Snowy morning

The very last batch of snow we got overnight was "sticky" snow, so the woods this morning are a winter wonderland, as the snow has outlined all of the trees.

I see that at least one hiker has been through already on the Cascades Trail up from Olean. Do know that though the top is a pristine coating of white, that wet glop that fell through most of yesterday is still underneath. Be sure your footwear is up for several inches of water!

At nine am, it is 35 degrees and rising.
84% humidity and falling
The barometer is 29.26 inches of mercury and rising under clear blue skies.
Very bright and sunny. All that snow is falling off of branches this morning: watch your head!

About 15 inches of snow

Measuring several spots in the yard, we've had about 15 inches of snow. There is a bit of drifting under and around trees, but we don't have any place that's more than two feet.

Snow log 730.02092013 (7:30 Saturday morning)

We'll get someone out with a ruler shortly, but there has been a lot of drifting, so accurate measures are going to be hard. The official Worcester measurement according to NWS is 27.5 inches; it looks as though we have less than that here.
Still steadily snowing.
Currently, it is 17.6 degrees and steady.
85% humidity and steady.
The barometer is 29.15 and steady (good news!).
Wind is between 4 and 6 mph.
Note that MEMA has announced this morning that the statewide travel ban continues. We just had a plow go up and down Olean, keeping the road to the water treatment plant open.

Storm log 2030.02082013 (or Friday night, 8:30)

Peak wind of 28 mph
Pressure is at 29.21 Hg and falling still
Temperature is 20.1 degrees and steady
Humidity is 86% and rising (which is saying something when it's snow!)
As for snow: 3 and 1/4 to 3 1/2, as it's drifting. That means accumulation is picking up. We've picked up nearly an inch in the last hour.

Storm log 1930.02082013

Update after dark here:
Top wind of 36.5 mph (and remember, we're at the bottom of the hill. That's huge for here.)
Temperature 20.3 and steady
Humidity 81% and steady
Pressure is 29.26 Hg and falling
As for snow, we now are up to 2 and 5/8ths inches.

Storm Log 1730.02082013 (or 5:30 Friday night)

The barometer is now down to 29.32 inches and is still falling.
We now have 1 and 3/4 inches, but it's now blowing around so much that depth is going to be increasingly sketchy to measure.
The temperature is 21.4 degrees and steady.
The humidity is up to 78%.
As the sun goes down, the wind has dropped a bit, as we're now looking at wind between 8-14 mph.

Storm log 1230.02082013 (or 12:30 Friday afternoon)

We've gained a quarter inch! Now up to 1/2 inch of snow and still falling rapidly.
It is now 25.7 degrees Fahrenheit and falling.
The humidity remains at 71% and steady.
The barometer is down to 29.59 inches of mercury and still falling.
And we've now got some wind! Ranging up to 12 mph and down to 3 mph, fairly constant.

Storm log 1130.02082013 (or 11:30 am Friday)

It's building up! We're now measuring 1/4 inch of snow here at the Lodge.
It's now up to 27.9 degrees and steady.
71% humidity and steady
The barometer is now at 29.62 inches of mercury and is continuing to fall.
Still measuring no wind

Storm log 1040.02082013 (or 10:40 am Friday)

We've just gone out to measure accumulation, after about an hour of snow. We now have 1/16 of an inch. It's a very light snow, falling fast.
It is 27.1 degrees Fahrenheit and steady.
It's 70% humidity and steady
The barometer reads 29.68 inches of mercury and falling.
Currently registering no wind.
The Cascades Brook has frozen up around our measuring stick, but it's flowing under the ice at about 3 inches.

The day before

I'm just back in from refilling all of our birdfeeders, as people aren't the only ones getting ready for the incoming blizzard! It is very cold out; we've just hit 20 degrees now.
The humidity is 49%.
The barometer is at 29.91 and rising still.
Clear blue skies.
The falls right now are frozen, 'though there is still water flowing under the ice.

And should you wish to get a bit of woodwork in before the snows, we have our stalwart group of volunteers outside right now, working on signs. They'll be here til noon (and we have the coffee on), so do come by for a bit if you can!

Noon update!

We've just shoveled out the end of the driveway. It seems the city is doing its utmost to be sure the road to the water plant is open; it's very busy on Olean Street with plows. As you can see from the sign (above), the road has been cleared a great deal overnight and this morning.

There's about a foot out there now, more in the drifts. We've also had the wind pick up a bit.
At noon, it is 26.2 degrees and rising.
77% humidity and falling
28.61 inches of mercury and falling
Snowing steadily.

Snow!

Count this as the storm that actually panned out!
Snow started falling at about midnight here, and we've got about six inches, drifting higher in parts, here at 9:30. Very light fluffy snow.
The brook is still running through the snow.
It is 25.3 degrees and steady
88% humidity and snow falling
0 mph of wind currently, 'though it kicks up now and then
The barometer is now at 28.64 inches and falling, so there's more coming!

Stay safe, and bring out those skis, snowshoes, and sleds!
And Joe, we'll see about getting you a new photo!

Snow?

Somehow I missed that we were getting snow last night, so the half inch or so that we got came as a surprise.
Colder today; we'll be lucky if it breaks freezing.

At 9 am, it is 26 degrees and slowly rising
The barometer stands at 29.23 inches of mercury and steady
Cloudy skies; there's still a chance for more snow
The stream is frozen in solid at 9 inches, but running through the center at more like 4 or so.

A bit of snow on the trails today, but nothing that will slow you down. Enjoy!

SNOW DAY!

Still coming down as snow here at 11 am!
A late post because we needed to get out and play in the snow and then have pancakes.

At 11 am, it is 36 degrees and steady
Barometer is at 28.91 and falling
We haven't yet trudged down to the stream, which is snowy.
We've got maybe five inches here, and there's lots more precipitation coming.

Enjoy! And get out your snowshoes! We're getting out ours!

Snowy morning

The most startling aspect of this morning's weather is of course the snowfall, which contrary to all expectations, actually stuck! It's an odd scene out there today: having a few leaves on the trees for the first snowfall isn't unusual, but we still have entire trees that haven't even turned yet!

at 9 am, it is 36 degrees and rising (thus the snow has turned to rain)
The barometer is at 29.18 inches of mercury under cloudy skies
Fire danger is LOW (and probably falling)

We'll give the stream a bit to catch up with the snow before reporting on that.
Enjoy the weather!

More snow

(Maybe I've just lost track of my weather reports, but was more snow even forecasted for last night?)

At 9 am, it is 24 degrees and steady (much warmer!)
90% humidity and steady
Barometer stands at 29.56 inches and steady under clear skies
Fire danger is LOW (as of yesterday...all this snow will change that)

We're looking at something around a foot of fluffy stuff here (and remember: it's still ICE underneath!). Great for snowshoes! Break 'em out.

* * * * * * * * *
UPDATE 10:48 a.m.

The entrance has been carved out, as well as some parking.
There is enough room for one car, and two savvy drivers could easily fill the space.

That's a lot'a snow!

IN POINT OF FACT:
Yesterday was a record breaking day for snow!
8.2" total to midnight,
besting the previous record of 6.5" in 1948.
More record breaking snowfall!!!

This season has a total snowfall of 49.9",
(that's right campers, more than 4 feet since the first belated flakes fell in December)
where as we would typically have received 26.3" by this point.

Pretty soon we will need to break out the "Moylan-Meter."

It's snowing...more

National Weather Service is predicting up to 7 inches today before it's over late this afternoon. It's really pelting down out there this morning. We did send an intrepid junior ranger out on her new snowshoes (from Santa) to refill a few birdfeeders and get the paper. The juncos and black-and-white warblers were waiting for us.
We're posting a bit early today, as it looks as though it's going to be an adventure getting to church this morning (like last Sunday).
At 8 am, it is 14 degrees and steady
80% humidity and steady with lots of snow falling
Barometer is at 29.97 inches and falling; the storm goes all the way out to midstate New York at this point.
Fire danger is LOW.
Both the Cascades and the stream are snow-covered at this point.

The junior ranger reports that it's "like going into a storybook or walking into a poem" this morning.

And the GWLT Annual Meeting is ON for 3pm today. If you're a member, come make up a voting quorum!

Winter Solstice!

(We don't usually drag the family into here, but we should probably note that we're fighting pneumonia and bronchitis here at the Lodge, so we'll keep posting, but the outdoor stuff is coming a bit harder than usual.)

The shortest day of the year today!

Yes, it is snowing again! The devoted junkos are out there, digging through the snow for any remaining seed. Due to the depth of the snow, this now involves them disappearing entirely like minature miners. They even work together: one goes in, digs for awhile, finds something and hops out, and another one takes his place.

At 10:30 it is 16 degrees and steady.
89% humidity and steady, with very steady snowfall
Fire danger is NONE
Barometer stands at 29.68 inches and falling
The National Weather Service has a winter storm warning in effect:

...WINTER STORM WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM EST THIS
AFTERNOON...

A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM
EST THIS AFTERNOON. THIS WARNING COVERS WESTERN AND CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS
AND SOUTHWEST NEW HAMPSHIRE.

STORM TOTALS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES ARE EXPECTED BY THIS EVENING.

Once we venture out to dig out our Sunday paper, we'll give you a snow total.

Snowshoes

Well, we just sent the Caretaker at the Lodge out on snowshoes to get the paper, as it is easily the best way of getting down to the road this morning. Great weather for snowshoes! Quite beautiful out, especially if you don't have to go anywhere. We're guessing about six inches here.

At 9:30 am, it is 12 degrees and steady, but feels colder as it is windy
92% humidity and steady, still snowing
Barometer stands at 30.03 inches and steady
Fire danger is LOW
The Cascades are snow covered this morning.
The brook is 5 inches deep

We haven't seen any squirrels this morning, but the junkos are again busy.

UPDATE: The entire trail from Olean to Cataract is now packed for snowshoes. The parking area is closed as it is covered with snow.

Dusting of snow

It was just cold enough this morning to give us a bit of snow before it switched over to mist.
33 degrees
95% humidity
The precipitation was small enough not to register.
Fire danger is LOW