We're neck and neck with Buffalo and Erie!

In the annual "Snowglobe" race, Worcester, as of last night's update, is now neck-and-neck with Buffalo, NY and Erie, PA in the race for snowiest city (above 100,000):

http://goldensnowglobe.com/its-snow-time-can-worcester-pass-erie-pa-and-buffalo-ny/

We got about three inches overnight here and it started snowing again at about 7 am. To give some perspective, here is the Lodge sign this morning: 

We all keep talking about the snow, but don't underestimate the cold: at 8 am here it is 11 degrees and steady, and there's a fairly constant 1-5 MPH wind. 

The humidity is 69 percent and steady. 

The barometer is 29.91 inches of mercury and steady. 

Hikers note: it may take us a bit longer to get the parking area open after this one, as we are down a snowblower operator. 

Blizzard morning

Happy blizzard! We had a gusty, snowy night, and it's still coming down. 

At ten am, it is 18.5 degrees and rising. 

The humidity is 89% and steady.

The barometer is 29.35 inches of mercury and falling. 

We have a steady wind of at least 3 MPH, gusting as high as 10.

The fire danger is NONE.

The Cascades are entirely buried in snow.

We are measuring about 14 inches of fluffy snow here at the Lodge. 

Here's the front porch this morning:

Melting

At 7:30, it is 34.3 degrees and steady.

It is 96% humidity and steady, and raining.

The barometer is at 30.00 inches of mercury and falling.

The Cascades are running.

Both stream channels are open and running.

There is NO fire danger at this time.

Last night's snow turned to rain overnight, clearing the forest floor of snow almost entirely. 

Another snowy Sunday

Yet more snow!
For those looking for trail and parking conditions: we run on shovel power around here, so right now we have one parking spot open at the Cascading Waters trailhead. We will endeavor to get more open as the day goes along. Thus far (posting this at 11 am), there has not been activity from Olean to Cataract; the Cascades trail that switchbacks up the falls has also not been active. I can't speak for the Newton trailhead (farther up Cataract), but that's an easier slope if you're going to be breaking new ground.
I've had no reports from those coming in from Boyton Park.
Please recall that the other end of the Cataract trail on Olean is closed.

2 pm update: two parking spaces now open at the trailhead. The trail has been broken in with snowshoes as far as the bridge; the trail has been broken in by hikers (and dog) up the hill, as well.

Snowy Sunday

I suspect we won't be in sitting these again for awhile.

Skiiers and snowshoers

...it's that kind of day. The trail here at Cascading Waters has been busy all day, with cars in and out of the parking area, and hikers, snowshoers, and skiiers coming through regularly. Plenty of people out enjoying the snow and (comparatively) milder temperatures while we have them. We have as much as six inches, still, in some spots, so conditions are good.
If you were out there, though, you heard lots of dripping and trickling. Between that and tonight's forecasted rain, we won't have much snow cover for long.
Today at the Lodge it's been in the high 30's all day (35 degrees now) with humidity hovering around 50%.
Enjoy, while we have it!

Melting

It is a melting world out there today! After about 20 inches of snow over the weekend, we're back down to patches with clear spots now. The trails are now a combination of mud and packed ice, so be careful out there.

At nine am, it is 40.5 degrees and steady.
The humidity is 98%; there is no rain falling currently.
The barometer is 29.23 inches of mercury and steady under overcast skies.
The brook is running, as you might imagine; we're measuring 4 4/10 inches down by the Olean Street bridge.The Cascades, however, still remain snow covered; it's all running under the snow.

Yesterday, we got some work done out on the Meadow Ridge Trail, to clarify the trail route as it crosses Silver Spring Road and heads into the relocation. It looks as though there's been plenty of traffic on the trails. Enjoy the warm-ish weather!

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!

WE ARE OPEN!

Thanks to more than one generous neighbor (you guys are great!), we now have a CLEARED parking area. You can park on the left as you turn into the driveway.
PLEASE be thoughtful in your parking so we can get as many people in as possible.

We've already had more than one hiker come through on the Cascades Trail. This is a light fluffy snow, so it is fun snowshoeing, but it takes some energy to cut a new path.

Enjoy the trails and send photos, if you would!

Happy hiking!

The snow has ended

The clean up is starting.

The end of the Cascades Trail at Olean.

Cascading Waters sign on Olean Street

Yes, the fire danger DOES remain NONE.

Here's the same shot from yesterday from Olean up the Cascades Brook to the Lodge. Now with snowpiles of about three feet at the street.

Cooks' Pond at Cascades Brook

And the trail from Olean to Cataract is broken. After that, you're on your own! We have not YET gotten the parking area open, but we are working on it! If you're within walking distance, come by. We will post as soon as the parking area is open.

Snow log 1030.02092013 (10:30 Saturday morning)

The skies are lightening!
It is currently 21.2 degrees and RISING!
The humidity is 72% and steady.
The pressure is 29.23 and RISING!
We might be getting through this!
Wind is constantly at least 6-8 mph with gusts of 20 mph.
Now measuring 16 inches of snow here at the Lodge

A few photos from Saturday morning

Here's a few photos (from inside!) from Saturday morning.

This is looking east from the Lodge down towards Olean Street. It's hard to get the scale here, so let me say this: there is a canoe to the right in this photo, and the stone wall under the trees is about two feet high.

This is the teacup magnolia. You can see from the trunk the drifting we've had, even here under the cliff.

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.

Storm log 830.02092013 (Saturday morning, 8:30)

It remains 17.2 degrees and steady.
83% humidity and steady
The barometer is 29.18 Hg and steady
Wind is ranging between 2 and 5 mph

Snow totals coming up! We currently have about 15 inches. There is some drifting, but nowhere is it deeper than close to 2 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 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 1330.02082013 (or 1:30 Friday afternoon)

Still coming down! We now have 3/4 inch of snow!
It is now 24.3 degrees and steady.
Humidity is now 73% and steady
The barometer is 29.53 inches of mercury and still falling.
The wind has picked up a bit; we've seen a top speed of 34 mph in the last hour, and while it is still sometimes dropping to 3 mph, it's much higher for much longer: right now I'm seeing 22 mph (and remember, the Lodge is protected by a cliff on one side).
We've seen some hikers go through over the course of the afternoon, and it's now looking as though that's the only way to travel, as Governor Patrick has signed an executive order to get all traffic off the roads as of 4 pm.

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.

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!

A light dusting

Just enough to coat the trails this morning. Here's the partly frozen Cascades, with water running through the snow-covered ice.

View from before the bridge:

It looks as if we've already had one four-legged hiker and a two-legged hiker equipped with Yak Traks out there this morning. Fine hiking, though very, very cold these next few days!