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.

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 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.

Yesterday's Rains

So, yesterday's rains still have the world soaked through.

A few interesting thoughts:
1.) It didn't rain a drop over by Lake Quinsigamond!
2.) It only rained 0.26" up at the airport, very nearby to the Lodge,
3.) And yet here we had deep standing water on bare ground and a stream flowing through the grass out back.

Pretty amazing, localized, and the world is more green this morning as a result.

Also fun, driving north on Olean Street/Reservoir Road (Holden side) there were downed limbs and an occasional tree from the passing torrent of a storm.

Presently at 8:45 am the conditions here are:
69 degrees;
77% humidity;
29.23" of Hg barometric pressure;
(The Rain gauge was OF COURSE out of order yesterday (my luck!));
The stream is running at 6" of flow (up from 4.8" early yesterday);
The USFS Fire Danger Class is NONE;
and there is only a gentle stirring of leaves.

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!

Nor'easter!

We're having some rather changeable weather here as part of this nor'easter (for example, right this second, it is sunny outside). Rain is forecast for much of the day today.
Since midnight last night, we've gotten 0.98 inches of rain (with 0.08 inches yesterday). We'll be up over an inch before this is over.
(It could be worse...it could be 10 inches of snow!)
As of 9 am, the stream is running at 4.6 inches of water; the Cascades are running today!
It is 42 degrees and steady (and chilly).
We're showing 6.5 mph of wind currently (which is a LOT of wind for this valley!).

We have a STREAM AGAIN!

Although at 10 this morning, it was nothing but a rock channel you could walk without getting your shoes wet, by 12:30, we had 4.6 inches and RISING of water rushing downstream. The Cascades are BACK! (not impressive yet, but they're running!)
As a reminder: if you live nearly a storm drain, do us all a favor and got out with a rake and get the leaves off it. Olean Street had nearly as much water in it as the brook did before I cleared ours off. You'll get a bit wet, but you'll feel like a contributing citizen, so it's a good trade.
There continues to be a flood watch in effect.
In addition to all the WATER, it's 66 degrees. That's a drop-off from this morning, when it was in the mid-70's.
The barometer stands at  28.82 and steady ('though it's a drop from yesterday).
The National Weather Service is still saying that it will all be out of here by late tonight, and we should be in for a nice, clear weekend!

Nancy

We're getting the edges of what I believe has been downgraded to a tropical depression (still named Nancy). Gusts of up to 30 mph, periodic rain.
It's hovering right around 70 degrees
The barometer's at 29.29 and steady

While here under the cliff the wind is less (we're going up to 4 or 5 mph per gust), it's a lot of wind for where we are. If you're near a storm drain, pull out the leaves, as there's a flood watch in effect and those won't help!

Come search for the ALB!

You can join us in hunting the Asian Longhorned Beetle this afternoon over on the Kinneywood property. The hunt starts at noon at the very end of Dawson Road (just down the street from Cascading Waters). Bring binoculars and water!

At 10 am, it is a comfortable 74.3 degrees and steady
45% humidity and steady
29.18 inches of mercury and rising (those storms are still moving out)
Although we did get a spatter of rain here last night, it wasn't enough to move the rain gauge. It looks like the dramatic weather on that one went north of us.
The stream is below registering.
No wind at the moment.

The development next door continues on apace, 'though they seem for now to have given up the heavy drilling.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

At 8:20, it is 59.7 degrees F and steady,
80% humidity and steady,
27.12 mercury and steady,
0.04 inches of rain today,
1.18 inches of rain yesterday, and
5.8 inches for the brook, sometimes rising to six.
If you are planing on hiking today wear rain gear.

Clear and nearly crisp

We have it on good authority that there was some exciting weather over the weekend (we had some Clark students riding it out in a tent in the backyard!). Suffice to say that we've recorded 0.87 inches of rain for Sunday, 0.39 inches of rain for Saturday. And the Cascades are running!


At 10 am, it is 61.3 degrees and rising
28.97 inches of mercury and rising
43% humidity and steady
1 mph of wind
Fire danger is LOW

And you may have noticed the fruits of the Clark students' labor: there is no longer a red shed in the backyard. Progress!

Rain coming in

We're under overcast skies here at the Lodge, with rain forecast for most of today.
The barometer reading is 28.91 inches and falling.
The current temperature is 61 degrees and rising a bit with some wind.
The stream is at 4.4 inches, trickling over the stones.
And a walk down the street reminds us that it's lilac season! Enjoy it while we have it.

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!

Soggy

The storms came in last night, adding up to 0.28 inches of rain since midnight
The stream has correspondingly gone up to 3.2 inches; we expect some real gain there in the next 24 hours.
It is 46 degrees F and steady
95% humidity and steady whilst raining
30.06 inches of mercury and rising (? I kid you not)

Rainy

The stream is up to 6.4 inches this morning. The Cascades are rushing, and we expect both to increase over the course of the day, as more storm is coming!

At 9 am, it is 38 degrees and steady
98% humidity and raining and steady
29.97 inches in the barometer and falling
So far today we have received 0.16 inches of rain with more expected

The fire map is down today (it must have been all of you following the link from yesterday!), but we're guessing it's low and heading down to none if the rain continues.

Trails are muddy, with residual snow here and there.

UPDATE: at 4pm, the stream is up to 7 inches even. The secondary channel is running, and the swampier parts of the wetland are under water. Spring melt!

Nothing new

I'm really trying to come up with new ways of letting you know it's snowing, but I have to say that I'm running out. But there it is. Started around 10:30 here.
We had a flock of mourning doves come in this morning; there were ten or more of them. It looked as though they were getting some eating in before the storm came in. We occasionally will see a pair, but rarely in winter, and never so many at once. We also had a neighborhood cat wander through; the doves were quickly warned off the ground by a chattering squirrel, and they headed up. We had them around for much of the morning, however. We also saw a few of our white-throated sparrows this morning.

At 10 am, it is 31 degrees and steady
61% humidity and steady
29.71 inches of mercury and falling
Fire danger remains NONE
All here is snow covered, and it looks to remain so!

Still snowing here

National Weather Service is saying 4-6 inches before it's done here. They're estimating it should be tapering off by mid-morning, gone by noon. We're looking at about 4 inches of nice, fluffy stuff here right now, so get those skies and snowshoes ready; we might finally get to use them!

At 8 am, it is 20 degrees F and steady.
89% humidity and steady
Barometer stands at 29.65 inches and (this is alarming) falling.
The stream is...well, covering in snow! We'll see if we can get a measurement this morning.

Enjoy that this is on a weekend!

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.

Sure Enough.... Snow

Well it sure is and has been falling fast and furious from about 2ish, maybe a little before.

This morning the conditions at 9 a.m. were:
25 degrees F and steady,
85% humidity and falling,
30.15" of mercury and steady,
0.00" on the rain gauge,
5.2" in the Cascades Brook.

There were a pair of cardinals visiting us this morning.

This afternoon it was attack of the junkos as they were tanking up in the early storm before hiding out.

Presently it is 5:22 p.m. and:
22.8 degrees F and steady,
91% humidity and steady,
29.85" of mercury and falling,
and 3 1/2 inches of snow on the ground so far!