Hg.

The Cascades this morning

11 am at the falls

The morning after: Tuesday

The power is still out here at the Lodge, though we see from the National Grid map that we've been assigned a crew.
Some of the heaviest rain of the storm fell last night: the rain gauge is up to a full two inches. The brook is up to five, and the Cascades are running! The secondary stream channel is open.
At 8:30, the temperature is 57.4 degrees and steady. We continue to have 98% humidity.
The barometer is 29.35Hg and rising as the storm moves out.
As you head out on the trails over the next few days, please let us know the specific location of downed trees and branches on trails.

9 pm Monday update

Just back in:
Brook is at 4.6 inches: quite a jump today.
Rain totals 1 1/2 inches thus far.
Maximum wind speed of 18 mph, dropping to zero.
The barometer is 29.09 Hg and steady.
Temperature is 60.6 and steady.
Humidity is 98% and actively raining.

We lost power at 7 pm and it is still out now.

6:50 Sandy Update

22 mph max, 5 mph min from a two minute sample; (we have been seeing peak gusts of 34 mph though)
1.3" of rainfall from the storm thus far;
4.0" in the Cascades Brook;
29.09" of Hg pressure and falling;
59.7°F and steady;
98% humidity and steady.

We lost power for less than a minute and had a flicker earlier in the day.

Highest wind gust we noted was 55 mph around lunchtime.

Interestingly, the loudest wind is not the fastest.

Minor branches down at Cascading Waters and a tree across the Cascades Cart Path just north of the falls.

4:30 Update: Hurricane Sandy

Cascades Brook is now running at 4 inches.
We've now gotten a total of 1.1 inches of rain.
A one minute interval has the wind topping out at 27 mph.
The barometer is at 29.06 Hg and still falling.
It is 57.7 degrees and rising.
98% humidity with rain coming in from the east.

2:30 pm Monday update

At 2:30 pm, we've been doing some trenchwork, as the soil has now become so saturated that the water is either standing on top or running across. We have now received 3/4 of an inch of rain.The stream, within the last half hour, has gone from 2.2 inches to 2.4 inches, and the secondary channel is now running.
Over the preceeding ten minutes, we've seen wind ranging from 11 mph to a high of 41 mph.
The humidity is at 98% with rain driving in from the east.
It is 56 degrees F.
The barometer is at 29.15 Hg and falling.

Noon update

The barometer is now at 29.29Hg and falling. We've seen the wind pick up; it's now fairly steadily in the twenties (25, 27mph) with gusts as high as 32 mph over the past fifteen minutes.
The temperature is 55 degrees and steady. Humidity is 98% with rain falling.
Heading out for a brook check now. ..

The brook is running at 2.2 inches. Also, it isn't really raining; there is just a lot of water flying around.

9:30 am Sandy Update

9:30 am Sandy Update

Cascades Brook is up to 2.0";
Total storm rainfall is up to 0.25";
Temperature is 54°F;
Humidity is 98%;
Barometric pressure is 29.44" Hg and falling;
Wind gusting to 18 mph, with a minimum speed in a 2 min. sample.

Monday morning update

Now we have rain, though at least for now, not much wind. Currently, we are topping out at 3 mph, sometimes sinking to none.
At 6:30 am, it is 52.2 degrees and steady. The humidity is 98% with steady, though not torrential, rain.
The barometer, at 29.47 inches, is falling.
We will be out to check the brook in a bit; it and the falls should be increasing over the course of this morning.

9pm Sandy Update

Max wind gust 24.5mph, settling to 0mph;
Temperature is 49.5F and steady;
Humidity is 97% and steady;
Barometric pressure is 29.74"Hg and steady;
But not much beyond some mist thus far.

6:40pm Sandy update

Cascades Brook still at 1.6";
Precipitation at 1/16";
Peak wind 8.5mph and lowest at 3.0mph in a 60 second sample;
Temperature at 50.4F and steady;
Humidity at 96% and steady;
Barometric pressure at 29.74" (further down) but steady for the moment.

Our next door neighbor is out watering his freshly planted trees by lights, and while I understand, it is still funny under the circumstances.

5:30 update

We now have winds at about 12 mph.
The temperature is 50 degrees and steady. Humidity at 90% and steady.
We've readjusted our barometer (it had not been reset in some time) and it is now 29.74 inches of mercury and steady.

3:42pm Sandy Update at the Lodge

3:42pm Sandy Update at the Lodge

Wind has picked up: 13 mph. min. - 21 mph. max. gust over 2 min period;
Barometric pressure is down a little to 29.77" Hg;
Temperature is down as well to 52.9F and still falling;
humidity is up to 90%;
It is misting but not raining.

The canoe is tied up in the front glen!

2pm Sandy Update

Cascades Brook 1.6" of flow (primary channel only);
Highest wind gust reading 4.5mph, with still conditions;
Barometer at 29.88" and falling*;
Temperature at 56.6°F and steady.

* (this is the amended pressure after making an elevation correction following the 1pm post)

1 pm update

At one pm, the barometer has dropped to 29.15 inches under cloudy skies. It has started to mist. We are clocking winds of about 8 mph now.

Yes, the fire danger sign is right

After several clear days without rain, the fire danger is now MODERATE, though we fully expect that to change over the course of today!
At 8 am, the temperature is 50 degrees and steady.
The barometer is steady at 29.21 inches of mercury under cloudy skies. As yet, no sign of that drop we expect as Sandy comes up the coast and inland.

Hurricane inbound!

But in the meantime, it looks like we have a couple of nice days ahead!
At nine am, it is 52 degrees and rising.
The barometer is at 29.44 and steady under somewhat cloudy skies.
The stream is trickling.

On the list of "to do" ahead of the storm: going up to check out our culvert! While the piers stand and having a house that's above running water is always exciting, we'd prefer to not have to rebuild the driveway again this winter if we can avoid it.
If you have a storm drain near you, do the DPW (and us all!) a favor and get the leaves off of it. If we get anything like the rain forecasted, we're going to need a place for it all to go!

Fall brook

Here's the Cascades Brook this morning, running at about two inches. As you can see, the swamp maples have turned and are losing their leaves now. On an overcast morning like this one, they glow.

At nine am, it is fifty degrees and steady under overcast skies. The barometer is at 29.41 inches of mercury and steady. The fire danger is back down to LOW. 

Cook Pond drawdown

A notice from the Cook's Pond Association: beginning Sunday, they have begun a PLANNED drawdown of the pond for dam repair and spillway work.
The water should be down enough as of this coming Sunday, October 27. They hope to have the work completed by the first weekend in November, at which point they will bring the water level back up.
No need to panic!

Weirdly warm and a seasonal reminder

So, having sent us all scrambling to bring in anything that could be killed by frost, our New England weather has now decided to treat us to a day with a high in the 70's with a chance of thunderstorms for this afternoon. Hope you haven't yet put your shorts away!
It is damp here under the trees, but a brisk wind is drying things out and continuing to bring down leaves. We have a trickle of water going over the falls and down Cascades Brook. 

ALSO, an important seasonal reminder:
HUNTING SEASON HAS NOW OPENED IN MASSACHUSETTS.
Archery season runs from October 15th - November 24th.
Shotgun season runs from November 26th - December 8th.
Muzzleloader season runs from December 10th - December 31st.

Hunting IS allowed on GWLT properties outside the city of Worcester: please recall that much of the Cascades parkland lies OUTSIDE of city bounds!

As such, we urge you to:

• stay on trails
• keep your dogs leased
• wear bright colors (blaze orange if you have it)

Let's be safe as we share our open space.

Rainy

...again...
At nine am, it is 50 degrees and rising a bit.
The barometer is 29.26 inches of mercury and steady under cloudy skies.
All the rain is really bringing down the leaves: the beeches and birches are losing leaves, though the maples are still turning.
The brook is running.
We are not registering any wind.

Still wet

We're still experiencing the temperate northern hardwood rainforest here today: it is not currently actively raining, but it is once again damp, foggy, and overcast. The barometer is at 29.41 inches of mercury and steady.
The stream is continuing to run, though not at a great rate; we're measuring about two inches of water in it. The Cascades are trickling, therefore.
At 8:45 am, it is 62 degrees and rising, which is warm for early October.
The birches and the shagbark hickory trees are just beginning to turn, and we're seeing hints of red on the swamp maples.
__________________________________________
At nine am, you can join us for sign and timber work here at the Lodge, if you like!

Falling leaves

Fall is really here!

The rain has cleared out, 'though we still are seeing some cloudy skies here. The barometer is at 28.97 and steady.

We've got a brisk wind right now--the latest gust was up to 16 mph. The fire danger for this morning is NONE, but we're watching it closely, as that wind is going to dry things right out. We'll probably be back up to LOW by this afternoon.

At 9 am the temperature is 55 degrees and rising, 'though slowly.

The brook is running, as are the Cascades!