Everybody knows it's

windy...
Yes, indeed, 18 mph or more. Amazing how much that brings down the perceived temperature. At 3pm, it's up over 50, but you'd never guess it if you're outside!

At 9 am it is 36 degrees and rising
41% humidity and steady
The pressure is 30.24 inches of mercury
The stream is running at 4.4 inches
Fire danger is HIGH

We've had some steady traffic on the trails again today.

Sunny and back to chilly

The wind and sun are baking the moisture right out of the forest; you can watch the humidity fall. Fire danger right now is HIGH, and with no rain forecasted, expect that to get higher.

At 9 am:
Humidity is 42% and falling (to 35% by noon)
Temperature is 26 degrees and steady
The stream is running with 4.4 inches of water.
Barometer stands at 30.18 inches--the nearest clouds are over Ohio.

Fire Danger ALERT!!

So....
The U.S. Forest Service server has been all funky on us as of late.
No predictions, other than my guess that without rain it has to be going up.

Well, there is always more than one way to skin a cat, and so I went to the US Forest Service Fire Prediction Center and went poking around and found this:


Forecast Fire Danger for here tomorrow is HIGH! (Yellow is HIGH)
No real rain forecast till Wednesday, and an EXTREME reading just to our northwest (small orange pocket), makes it look like we may see it rise even further.

So, unlike last week, this is now a time to over-react to smoke or fire in the woods.
You have now been warned!

Overcast, but still busy

The hikers, the dogs, the bicycles keep going by. It's a bit overcast now, as some cloud cover moves through, but it isn't supposed to amount to much, so enjoy the time outside!
(and we've really got to change that photo!)

At 2 pm, it is 46 degrees and falling
40% humidity and steady
Barometer stands at 30.06 and steady
The Cascades and the brook both are still running.

Busy day out on the trailhead

It was a busy day out on the trailhead!

Folks coming and going.
Lots of hikers.

Moving pine tree ice storm debris from the trail.
And there was more of that there than you could have guessed!
Layer upon layer, upon layer of flattened white pine tree branches matted together.
Moving ice storm debris from the glen in which the Lodge is situated.

The secondary brook has water in it, though not much flow.
The Cascade Brook was running at 5.6".

A terrific day once it warmed up.

Beautiful Day!

As of 11:12 a.m. here at the Lodge at Cascading Waters it is:

41 degrees F and rising,
39% humidity and steady,
30.42" of mercury and steady,
there is no recently recorded rainfall,
the Cascades are running,
it is sunny with a strong breeze.

The USFS server is down, so no forest fire danger predictions, though I would list it as low to medium, and likely to rise in the next few days.

Vernal equinox

The equinox tells us that we've got an equal night and day lengths today; from here on into summer, the days are longer than the nights! This should be good news for any of us sure that winter would never end! Spring started at 7:44 this morning, and noses here started itching just about the same time.

At 9 am, it is 34 degrees and rising
51% humidity and steady
30.18 inches of mercury and steady
The fire danger map is still down...
Cascades are running!

Line of rain

The radar shows a dramatic line of clouds running down and west across the country. Not much rain has fallen here, but it is NOT good beetle hunting weather, so this afternoon's search has been called off. Next Thursday, same time, same place!

At 9 am, it is 42 degrees and steady
67% humidity and rising
29.94 inches of mercury and steady
As of 9, we'd received no measurable rain (just some sprinkles)
The brook stands at 4.2 inches (it's going down!)

Hunt the ALB!

It won't be as easy as it was on Sunday, where you could find a giant one riding the back of the Mass Audubon truck, but you can go hunt that destroyer of Worcester's forests, the Asian Longhorned Beetle, this Thursday!

Meet at noon at the Green Hill Park Golf Course parking lot at noon for hunting!

Not quite 60

and windy, but lovely!

We just had another person trying to drive on through to the falls; sorry, guys! You've got to walk!

This is the spring melt, and the falls are getting less and less as the week goes along. If you haven't been out to see them running, get out there! You won't see it again until the big thunderstorms of summer.

At 9 am, it is 45 degrees and rising
62% humidity and steady
Barometer is at 30.08 inches and steady
Fire danger map is down...I'd expect that to rise, as the wind keeps up and the humidity falls.

Fire department at the falls

Great excitement here as we looked out the back window to see Engine 9, lights blazing, parked at the edge of the falls. Being as nosy as anyone (and also feeling some sort of responsibility should anyone be hurt who was hiking), I wandered up to see.
Someone called in a brush fire "about 20 yards beyond the falls" to 911. The firefighter who hiked up found a fire (looks like in the firepit that's up there) that had been recently started and abandoned, perhaps even as recently as the sounds of screaming sirens coming. And he put it out (they still use brooms for that, did you know?)

And, we repeat, the fire danger is LOW.

Lovely

The skies are blue, the sun is shining, the trail is busy!
At 9 am, it is 35 degrees and rising
77% humidity and falling
Barometer stands at 30.24 inches and steady
The stream has 5.4 inches of water; it and the Cascades are running nicely.
Fire danger is LOW

Where is spring?

We went out for a hike this morning with that question in mind, and we came up with two signs of spring. The first is the amount of activity out in the forest: there just are more birds around (in particular) being busy than there are in winter. We heard two woodpeckers (caught sight of one, a little black-capped guy), and saw plenty of busy chickadees and such.

The second sign is this:
That's the Cascades this morning.

At 9 am, it is 30 degrees and rising.
Humidity of 44% and falling
Barometer is at 30.25 inches and steady under clear and sunny skies
The brook is running at 5 inches even.

A hike up the steep section of the Cascades trail and then on over the Newton trail today shows that we need to get up there with a bow saw; there's definitely a bit of clearing to be done on the slope, and then a whole section of tree across the Newton Trail. In the meantime, try to go over or through the trees rather than around them, as the bigger the trail gets, the worse the erosion.

If the melt holds

we may need to post a spring photo above!

Sunny Day

30 degrees F and rising
48% humidity
30.34" of mercury and rising
0.00" (no rain)
the stream stands at 6"
The secondary channels are running in the Cascades Brook.
The Cascades are running.
It is sunny and breezy.

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!

Back to winter

Yesterday was right back into winter again:
At 9 am, it was 33 degrees and steady
95% humidity and snowing (at that point; we'd had ice before that)
29.83 inches and steady for the pressure


Both today and yesterday we have the not-often seen experience of the Cascades running between banks of snow. Lovely!

At 9am today it is 31 degrees and rising
91% humidity and steady (sublimating and evaporating)
30.24 inches and steady on pressure
Stream stands at 6 inches even this morning
Fire danger is LOW, but the real story is what the rest of the map looks like. Over the weekend, northern New England all joined us in low fire danger; the snow must have largely melted. They've had no fire danger for most of the winter.

Keep in mind that the surface is now thawed under the snow, so it's mud, even if you can't see it!

BEAUTIFUL!

And the trail is hopping today. The Cascades are running, the brook is babbling! Get out in this sunshine! Trail conditions are muddy; after all, it was only a week ago that we got nearly a foot of snow, 'though you'd never know it today!

At 9 am, it is 50.4 degrees and rising (it might hit 60 noon!)
83% humidity and falling
29.74 inches of mercury and steady
Fire danger is NONE

Signs of spring

Last night, heading out to a meeting, I smelled a skunk! March is when the males head out, looking for mates, so that's certainly a sign of spring!

Also, one of the two hawks was up and shrieking again this morning. There was a pair--no idea if it's the same one--spotted up at West Tatnuck Elementary last week. We're getting there!

At 9 am, it is 43 degrees and rising, a very mild morning

Humidity stands at 64% and falling

Barometer is 30 even and falling; there's rain expected later today

Fire danger remains LOW

Stream is running at 5 inches even; expect that to rise over the weekend.

If the weekend is as warm as predicted, the Cascades will be rushing nicely; come see!

We made the paper! again!

Cascading Waters made Mr. Southwick's interesting column on Boynton Park today:

Boynton Park is one of the city’s jewels. Located in the extreme northwest corner of Worcester, it runs into Paxton and Holden and features pleasant glades, woodlands and hiking paths. On the east it abuts Cascades East, owned by the Greater Worcester Land Trust. East of that 100-acre parcel are the famed “cascades” — spectacular waterfalls plunging and foaming down through the rocks, especially in the spring. Those used to be viewable from Cataract Street before it was closed as a public way. Today a short path from Olean Street leads to it.

You can still see the Cascades from Cataract Street, as the public way ends after the bridge. But the path is US! Thank you, Mr. Southwick. Do read the rest of the column, as it's interesting stuff!

Clear and cold this morning, but because there's no wind, it doesn't feel nearly as cold.
At 9am, it is 32 degrees and rising
51% humidity and falling
Barometer is at 30.33 and steady
Fire danger is back up to LOW

Stream and Cascades are still flowing

We're really noticing the sun coming up earlier these days, and so are the birds. They were up and singing before six this morning!

Not spring yet

At 9 am, it is 24 degrees and rising
45% humidity and steady
Pressure is 30.21 inches and steady
Fire danger is NONE
No clouds anywhere near the eastern seaboard
We've still got a breeze, but it isn't quite as frigid as yesterday.

Back to winter

We in New England should know better, but somehow "March" always sounds like spring to me. Not today! But if you haven't had enough time with your snowshoes, break them out today; it's great snow for them. You'll want to be careful of exposed skin, 'though, as the wind is fierce.

At 1: 30, it is 35 degrees (we don't do windchill, but it counts today!) and rising
42% humidity and steady
Barometer is at 29.97 and steady under bright clear skies
Fire danger is LOW
Both the Cascades and the brook are running through the snow, but the stream gauge is frozen back in.
The parking area remains snowed in, but the drive is clear. You might safely bring your 4x4 to bear!

Good Snowshoeing Snow

Observations as of 10:15 a.m. this morning:

The world is covered in snow, but as a result of the wind it varies wildly from 5" to 12"+ depending upon where you are looking.
We will wait for the official numbers from the National Weather Service tomorrow.

Temperature 22 degrees and steady;
Humidity 80% and steady;
Barometric pressure 29.71" of mercury and falling;
On account of frozen slush we were unable to get a good measurement on this, though the flow is strong in the brook right now;
The USFS Fire Danger Class is NULL.

The trail from Olean Street trailhead to Cataract Street is packed by snowshoes.

The parking area is snowed in and closed presently.

Enjoy the weather!

Snow, Twice over!

Welcome to storm 1 of 2!

This is the small one, though quite pretty I must say.

As of 12:00 p.m. it is snowing, with a gentle breeze.
The temperature is 24.6 degrees F and steady.
The humidity is 69% and rising.
The barometric pressure is 30.00" and steady.
The USFS Fire Danger Class is presently unavailable, though I would list it as LOW personally.
The Cascades Brook is running at 5.8".

And the other storm is still south of us lumbering up the eastern seaboard.

Humorously, yesterday, for the first time in months, the driveway was bare and more or less ice free.
Gone is the clear driveway within a mere half-day!

Fair number of hikers and photographers running through yesterday in the clear, blustery weather. Much quieter today on the trail. Still tricky with ice in spots and more so on account of the fresh layer of snow on top.

The Stream Gauge is Free of Ice!

As of 11:30 a.m. we have managed to free the stream gauge on the Cascades Brook of the accumulated ice buildup.

Presently it is registering 8.0" of flow.

The Cascades are running.

The 11:30 a.m. conditions are:

35.6 degrees F and steady;
52% humidity and steady;
30.09" of mercury and rising.

Oh, and a safety note:
The packed snow of the trail has turned to ice, and this makes segments of trail quite treacherous. Good gripping boots are in order today.

Weather's Comin'

9:00 a.m. here at the Lodge.

We go from bright and beautiful sun, to overcast and cool, all in a moments shift.
Presently we are in a sun moment.

The temperature is 34 degrees F and steady;
The humidity is 73% and steady;
The barometric pressure is 30.00 and rising;
Both the primary and secondary stream channels are running;
The USFS Fire Danger Class is MEDIUM;
There is a substantial breeze;
The trails are wet and soft, please be mindful of this.

It is a good day for maple sap running, and we will let you know what we manage to pull.
The buckets we hung at Nick's Woods have thus far been quite modest in their yield.

A storm is heading up the eastern seaboard and is over the Carolinas.
The neighbors are all talking snow as they do gardening in this brief moment of spring.
(Already at 9:27 it is now up to 35.8 degrees F and rising, so warmth is the word of the day!)

Enjoy!

GWLT rolls on...

Today we are pleased to announce that approximately 20 acres of land off of Moreland Street is permanently preserved! This was a partnership with the City of Worcester with a State EOEEA LAND grant.

The land is now held by the Worcester Conservation Commission, and the development rights, through a Conservation Restriction, are held by the Greater Worcester Land Trust.

We will be working on some sign for public access over the course of this spring.

Truly cool, as this is a part of town with very little undeveloped land left!

Double post

Sorry; we're keeping records, but we aren't getting them up!

THURSDAY, 2/26:
34 degrees and rising
70% humidity and rising
30.21 inches of mercury and steady at 9 am
Cold with little wind
We saw our first mountain biker in quite some time today!

FRIDAY, 2/27:
At 9:42 it was 42 degrees and steady (though we did see it reach nearly 50 here today!)
98% humidity and steady (that was without any rain, which started much later in the day)
30.00 inches of mercury and falling (storm out in the Ohio River Valley)
Overcast skies and quite a bit of wind, increasing over the course of the day.
Fire danger is LOW

As of 8:30 it is 48 degrees and steady
96 % humidity and rising
Barometer stands at 29.80 and steady
Rain started around 7:30 here and so far we have 0.04 inches
If it stays this warm, we should be able to get a stream reading over the weekend.

Sap is running

GWLT staff are out at Nick's Woods this afternoon with some Bancroft middle schoolers, setting up a maple sugaring operation. We'll be working on sugaring for the next few weeks; if you have any interest, get in touch with anne@gwlt.org

Clear but chilly out there this morning
At 10 am, it is 27 degrees and steady
50% humidity and steady
30.33 inches of mercury and steady
We'll be working on it, but the stream gauge remains frozen for now.
Fire danger is up to MEDIUM (note the relatively low humidity)

This may cut down on the squirrel population

All morning we've been hearing the hawk outside, shrieking. We'd wondered what had gotten into him.
Might it be love?

We just saw not one, but two hawks fly into the evergreen on the property line to the south, down by the road. The hawks have returned and might just be setting up housekeeping locally. We'll keep you posted!

At 9 am it is 29 degrees and rising
61% humidity and steady
29.68 inches of mercury and steady under sunny skies
Fire danger is NONE
There's a LOT of wind out there.
The stream gauge has refrozen.
Yesterday we had a total of 0.39 inches of rain (which doesn't include the snow that fell in the middle).

Clear, Sunny, and Breezy

As of 9:30 am the conditions here at the Lodge are...

32.9 degrees F and rising;
51% humidity and steady;
29.94" of Mercury and rising;
The USFS Fire Danger Class is LOW;
Skies are clear blue with no clouds;
There is a persistent breeze, and occasional strong gusts.

In essence it is fabulous outside.
Expect melting, and muddy trail conditions as the day progresses.

Flurries

...just a bit in the air at the moment.

We came home from our round of errands this morning to disturb a hawk. He was perched on the north side of the driveway, and came flying, low, across the driveway and over to the southern bound. He (she? don't know) has been around quite a bit lately. I've consequently felt leery of filling the birdfeeders.

At 3 pm (sorry for the late post) it is 27 degrees and steady under overcast skies
52% humidity and steady
Barometer is at 29.44 and steady
Fire danger remains LOW
And we have yet to break the new ice off of the stream gauge.

The ground is a curious mixture of bare, drifted snow, crunchy ice covered by drifted snow, and ice. You won't have to slog on the trails, but it isn't easy going either.

Snow melting

And as soon as it fell, it began melting.

The snow was wonderful falling last night and leaving a 2-3" layer on everything.
Somewhere in the middle of the night the sound of falling water joined the nightly chorus of sounds.

Presently there is enough snow to make an 8" snowman, and it being a school vacation week, so it is.

The current conditions here at the Lodge at 10:23 a.m. are:
38.7 degrees and steady.
91% humidity and falling.
29.23" of mercury and steady.
The USFS Fire Danger Class is LOW.
There is a gentle breeze, the sky is bright and overcast.

Bring in your wood

We're pulling in more firewood now, as that nor'easter is coming up the coast!

At 9 am, it is 33 degrees and rising
54% humidity and steady
Barometer stands at 29.94 inches of mercury and steady
Cloudy skies
Fire danger has now moved up to MEDIUM

This morning we had a woman come out from the state to walk the property under consideration for state grant funds. We were joined by representatives of the White Oak Land Trust and the West Boylston Land Trust, as the 53 acres of KinneyWood, should the money come through and the project move forward, will connect property in four towns.

Rains are finished

Not that we saw much rain, but, they are now finished.

For the next 5 days the National Weather Service is saying we will have clear, windy, dry.
We certainly haven't gotten to the clear part yet.

The snows are receding everywhere.
Bare ground is poking through near tree bases, storm debris, stone walls, and anywhere that was aggressively shoveled over the past 5 weeks of snow, ice, and cold.
It is a taste of spring.

Presently conditions at the Lodge at Cascading Waters are:
30.6 degrees F and steady;
29.62" of mercury and rising (indicating higher pressure and clearer weather);
52% humidity and falling (much drier than yesterday's dawn 98%!);
The USFS Fire Danger Class is LOW;
The skies are, overcast, there is wind with occasional gusts;
but overall it is bright out there.

Hikers have already been going through.

The brook is running with snow melt and the light rains from yesterday, so the stream flow is 6.8".

Still warm...

We came home from our Clark University WaterWatch meeting to find some rain here; the first we've had in quite awhile. Last night we measured 0.16 inches here at the Lodge.

Hats off to the WaterWatchers who are using their time here in Worcester to look after the Blackstone Valley's water. We very much enjoyed their meeting (especially those maps of the Tatnuck watershed, which we're coveting); thank you for inviting us!

At 9 am, it is 47 degrees and rising; it remains to be seen if we'll break 50 again today
94% humidity and steady: between the rain, and the melting, and the dripping, there's lots of water in the air!
Barometer stands at 29.06 and falling
Fire danger is LOW

We have not gotten out to the stream yet today, 'though we expect it will be up again. Last night's rain and the continued warmth means that even more of the Cascades are visible through the snow again.

A report in this mornig that the Cascades trail is passible from one end to the other.

Lovely!

Just beautiful out there! Get outside, if only for a bit today.

At 9 am, it is 46 degrees and rising
81% humidity and falling
29.85 inches of mercury and steady
The stream stands at 4.2 inches
Fire danger is LOW
You can just catch a glimpse or two of flowing water up on the Cascades today.

We're heading out to Clark University's Water Watch this evening to talk about our stream and other GWLT streams in Worcester.

Rain Coming

Starting this afternoon, and running through Thursday evening a line of storms will be passing through.

Look out there, and enjoy the sight of snows, as they are soon to depart.

Looks to be a good day to get out and walk around up until about 3 p.m. when the chance of rains comes in.

Presently it is overcast with a light breeze at the Lodge:
The temperature is 26.1 degrees F and rising;
The pressure is 30.24" and steady;
The humidity is 57% and falling;
The Cascades Brook is measuring 4.6";
The USFS Fire Danger Class is LOW (thankfully we are not like Victoria Australia on that count).

ALB infestation cutting is taking place today over at Bovenzi Conservation Park.

Brook is up!

As expected, this morning the brook is up to 4.8 (from 4 even yesterday). Lots of water coming down off the hill, 'though the Cascades remain snow covered, as does most of the brook.

We saw quite a bit of traffic yesterday (and thanks to any of you who, in driving in and out, made the parking area more passable. Stomach flu has felled much of the Lodge crew, so shoveling hasn't been high on the "to do" list.). Glad that everyone got out in the sunshine. It was lovely yesterday, and it looks as though we may be hitting the mid-40s again later this week!

At 2 pm, it is 42 degrees and still rising
Humidity stands at 42 and falling
Barometer is steady at 30.18 inches of mercury under sunny skies

Warmer

We kept most of the warmth overnight here (at 10 pm, it was still 39 degrees), so it's had no trouble in warming up this morning.

At 10 am, it is 47 degrees and rising
67% humidity and falling (that's water in the air from snow melting and sublimating (you do remember your chem terms, right?))
Barometer stands at 29.74 inches and steady under clear skies

We just saw what looked like a mother and daughter pair go up the trail with a purple saucer sled. Have fun! Trail conditions are bound to change pretty fast today, but do keep in mind that the snow will hang around in the woods a lot longer than in your front yard (well, your front yard. Not ours!)

Open some windows!

* * * * * * *

Also of note:
The USFS Fire Danger Class is NONE

Melting

Not quite as warm as predicted (it never broke 40 here), but we can see the ice on the roof melting, the snow pack subsiding, and the eves dripping. The big news on this is the stream gauge is MELTED!
The Cascades brook stands at 4.2 inches

At 4:30, it is 38.8 degrees and falling
Barometer stands at 30.00 inches and falling (but not very fast)
Humidity is at 52% and steady
There is, no surprise, NO fire danger.

There's been plenty of traffic on the trails today (including one junior ranger on new snowshoes).

Land Protection

Today was one of those days.

The die was cast, and we now await the outcome.

The White Oak Land Conservation Society, the Holden Conservation Commission, and the Greater Worcester Land Trust collaborated to submit a grant to expand the wildlife corridor and passive recreation corridor that make up the area stretching across Leicester, Paxton, Holden, and Worcester's NW corner.

This specific effort focuses on a 53 acre area north of Cook's Pond.

It boasts upland harwood forest, wetlands, stream corridors, stone walls, trails, and a proximity to other open spaces.

Moose, bear, and deer have been seen there.

It also benefits from state designations as a BioCore Supporting Landscape, and contains a sliver of Zone B water supply land.

What is hard to remember, from time to time, is that it all comes down to a deadline at a particular time on a particular day in a 9th floor office in Boston to get the wheels turning on a large grant for acquisition.

Today was such a day.

3 p.m. was such a time.

The run to spend 12 minutes in Boston and return, not even yet hoping of what could be, but purely focused toner cartridges running out, required packages delayed, a need for toll money, and a fearful wonderment of what traffic might throw in the way with each passing bend.

And yet, despite every conceivable obstacle, and innumerable unknown ones, once again, we threw the die.

Light a candle kids.

Still frigid

Cold enough to make your hands start to freeze if you're out without gloves. Not recommended. But it does look like the weekend will be great! Maybe some of the ice will melt. Do know that, as always, if you're out and about on GWLT property this weekend, we'd love to hear what you find!

At 10 am, it is 17 degrees and rising
54% humidity and steady
Barometer is at 30.24 inches of mercury and steady under overcast skies
Fire danger is LOW

Get out and move!

We took a short hike on the Holden Trail this morning. We ran into two dogs (and an owner) out for a hike in the sun, as well. It looks as though the Newton Trail has already seen plenty of traffic today (two and four footed) this morning. The woodpeckers were out (we only saw black-capped ones), as were sparrows. As long as you keep moving, you can stay fairly warm, 'though it make take awhile to feel your feet again!

At 9: 30 am (post hike) it is 21 degrees and rising
53% humidity and falling
Barometer is 29.8 inches of mercury and steady under bright clear skies
Fire danger is LOW
The brook continues to run under the snow, 'though it's only visible in spots.

The mourning doves are continuing to hang around. If anyone has any notions of why we're seeing them now, please weigh in. We'd love to know.

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!

Phil weighs in

"Hear Ye Hear Ye,
On Gobbler's Knob this glorious Groundhog Day,
Feb. 2, 2009,
Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators ...
proclaimed that his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers were World Champions one more time,
and a bright sky above me,
showed my shadow beside me,
so six more weeks of winter it will be."

(and so far it looks like Phil's compatriots in weather forecasting are agreeing with his assessment.)
(UPDATE: Nope, it looks like the western New York Dunkirk Dave did NOT see his shadow. Dare we say that we think it's wishful thinking on Dave's part?)

But we all would have guessed that ourselves, wouldn't we?

The good news here is that it's another melting day! Heading over 40 again!

At 9am, it is 28 degrees and rising
89% humidity and steady (and dripping)
29.85 inches of humidity and steady
Fire danger is NONE

A Good Melting Day

Lots of birds,
Fair number of hikers,
A snowshoer,
and temperatures that were downright balmy.

The highest we saw was 42, but we weren't watching it as carefully as the cardinal was watching the birdseed.

The 9:15 a.m. conditions were as follows:
22 degrees F and rising;
63% humidity and steady;
29.77" of Hg and rising;
the USFS Fire Danger Class is LOW.

Yesterday a visitor to the Lodge got mired in the snow along the cart path up, but with the assist of gravity, a shovel, and some oomph, it was released from its imprisonment.

Trail update:
The Silver Spring Trail is in fine shape believe it or not!
The Meadow Ridge Trail is very tricky in spots with downed trees and hanging limbs though a number of workaround spurs are present.

Tonight we encountered the dastardly downdraft. Periodically cold air pours down off of the hill and makes it hard to get a fire going. That would be fine in and of itself, but it also makes it hard for the smoke to go UP the chimney, and that part is frustrating, if temporary. All is well at present, though it is something to keep an eye on on a night like this.

Continuing clear

Another bright sunny day out there. If you're looking for a workout, go take a walk where the trail hasn't been broken yet!

At 10 am, it is 23 degrees and steady
58% humidity and falling (as I watch, in fact; it's down to 57% now)
Barometer stands at 29.74 inches and steady
Clear skies, sun is out and shining

The Cascades are starting to clear a bit. It's really something how they can just look like a rocky hill in the snow.
The squirrels are very busy this morning, and we're also seeing some junkos at the feeder.

For those of you following the plague of the ALB, we've received word from the USDA that cutting will start at Bovenzi Conservation Park this week. You will probably most easily be able to see it heading north or south on Route 190. Bovenzi is the wooded hillside across the highway from Sainte Gobain. Those trees are mostly maples.

Icy

(Sorry if we seem rather fixated by that; the hike up the driveway is making it rather a prominent feature of the Lodge right now!)

At 10 am, it is 25 degrees and rising (up from 9 this morning)
Humidity stands at 73% and falling
29.77 inches of mercury and steady under sunny skies
No precipitation to speak of
Fire danger is LOW
Brook and the Cascades remain largely snow covered, with a rim of ice, and some water flowing under the ice

We may break freezing today, but only just, if we do. That's going to make all the difference in hiking conditions for the weekend. Where the trail is broken, it's frozen into a slippery mess. Where it isn't broken, expect a crust of ice that breaks under foot (if you're heavier than a squirrel; they seem to be having an easy time of it, trotting along on top).

Slippery

The trees are now dripping, but enough freezing rain fell last night to both make a nice thick crust on top of the snow ('though not enough to walk on unless you try it in snowshoes) and to coat every cleared surface in ice. It's tough going this morning!

At 10:30 am, it is 30 degrees and steady
70% humidity and steady
29.74 inches of mercury and rising under bright sunny skies.
Yesterday we got .31 inches of rain (on top of four or so inches of snow)
Fire danger is up to LOW
The Cascades brook is trickling under the ice.

It's snowing

(for those who might have missed this!)

In a scene that's become overwhelmingly familiar, there are no school buses on the road, the shoveled walks are filling back in, and the snow is pelting down. A squirrel rummaging under our birdfeeder this morning was rapidly being buried. Even the junkos seem to have taken cover!

At 9 am, it is 21 degrees and rising
83% humidity and steady
30.06 inches of mercury and still falling (much of the storm is still west of us)
Fire danger is NONE

We did see a dogwalker go through this morning, but that has been it. We're sending out some junior rangers now, though!

UPDATE: As I was sitting here at the window, a snowshoer just came by! Looks like it's freezing rain right now.

401 posts!

That last post was # 400 for us! YAY! As we don't make it every day, that marks over a year of logging the conditions here at Cascading Waters.

It was not us but a visitor who noticed that some of the tracks crossing the driveway were a deer! A bit more poking around this morning shows that they (we're guessing, as deer usually travel together) are also using the trail (and they poked around on the yard, too). Very fun!

For those of you wondering about the rabbits, we haven't seen them this winter. We're not sure if that means we've lost them, they've moved elsewhere, or they're just taking it a bit slower during the cold season.

At 9 am, it is 21 degrees and rising (up from a low of 5 this morning)
54% humidity and falling
Barometer is 30.27 inches and steady under bright, sunny skies, with not a cloud between here and Florida
Fire danger is NONE
The stream gauge has several inches of snow on top of ice, but we can see that Cascades Brook continues to flow under the ice.

Warmer

Yes, that is dripping you see from your roofline. We're hoping that it takes care of that ice dam over the door, at least a bit.
At 9 am, it is 26 degrees and rising (up over 40 at noon!)
77% humidity and steady
29.94 inches of mercury and steady
Fire danger remains LOW

We had an brave soul wading through the snow this afternoon. We do have more than half the parking area open down below, though, we'll warn you: we're going to have some sledders coming down that hill later this afternoon! Look out below!

Bright, Sunny, Cold

Very bright out there today!

At 9 am, it is 22 degrees and rising
60% humidity and steady
29.74 inches of mercury and steady
Fire danger remains LOW
Stream is still frozen

Our black-and-white warbler IS NOT: UPDATED

Sorry it's taken a bit to get this up: here's one of the black-and-white warblers during a visit to our birdfeeder:
You can see how that black-and-white striped head makes it pretty distinctive!

UPDATE: except this is apparently, according to local birders, a photo of a white-throated sparrow. And we were so excited.

Sunny...at least

But it is still cold enough to chill your face!

At 9 am, it is 20 degrees and rising (up from a low of 6 this morning)
61% humidity and falling
29.74 inches of mercury and rising
Fire danger remains LOW
The stream and falls are covered in snow.

And for you skaters out there, the neighbors have been keeping up with the clearing of Cook's Pond, so you can still get to the ice!

Gentle breeze, partly clear, warmer

Well, it is a whole lot more pleasant than it has been of late, nearly warm, and it appears to have been more pleasant here than it was in D.C. as well. They looked cold.

The weather conditions at 9 a.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Temperature: 24.4 and rising: 17.8 and falling;
Humidity: 74% and steady: 67% and steady;
Pressure: 29.56" Hg and steady: 29.59" Hg and steady;
The USFS Fire Danger Class is LOW;
There is a gentle breeze;
The Cascades Brook is running.

Today was a good roof snowpack melting day, but not warm enough to do much else.

We also get a final tally from the snow the other night.
It was 8.2" to midnight, but the snow didn't stop then.
Well NWS says another 1.7" fell from that point, taking the storm total up to 9.9"!
Not bad!

This also takes the yearly total up to 51.6"!
Now were talking.

Lots of birds today.
Chickadees hovering by the window looking in the Lodge,
Bright red male Cardinal,
The Black and White Warblers,
The Juncos,
The crazed Grey Squirrels (who think they are birds and "fly" to the feeder, and "fly" away);
and that is all that I noticed off-hand.

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!

Snow Coming!

So you go to the record books,
Maybe there is some excitement in this arctic period.
Its been cold,
-1, -2 degrees F, etc.
But alas, for the same days the records are actually -9, -12 etc.

Sorry, it is cold, but not record breaking cold.

Presently it is 5:06 p.m., the conditions are:
30.27" of Hg and steady;
15.1 degrees F and falling;
44% humidity and steady;
The USFS fire danger class is LOW (must be the snow and ice encrusted forest floor);
The Cascades Brook, while running, is ice encrusted and not easily measured and read.

The incoming snow is supposed to amount to 1-2",
Tomorrow's snow is supposed to be 3-5",
What actually falls?
Let's see!

More feeders= more birds

We invested in a few more birdfeeders yesterday, feeling sorry for those who live outside in such brutal weather, and we've been rewarded! Over the past twenty-four hours, we've seen juncos, chickadees, our resident cardinal pair, a pair of goldfinches, nuthatches, and our black-and-white warblers. On those, we've heard back from central Mass birders that they are rare, but not unheard of in the wintertime.

(And we put out peanuts for the squirrels)

At 9 am, it is 12 degrees and rising (that's up from -2.6 at 7 am, incidentally)
The humidity is 48% and steady
Barometer is 30.27 inches and steady
Fire danger is LOW
Stream continues frozen
NO activity on the trail; even the dog walkers are staying close to home these days.

Stay warm!

Happy 198th birthday, Abby Kelley Foster!

(which matters to us because Cascading Waters was part of Liberty Farm, owned by Stephen and Abby Kelley Foster. It served as a home-away-from-home for prominent abolitionists, and as a stop on the Underground Railroad. If you trace back the deed for Cascading Waters, you get to one signed by Abby Kelley Foster, selling off this property after Stephen's death.)

12 degrees F and steady
48 % humidity and steady
30.09 pressure and steady
0.00 rain(no rain)
Brook is not measurable
REALLY cold!

Very cold

If you're going out today, this is a day to cover up all exposed skin; my face was quickly starting to hurt this morning while filling the birdfeeders.
Speaking of which, an update on that warbler from the weekend: it turns out that the black-and-white warbler is migratory. This time of year, they are supposed to all be in southern Florida and Mexico. No telling what it's doing up here, but we aren't the only ones to have seen them; one of the women over at Mass Audubon spotted one over the weekend, too. We're sending it in to the Mass Birds list.
At 9 am, it is 19 degrees and rising under sunny skies
51% humidity and steady
Barometer is at 29.83 inches and rising
Stream remains frozen (it's flowing in the middle, but the edges are solid).
More snow coming in tomorrow night!

Great day for winter sports

Sorry to post so late in the day, but we were out enjoying it. One of the neighbors has cleared off several hockey rinks' worth of ice on Cook's Pond, so we pulled on our skates! We highly recommend it! It's remarkable how warm the mid-20's are when one is doing something so active.

At 9am, it was 25 degrees and rising
62% humidity and falling
29.97 inches of mercury and rising under clear skies, which we had all day.
Fire danger is LOW
The stream is now FROZEN OVER: even good, hard stomping won't get through that ice!

We've also had a few new visitors to the birdfeeder (kudos to the middle junior ranger for noticing): we've had a few black-and-white warblers (Mniotilta varia), most noticable for their black and white striped heads (very unusual!). "Common in deciduous woods," says our bird guide, and it behaves "more like a nuthatch." If we catch a photo, we will post it!

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!

Snow coming in....

The snow should be falling any second now!

US NWS says 5-9 inches in total from the storm...
but we will just have to wait and see.

We have decided to play it safe and have stocked up on firewood, split kindling, chopped ice, and left the van near the bottom of the incline.

This morning at 9 a.m. the conditions were:
Pressure, 30.15" of Mercury and steady (presently 30.06" and steady);
Temperature, 19.2 degrees and rising (presently 20.8 and steady);
Humidity, 61% and falling (presently 61%);
USFS Fire Danger Class of LOW;
Cascades Brook is at 5.8".

Hunker down!
Storm doesn't let up until 12 p.m. tomorrow afternoon!

Warmer, snowy, and icy

33 degrees F and rising.
87 % Humidity and steady .
29.18 pressure and rising .
0.04 rain .
8:53 time .
U.S.F.S. fire danger is LOW.
This morning sunrise was nice, because the pink, blue and white snow go together very well.

Changing weather

Right now what's falling is sleet, but it has also been freezing rain. With the temperature hovering right at freezing, it will be going back and forth all day. The radar shows plenty of this storm still south of us, so, if you can, hunker down someplace warm and dry. It's rotten weather for snowshoes and skies, even. We have seen some intrepid dog walkers, though!

(We're having some technical difficulties with our equipment here at the Lodge this morning. We ventured out to get the readings on temp and humidity, but we can't give you much beyond that.)

At 9 am, it is 31 degrees F.
96% humidity
Barometer stands at 29.44 inches and still falling
We have frost warning (no surprise there!)
As of yesterday, the fire danger was still LOW, but I imagine that will be coming off entirely today.
Brook is at 5 inches exactly.
The falls are largely snow covered, with a crust of ice.

Splitting wood

Much to the consternation of the chickadees who were obviously hoping for a peaceful breakfast, we were out this morning and split some wood. We're starting a fire up this afternoon and may keep it going all night. You're not going to find US unprepared if the power goes out again!

At 9:30 am, it is 23 degrees and rising under sunny skies
Humidity is at 73% and steady (just for fun, if you have a way to check, compare this with your interior humidity. Here's it's 23% inside, and that's with a pot boiling on the stove.)
29.97 inches of mercury and steady (so far...check out that radar map on the bottom of the GWLT page if you want to see what's coming)
The stream is at 5.8 inches (up pretty substantially from yesterday)
Fire danger is LOW

Stay warm!

More Snow and Ice on the Way!

The Monday 9:00 a.m. conditions:

31.5 degrees F and rising;
91% humidity and steady;
29.80" pressure and steady;
USFS Fire Danger Class is NONE;
everything is coated in a sheet of ice, but black ice, so watch carefully.
as it was all ice the rain gauge has no reading.

MORE WEATHER HEADED IN!

The Hazardous Weather Outlook from the National Weather Service Sums it up nicely:

A SIGNIFICANT WINTER STORM WILL AFFECT INTERIOR SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND
TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY WITH AT LEAST SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW
FOLLOWED BY THE POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT ICING. THE MOST LIKELY AREA
FOR SIGNIFICANT ICING APPEARS TO BE ALONG AND NORTH OF LINE FROM THE
GREATER SPRINGFIELD AREA EXTENDING NORTHEAST TO FITCHBURG AND
LAWRENCE MASSACHUSETTS.

ONE THING TO KEEP IN MIND...THE POTENTIAL CERTAINLY DOES EXIST FOR
SOME DOWN TREE LIMBS AND POWER OUTAGES WITH ONE QUARTER TO ONE HALF
INCH OF FREEZING RAIN ON TOP OF THE SNOW/SLEET. HOWEVER...THIS
EVENT WILL ALSO FEATURE A PERIOD OF SNOW FOLLOWED BY SLEET...BEFORE
THE FREEZING RAIN. THIS MEANS THAT THE AMOUNT OF FREEZING RAIN WE
RECEIVE SHOULD BE LESS AND NOT AS DESTRUCTIVE/WIDESPREAD AS WHAT WE
SAW A MONTH AGO. NONETHELESS...THIS STILL HAS THE POTENTIAL TO CAUSE
SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS OVER A PORTION OF THE REGION THAT WAS HARD HIT
LAST MONTH SO WE CERTAINLY ARE CONCERNED. ESPECIALLY BECAUSE MANY
TREES ARE ALREADY SEVERELY DAMAGED...WHICH WILL MAKE IT EASIER FOR
LIMBS TO COME DOWN AND COULD RESULT IN MORE POWER OUTAGES.

So there you have it folks!
While this will be worse to our north, and weather is fickle, we could end up with another storm that brings down more limbs.

Dated Report

First off,
The Sunday 9:09 a.m. report:

25 degrees F and rising;
52% humidity and steady;
29.85" Hg and steady;
sunny, pure blue skies, faint breeze.

Why so late?
A flu none of us want to get into.

We had folks out hiking, and kids trying to smash the ice on the brook with downed limbs.

Blowing snow

That dusting we received overnight is mostly in the air right now. If you're heading out on it, bundle up and be prepared to get a faceful!

At 9 am, it is 30 degrees and rising

Bright sun with the barometer at 29.71 inches and rising

Humidity is 68% and erratic (I think it's trying to measure that blowing snow)

We heard from hikers that came through snowshoeing on Friday that the Meadow Ridge trail is clear, but the Silver Spring trail is full of downed trees. Proceed accordingly!

Cloudy, cold, still

The conditions this morning as of 8 a.m. were:

Temperature of 11.7 degrees F and rising,

Humidity of 45% and steady,

Pressure of 29.88" Hg and falling,

Overcast, Still,

USFS Fire Danger Class of LOW.

And then we split for a day on public transit.

Cold, Eagles, and Records

Lots going on here for the first day of 2009.

First of all, there is the cold.

If it were possible to hang icicles off of the word cold I would.

Last night around 11:30 p.m. it was 6.9 degrees F.

Some folks might round up,

Some folks might decide that the margin of error for the thermometer makes it 7,

The moment it says it is less than 7, it is six,

Call it six point whatever, I don't care.

It is ridiculously cold.

(I was deeply thankful I wasn't doing First Night when I saw that,

I was also deeply thankful that the Lodge was some 60 degrees warmer than that.)

This morning I looked at the thermometer at 7:30 a.m. and it was 2.1 degrees.

TWO!

It just keeps getting more crazy!

So I checked my favorite National Weather Service page,

Climatological Data (see the new link off to the right in the column,)

and the record for yesterday was -13 degrees F in 1917.

Ok.

2 is fine.

I'll deal.

Then there was an email from Conscripted Ranger Melican.

It is his firm conviction that he saw an Eagle circling over Mower Street this morning.

Any one else sight the bird in the Cascades of late out there?

Hmmm.... and eagle, pretty cool!

As for today's weather conditions at 9:13 a.m.:

Temperature of 9.5 degrees F and rising (yeah!);

Humidity of 67% and steady;

Pressure of 29.91" Hg and rising;

USFS Fire Danger of NONE.

Yesterday we got 6.4" of snow as measured by the National Weather Service up at the Worcester Airport (O'Brien Municipal Field), and 

THAT IS A RECORD! 

Previously the snow record for 12/31 was 5.0" in 1897.

Which gets us to the 2008 weather recap.

What was notable about 2008?

Precipitation.

Plenty of it.

Let me demonstrate:

Last year we got 63.04" of precipitation! 

Five and a quarter feet of rain fell here!

Amazing the effectiveness of the streams, and rivers at moving this stuff along so we don't all have to become fish or take up wearing moss.

Typically we would expect on the order of 49.05",

or a whole foot and a half less.

As for snow?

well, we have December to thank for keeping us well supplied.

Not a flake fell before December,

and 31.4" fell in December.

That is a lot of snow.

Generally we get 17.3" of snow from July to January 1,

and that gets spread out over October, November and December.

This time we almost double the snowfall, and do it all in the final 2/3rds of December.

Wild!

I love this weather record stuff.

We have had two families of hikers go through, and confirm that indeed, it is cold.

The sun is out the breeze is light.

It is all very pretty outside.

The fire is burning away inside.

Happy Birthday! (Celebrate with MORE SNOW!)

One year ago today we posted the first of the GWLT Lodge at Cascading Waters observations.

What a cool year it has been!

Floods, 

Ice Storms,

Snow Storms,

Wind Blasts,

Coyotes,

Deer,

Hawk attack!,

Disappearing Ponds,

No phone,

No electricity,

and that is just the stuff that pops to mind.

Well it has been fun!

The conditions for today as of 9 a.m.:

21.2 degrees F and steady;

73% humidity and rising;

29.53" of Hg and falling;

5.2" in the Cascades Brook;

USFS Fire Danger Class is LOW.

We had only a dusting at 9 a.m., so we waited and measured again at 11 a.m. and had 1/2" at that point.

Since 9 a.m. :

the temperature has fallen to 19.2 degrees F,

the humidity has risen to 80%,

the pressure has fallen to 29.41" Hg,

and the beat goes on!

We were already on track to have a higher than typical precipitation for 2008, and that was BEFORE the storm started adding to the totals!

A final precipitation tally will be made tomorrow for 2008!

Sit tight.

Enjoy the snow.

We are about to fire up the fieldstone fireplace here at the Lodge.

Happy New Years!!

Snow, again

This morning was a pleasant surprise.
Look out over the world wrapped in a white blanket of snow.
Presently it is melting in the sun,
but more is on the way!

The National Weather Service is thinking we might get some 4-6" over the course of tomorrow.

The conditions here at Cascading Waters as of 9:00 a.m. were:

Blue skies, windy;
Pressure of 29.53" and steady;
Humidity of 52% and falling;
Temperature of 36.9 degrees F and rising;
USFS Fire Danger Class of LOW.

There is not so much snow as to prove a hindrance for trail or parking area.
The trails are still in poor shape from the ice storm.

There is a vehicle at the lot right now, and the joggers went through recently.

So hang onto your hat and await the coming snows!

- - - - - - -
UPDATE:

Cascades Brook Depth as of 12:00 p.m. was 6"

More warmth!

The game for today is.... find any sign of snow having recently been here!

Presently the weather conditions at 9:00 a.m. are:

29.85" of Hg and steady;

37.8 degrees F and rising;

63% humidity and falling;

7.2" in the Cascades Brook;

USFS Fire Danger Class is NONE;

Steady breeze, blue skies with high altitude clouds.

The ground is very soft and wet.

The parking area is open.

- - - - - - - -

I did a little back research with the National Weather Service up at the Airport to try and get a sense of just how strong the wind was that took out the tipi covering. The highest recorded wind gust for that period was 54 mph. Now wind speed is a very localized thing, and we aren't the airport, but that gives an order of magnitude as to what likely took it out. I can live with that level of iffy-ness, though the next time I may use a more durable material. 

The Ground!?

That's right!
The Ground!

It is still there, has been all along.

And now we can see it.

Sadly we can also now see all of the branches and storm debris as well.

As of 10 a.m. this morning the conditions were:
37 degrees F and steady;
98% humidity and steady;
30.24" of mercury and steady;
USFS Fire Danger Class is NONE;
raining;
With the Cascades Brook is 6.6" at high pulse as of 1:00 p.m. (was 6.2" at 11:30 a.m.).

The trails are getting hikers.

Presently as of 3:15 p.m. the weather is warmer:
42.4 degrees F and steady;
98% humidity and steady;
30.12" of mercury and falling.

More warmth and melting are in our future.

The Cascades still have some ice formations, and have some water crashing, and it is a nice mix.

Boxing Day Weather

Overcast, wandering between warm and cold with the intermittent sun, with a light breeze.

The conditions as of 10 a.m. are:
31.3 degrees F and rising;
62% humidity and falling;
30.50" of mercury and steady;
USFS Forest Fire Danger Class is LOW;
The Cascades Brook is between 6.6" and 6.8" as the stream flow pulses;

The Cascades Brook is flowing nicely.

The tipi covering was tossed roughly back into place for now.

There is one clear space in the lower lot, and the snow is shallow enough where folks are parking in a covered space down below as well.

There have been hikers going back and forth, and overall conditions are fairly nice for a walk.

Oh, and as for Boxing Day....
In Great Britain and the Commonwealth Countries the day after Christmas is Boxing Day and is celebrated as a day for gathering.
We here at the Lodge will be enjoying the under-celebrated holiday.

Freezing rain is expected for midnight or thereabouts.
Be forewarned!

The Melt Ends

After a whole day and night of rain and warmth, the snow pack was greatly reduced this morning.

Consequently the Cascades Brook was way up to 9" even.
The second channel of the Cascades Brook was running, though lightly on flow.
The Cascades were running, but subdued.

Then the winds continued all day and took the warmth away bit by bit with them.

Things are definitely refrozen here.

But back to those winds last night late/this morning early....
They weren't exactly persistent so much as they were dramatic.

You could hear them coming a ways off.
They got louder and louder as they approached.
You could hear the trees take the force.
You could feel the Lodge take the force, and feel a stirring of a draft in the old section of the Lodge ever so gently inside.
The sound was real loud for a bit, and then it would pass, as if it were a single event, and all was still again.

This happened a few times that I was awake for.

It also took the covering straight off of the tipi.

Not just ripping out grommets, or pulling away from metal spikes in the ground,
but pulling the very pole (think some 14' and heavy) anchoring the covering up and away from the tipi itself!
You need to know that the tipi was set up with an eastward door opening (wind comes down the hill/cliff from the west typically), has an air space around the bottom to reduce stress on the covering, and possesses an overall inclination to the prevailing wind direction to help it fair better in high plains winds, yet the covering was nearly stripped away.

In defense of the Sioux model, we hadn't hunkered it down and tied off every possible support as we clearly would have were we staying in it as a shelter.

Nevertheless, that was some wind that went through,
and weird in the way that it did.

Weather Conditions as of 9:03 a.m.:
41.4 degrees F and rising;
53% humidity and falling;
29.94" of mercury and rising.

Dripping

It's warmer than it has been for a few days (up over freezing), so the eaves here at the Lodge are dripping. Already yesterday the stream was rising (up to 5.6 last night); a bit more of this and the Cascades will be roaring again.

At 9 am, it is 34 degrees and steady
95% humidity and steady (I suspect that's as much sublimation as anything; it isn't currently raining)
Barometer is falling, currently at 30.18 inches
We've got both a "wet" and a "freeze" warning up
Fire danger continues at NONE

We'll give you a new stream total once we've got one.

The Official Numbers:

National Weather Service says that we got 8" of snow yesterday.

• This is a new record for the day, which was previously 6" in 1954.

This also brings the monthly total up to 24" of snow!

• Another interesting note is that there had been no measurable snow at all this fall until December, so that 24" is all we have for the season as well as the month.
• Finally, the normal snowfall for the month at this point would be 7.4".

Also, last Saturday we set a record as well.
On Saturday the 20th we received 11.6" of snow!

• The previous record was 10" in 1945.

In between these two storms we had two days that each has 2.2" of new snow, which gets you to our number of 24"!
And not a flake of it fell before the 20th of December!


(Finally, the wind gusts are beginning to kick in!)

Snow, postlude

9:08 a.m. here at the Lodge.

Presently it is clear, blue skies, breezy, with occasional strong gusts.

The temperature is 15.8 degrees F and rising,
The barometric pressure is 29.53" of Hg and rising,
The humidity is 56% and steady,
The USFS Forest Danger Class is NONE.

Depths are a trick for us here.

We haven't been scientific enough.

You see, to do this right, we ought to go out every hour and measure a spot, clear it off and repeat.
By measuring total accumulated depth you don't get what actually fell,
you get total overall depth.

Snow compacts, particularly the light fluffy snow we presently have received.
Snow sublimates. Remember high school chemistry where a solid goes to a gas, well snow does that.
Snow drifts, and we have had plenty of wind for that.

Near the roofline of the lodge we have amazing depths well over a foot, and yet out in the glen in front, you can get some fairly shallow readings.

As a result I will go over to the National Weather Service and get the official tally from the airport later.

- - - - - - -

Now, as to all of this amazing snow!!!
Enjoy it please!

You see we have been having fewer days a year with snow cover, more high temperature winter days, and the trend lines show no reason to believe that this trend will halt or reverse.

This is an amazing set of snow events leaving us the sort of snow generally associated with New England.
Bundle up the kids and throw them out into a drift!
Grab the winter sports gear and head outside!
Take photos!
Revel in it!
It won't be the last big deep snow you see, but it is time to shift into a savoring of the moments with deep snows.

(For the troglodytes out there who are convinced there is no climate change....
Well, ignore the decline of the world's glaciers, the breakup of the Antarctic ice shelves, the melting under the Greenland ice sheet, and the whole of modern recorded weather history trend lines (widely available, reported, and verifiable) and buy yourself a beautiful and pricey place out on the coast line. I'll be voting to end FEMA Flood Insurance for you.)

- - - - - - -

SNOW!!!!

The numbers

At 11:30, we've got 5.2 inches of water in the brook, which is flowing merrily between snowy banks.

We're estimating that we've got 8 1/2 inches of snow out there, but it's already drifting. We're measuring as much as 10 inches in places.

Also, it's snowing in several directions: it's not nice out there.

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.

Snow Log 7 p.m.

Deepest confirmed measurements of 8" out in the glen in front of the Lodge.

The Snow that never ends!

So, if you have been watching the radar map, and on and off we have, there is this blob of cloud cover and precipitation just sitting over Massachusetts all the way out to upstate New York that just doesn't move.

Typically when you see something over that section of New York it is some 3 to 4 hours away from being your future, but time stands still along with the storm and the snow keeps falling.

We also decided that, while up to a week ago the blog image was dead on, right now we are unambiguously in the winter (even if it is shy of the solstice by a day.)

More snow is predicted for tomorrow, starting at 8 a.m. and dropping some 6 - 10" more of the white stuff!

That makes this optimal for snowshoes, cross country skis (poor ski folk had little to work with for much of last winter), and snow mobiles (who also had bum luck last year getting adequate depth.)

Enjoy the winter wonderland, and the arctic air out there that will stay low.

Presently it is 4:16 p.m. and:
15.4 degrees F and steady;
81% humidity and steady;
30.03" of Hg and steady.

We are hunkered down by the fieldstone fireplace and until we know that the mail is here we aren't heading out to measure the present depth.

Stay tuned!

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.

Tipi in the snowstorm

Tipi in the snow storm.

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!

More Snow!

There is another 7 to 13 inches of snow predicted over the period of Friday afternoon and night!
That is a real snow storm!
The first snow storm of the year.

Welcome news for folks with power, telephone, and heat,
yet not so welcome news for those still struggling.

This morning's conditions were:
31 degrees F and steady;
95% humidity and steady;
30.21 inches of mercury and steady;
0.00" of precipitation;
USFS fire danger class was low.

Presently it is 8:45 p.m. and:
25.5 degrees F and steady;
91% humidity and steady (amazing how much humidity is present just with snow and ice on the ground!);
30.15" of mercury and steady;
0.04" of precipitation registered (melting of the snow and ice built up on the rain gauge.)

If you were wondering where yesterday's post was.... well....
We lost phone service for the day here at the Lodge.
Why?
Who knows.
It's back.
Why?
Still no clue.
But we are happy to have it back.

Yesterday the conditions at 9:34 a.m. were:
28 degrees F and steady;
92% humidity and steady;
29.92" of mercury and falling;
no registering precipitation (what there was was frozen);
stream depth of 6.2".

And then there is another fox in the hood!
Conscripted Wildlife Ranger and Cooks Pond Statistician Melican spotted the critter in the back yard, and noted that this was a different fox than the previously reported one. His speculation was that there may be a pair and a den nearby. That could possibly spell more foxes this spring!
Stay tuned!

Waiting for snow!

That's right....
1 - 3" tonight before it changes over to sleet tomorrow morning according to the NWS.

Not great news for the folks still without power, or the crews trying to restore it.

Yesterday a fair amount of brawn was exercised to get the Cascades Trail head from Olean to Cataract Street clear. This short section alone took a fair amount of labor!

Presently the Cascades Brook is running at 6.6", and
the Cascades are running!

The present weather conditions as of 9 a.m. are:
Overcast, with a light breeze,
It is 35.6 degrees F and steady,
The barometric pressure is 30.36" and rising (Wow! that is high and rising with a storm front moving in!),
There is a 64% humidity and steady,
The USFS Fire danger class is low,
This morning we received 0.04" of rain,
and last night we received 0.04" of rain.

Things are busy weather-wise.

- - - - - - - -

We also learned something fairly important yesterday about the behavior of Cook's Pond.

The drain pipe is low in the pond,
so in extended periods without precipitation it goes down very low.
The drain pipe is also very small,
so when there is a good sized storm the pond fills up quickly and quite full.

What this means.... is that the ice on the pond can be a shell over a void,
IF the pond surface froze when the pond was full
AND there has been little flow in the brooks.

This is worthy of note for ice fishermen and ice skaters alike.
Do a test hole, and don't just look for thickness, but also voids to the water level in determining safety.

Keep those bugs at home

A reminder:
Worcester remains under USDA quarantine.

Wood and wood products CANNOT BE MOVED from the quarantine zone.

If your brother-in-law from Paxton with a chainsaw wants to come down to Burncoat Street and help you clear your yard, that's great. HE CAN'T TAKE THE WOOD HOME, however!

We really don't need to spread the beetle further. And we haven't yet had a hard enough, long enough frost to be sure they're all dead for the year.

Be smart, people!

Photos of the storm

Here's a few photos from Cascading Waters from the storm:

Here's our view out the front door of the Lodge.

Cataract Street at the Cascades Bridge


Here's the Cascades Brook at the Cataract Street bridge.

The Cascades are never as impressive on camera, but here they are during the storm. Note the trees.

Cascading Waters section is open

Okay, so getting all the way through is going to be the work of more than one day, but we do now have the Cascades Trail open through Cascading Waters, Olean to Cataract. We're talking to the city about the Cascades (we can't leave the trees draped like that, if only for the sake of the bridge).

Stream is back to 7 inches today; that's a whole lot of ice melting up on the hill!

First Trail Report

Ok folks,

Our intrepid regular hiker Margot hit the trails this Saturday:

Her view on the trail conditions isn't very good (unless you like wild bushwacking!).


Have you tried to hike any of the trails? What a mess! Is your house OK? I started at the turnaround (N. Olean St. at the Jersey barrier near the Holden line) on Saturday afternoon, picked my way along the Holden trail (south), and then up next to the waterfall and along the blue trail to the yellow. The worst area I found was the “unofficial” one that your interns did so much to improve last summer.... There were places I couldn’t even see where the trail was! I have some pictures if you want them; only of the blue and the yellow. Are you recommending that people stay off the trails?


So, Margot went:
South on Holden Trail
West on the Cascades Trail
West on Silver Spring Trail
as a one way shot, and it took too long to do a loop.

Well, I haven't had an official position on the trails, not having seen them myself up close, but Margot's word seems to be stay off unless you are up for a wild adventure.

WE HAVE POWER!!

Back on at 1:36 pm this afternoon!
With the fireplace still roaring, the living room quickly got up over 80! We're pulling that back.
The kitchen was the temperature of a refrigerator (which in some ways is very handy: "Sure, just leave that milk out on the counter!"), and now is a more livable 65 degrees again.
I'll be honest and tell you that over the past 60 hours we've been paying more attention to the temperature inside than outside, but as of 4 pm:
The outside temperature is 36 degrees and steady(we're still getting a frost warning on that)
Humidity is 75% and rising
Barometer is a nice clear 30.33 inches of mercury
Fire danger is LOW
As of this afternoon, the brook was back down to 4 inches. We put a lot of water through there this weekend!
The Cascades Trail from Olean to Cataract is passable. And we've had hikers in since yesterday. Beyond that, we haven't ventured. If you have, and have any tree information to report, please do! And please do keep half an eye up, as there are branches hanging in trees.
In fact, send a report to gwlt@gwlt.org if you know of any trails that are impassible on GWLT lands. We won't get to them all right away, but we would like to know.

ICE STORM Cont'd

Well, the Cascades Brook is back down to a more reasonable 7.6" as of 9 a.m. this morning.
The falls are still running prettily.
The trail is getting some surprising amount of use!

The trail conditions are tricky but not as dangerous as before.
Know this: The higher in elevation you go in the park, the colder it remains, and the more tree limb ice remains. Be fore warned!

Cataract Street appears to be passable again.
Olean Street continues to be passable.

As for the Lodge....
The old 1948 feildstone fireplace has been working up a storm for the past 36+ hours keeping thisngs warm. Even the fieldstones themselves are throwing heat at this point.
Water is still running, drainpipes not yet frozen, electricity still definitely OFF.

Hope this post (remotely) finds you well!

Lodge Out.

ICE is here...

Definitely,

Lots of ice!

In fact it was really hard to sleep as the sharp crack, pop, bang of trees and tree limbs snapped and fell all night long.

Power was already out by 12:00 am.
Still out when I left the Lodge at 9:00 a.m.

Lots of branches, trees, and ice chunks from branches down.
The White pine out front on the Cascades Trail is not so happy this morning.
The smell of the fresh pine pitch is wonderful, and I think we will have boughs for garland.
The ground is clear and largely just very very wet.

So here is where the weather went nuts.....
It was supposed to have warmed as it rained overnight.
It didn't.

Each time I was up wandering and looking around in the oil lamp and candle lit Lodge the temp. registered as just over 32 degrees by fractions, but never more than that, allowing the ice to build and build, while the rain made every square centimeter of branch heavier and heavier, CRACK!

It is beautiful out there, though the warming is shifting the ice load and trees are still going as well as limbs. Not a great time to go for a hike unless you relish imminent danger. The trailhead and parking area are clear, but there are no promises on the trail itself other than downed limbs aplenty. Wind was supposedly in the forecast for later this morning.....

DON'T TRY CATARACT STREET!
It is impassible!
Power lines down on the street.
Trees down across the street.

The Cascades themselves are ROARING!
Continuous ribbons of white frothy flow.

The Cascades Brook is the highest we have had since Jason the Hydrological Ranger installed the stream gauge, a full 1 foot, 2" and surging up and down by 0.4" by the second.
The second channel is in full flow, there is back water pooling on portions of the brook, and there are standing pools of water by the parking area.

As of just shy of 9 a.m. the readings were:

Barometric Pressure is 29.21" and falling;
Temperature is 33.1 degrees F and steady;
Humidity of 98% and steady;
Rain yesterday was 0.71" (and that was basically last night before midnight);
Rain from midnight until roughly 9 a.m. was 1.34";
For a total rainfall of 2.05" (which is a heck of a storm! by itself)

Pictures will follow as power is restored to the Lodge.

Enjoy!
Storms like this come but once a decade!

Ice is coming

For those of you who turned on WCCA and did not see us this morning: sorry! I got my times mixed up. You can see the "Snow Ghost Community Show":
Fridays at 8.30pm,
Saturdays at 11.30pm,
Sundays at 9.30pm,
Monday mornings at 9.30am
(thanks for the correction, Mike!)

The National Weather Service is warning that we're in for a doozy of a day:

.COLD HIGH PRESSURE WITH ITS RESERVOIR OF SUBFREEZING TEMPERATURES
IS BECOMING ENTRENCHED FROM NEW YORK STATE TO NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND
AND SOUTHEAST CANADA TODAY. LOW PRESSURE MOVING TOWARD NEW ENGLAND
FROM ALABAMA WILL CONSTANTLY DRAW UPON THAT POOL OF COLD AIR TO OUR
NORTH WHILE HEAVY PRECIPITATION FLOWS NORTHWARD WITH THE MOISTURE
LADEN LOW PRESSURE CENTER. THIS WILL RESULT IN A MAJOR ICE STORM FOR
PORTIONS OF INTERIOR SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND. THE LOW PRESSURE GALE
CENTER WILL MOVE ACROSS EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS FRIDAY MORNING AND
DEPART FOR THE MARITIMES IN THE AFTERNOON.

So far, all we're getting is rain, and the barometer is staying high.
As they've also said to watch, in particular, northeast facing slopes,
we're keeping an eye out: that would be the Cascades.


At 9am, it is 33 degrees and steady. It's been just 33 for a number of hours now.
98% humidity and raining
So far today we've had 0.04 inches of rain. Our total for yesterday was 0.75 inches.
The stream is up to 6.4 inches and rising, no doubt!
Barometer is 30.03 inches of mercury and steady
Fire danger remains NONE

Traffic on the trail this morning is non-existent, but we did have a visit from
the DPW up on Cataract Street. Looks like they're keeping an eye on the bridges
and culverts today. The Cascades are running!