jculligan

Made it up to 37F here today, but the snow is so glaciated at this point I don't really think we lost much over this way. I have a very crusty 5" base out there right now. Depth wise, we're roughly on par with last year at this time, then we had an 8" event on 1/16 that brought the depth to more than a foot. These are some lean times in the White Mountains for sure. Luckily the winter is long, and I'm eternally optimistic that things can turn around. February, March, and even April can be really good around here....so here's to hoping for a back-ended winter.

Drove over to Sunday River this afternoon to do a couple uphill laps. It rained most of the way there, except for a short stretch between Pinkham Notch and Gorham. Once I got to Shelburne NH it flipped back to rain and remained rain until the road up to the Jordan Hotel, where it flipped back to a 34-degree snow. Sunday River ended up with a very slight coating, and there was also a very slight coating (less than 1") between Gorham and Pinkham Notch on the drive home. No snow here in Jackson. Now we await the arctic air.

37/37 with a "heavy drizzle" at the moment. What a nasty weekend overall. Having said that, I echo J. Spin's sentiment regarding a very good holiday week for outdoor activities. I managed to get over to Stowe for the first time on Wednesday and Thursday...and while lift-serviced terrain is somewhat limited, it was more than enough to satisfy my girlfriend (second year on skis) who was quite content lapping the Meadows chair...as well as her 9 year old son who was beyond thrilled to ski his first black diamond (Nosedive). I can't wait to go back when more terrain is open. Back on the weather side....it was one year ago today when we established our seasonal snowpack for the 2020-2021 winter. This year we managed to do it a little earlier (12/18) but we're still waiting for the first 6" snowfall in these parts whereas last year there had already been three at this point. We've had enough nickel and dime events that I think one more dense snowfall of 6-8" would be enough to open up some limited backcountry terrain. Really hoping the Friday event pans out.

This morning’s 1” snowfall brought my depth up to 7-8” OTG. Not super impressive for the White Mountains in late December, but a heck of a lot better than last year at this time (bare ground). I’m definitely concerned about the upcoming weekend, so hoping for positive trends in the next few days.

Watching Wednesday's system very closely. Models do seem to be trending closer with time, and suddenly we have a legitimate event on the gfs.

I hiked Mount Clay from the west side today, and it was still snowing steadily even when I left the Ammonoosuc Ravine trailhead at 4pm. Amazing how the post-synoptic upslope can persist for so long in your area. Having said that, I was pretty surprised at how little new snow there was when I arrived at 9am this morning. Your area was definitely a localized snowfall minimum during the synoptic portion of this event.

5.0" here. OVC and 25F with a few flakes still floating down out there. Beautiful morning.

4.0" with steady snow continuing in Jackson NH. 23 degrees.

4.0" here

OVC and 30/20 in Jackson NH. Awaiting the first flakes here.

Really liking where I sit with tomorrow's event. Just reviewed the 6" snowfall probabilities on the Euro, GFS, and Canadian ensembles and all seem to be honing in on a central VT/NH jackpot. In NH I like the Lakes Region up to the southern White Mountains (along and south of Franconia, Crawford, and Pinkham Notches) for the best chance of 6" or more. Northern Whites should be good for 3-6 inches. After settling down to 41F this morning, we've bounced back to 45F at midday. No hint of snow anywhere. Looking forward to hopefully turning the corner this weekend.

Spiked from 36F at sunset last night to 56F at some point during the night. It was still 49F when I woke up at 5:00 but we've steadily dropped down to 41F now. My anemometer has registered a peak gust of 30 so far, but winds are likely stronger than that since my yard is quite wooded. No power interruptions yet.

Warm air managed to work its way in. We're up from 36F at sunset to 51F now. Incredibly balmy night out there.

Last winter was such a dud I often forget about this one. We only got 6" on the northern fringe of the storm here, but what a whopper from southern VT up into the Lakes region! That stationary death band was one of the more extreme cases of mesoscale banding I've ever seen - it was almost like watching a lake effect band in my old stomping grounds of western New York. Danbury NH picked up 48" of snow, and then a week later it was completely gone...

Incredible temperature ranges over very short distances this evening. This is the most extreme example I can find in New Hampshire: At my location, we had slipped back to 36F but have since spiked back to 44F which is now the high for the day.

Warm air struggling to reach this location today. Sometimes my elevation helps, but after briefly rising to 43F early this afternoon we have since settled back to 36F. We've been in and out of the fog for most of the day with an occasional undercast visible to the west. Temperatures could be interesting tonight, especially near/just after FROPA. Wind advisory hoisted for gusts to 50 after 3am.

Looks like we got about a half inch of slop here in Jackson. Currently 36F and OVC. Ready to move on to Saturday...

I've been down visiting the girlfriend in Malden MA these last couple of days, and about to make the trek back north to Jackson. Balmy 55-degree morning here in eastern Mass. Seeing a lot of 32F readings from Ossipee north. Hoping temps can creep up a degree or two before I get up there, but it looks like another classic CAD day in the MWN Valley.

Yes, I'm feeling cautiously optimistic about finally scoring my first 6"+ event of the season with this one. Two weeks later than last year, but unlike last year...it looks fairly likely we'll keep whatever we get through Christmas.

6"+ snowfall probabilities on the Euro ensembles in the 24-hour period from 18z Saturday to 18z Sunday:

The December 5th storm (last year) completely hosed the valley. They didn't get any snow from that one. At my location, it was raining cat paws until about 4pm then eventually managed to snow 6" when temps dipped to 32F in the evening. The frequency of events has been way higher this year, but the magnitude of each event has been less with no 3"+ yet in my location. Heading north this morning. On the drive up 16 it'll be interesting to see if/where the snowpack held.

It's been very interesting comparing these last two seasons. The Mount Washington Valley is doing MUCH better with "snowpack" this early season compared to last year. Last year, the valley wasn't whitened for the first time until 12/17. This year, the valley has had snowcover since 12/2 and yesterday's 2" brought the snow depth up to about 5-6" right on the valley floor. Looking at the mesonet obs, it looks like they are still holding at 32F so doubtful there's been much melting yet. We don't have as much on the ground at 1500' so it'll be interesting to see if any of the snow has survived at that elevation when I arrive home tomorrow morning.

They have very, very limited snowmaking from what I understand. Last year they essentially blew snow for the rope tow to get the beginner's slope open and left the rest of the mountain at the mercy of the weather. As a result, they weren't really "open" until close to February 1st and ended up with a six-week season. Their south-facing exposure is great during arctic blasts, but results in a very early melt-out compared to the other resorts...especially when we don't have a deep natural snowpack to begin with. I bought their uphill pass for this season, but could not justify spending several hundred dollars on a season pass when the "season" may barely last more than a month.

Not really "off the grid" but it's up at 1500' about a mile past Black Mountain Ski Area. One day I would love to have a cabin or a yurt that requires hiking or skinning to access, but this is just a dream for now. For the time being, I certainly can't complain about being a mile away from the nearest chair lift...not to mention that I can skin to the summit of North Doublehead from my backyard. It's not a bad spot!

Very concerned about the icing potential from Bartlett into Jackson and Conway east to Maine tomorrow morning. Looks like a pretty good slug of QPF early in the day (0.50"+) when temps are almost certain to be below freezing at elevations lower than 1500 feet. With a few very cold days leading up to the event, it looks like a prime setup for freezing rain with efficient ice accrual. Some of the QPF will likely run off, but I would imagine 1/4" of ice isn't out of the question in the notorious cold pockets. Wind potential tomorrow night looks fun too. I'm sure it'll be roaring up at my cabin, but I won't be returning north until Sunday morning...so I get to miss all of this. Hopefully the mild air can work its way into the valley before the wind kicks up.