winter_rules

What radar is this? I have given up trying to use the new NWS radar and need a new one. I don’t understand how NWS could put out such a horrible product. Maybe it’s just cheaper than other options?

I agree with you. I just didn’t (want to) believe it because I can’t think of one time where it has been anywhere near this pronounced....at least since 1999 when my brother (FlyingMXZ) moved out near Delhi/Stamford. Watching the radar seemed “normal” for a nor’easter. With that said, it’s been snowing hard for a few hours this morning. Hopefully it keeps up for a few more hours to get us up around 12”!

Interesting range in Delaware County. The eastern part seems to have been hit hard (12-15”+ and counting), but the western part (my house) has been in on/off light snow for the entire event (24+hrs) totaling around 6-8”. Thankfully we had a good snowpack to start, so it’s not a complete crusher but still disappointing. I have to admit that many of the models showed this spread across the county but I was suspicious because it’s pretty rare. Eastern areas usually get and inch or two more than us, but rarely this big of a difference. Even when we were under decent radar returns it just wasn’t snowing hard. I’m going to have to look into subsidence. I hope the Syracuse folks can get under a good heavy snow for a few hours to restore some sanity for them. THMatt may be lost already (for good reason....who moves to TH and gets skunked?!?!), but maybe this can save a few of the others!

While all eyes are on this Monday-Tuesday storm, what’s it looking like for later in the week? Warm forecasts on TWC and NWS keep getting adjusted lower. Too good to be true?

Same here. My brother’s birthday is Thursday so we’re all planning to take vacation days to snowmobile Th and Fri....in the rain. The only thing worse would be to wash away 2.5ft of snow on Christmas Eve....oh wait that also happened. Bitching aside, this has been a pretty good January for winter in the Catskills. We have been slowly building a very good base with consistently cold temps and many small accumulations continuously adding up.

Steady light snow moving in to Binghamton. Just using the old eyeball evaluation by watching the radar loop it just doesn’t seem like a 3-5” event even if we don’t mix at all. Maybe an inch followed by drizzle/flurries for hours? Hope I’m wrong! Side note: Pretty dense 6-12” or more snowpack above 1,500ft in Delaware County. Almost zero snowpack below maybe 1,200ft. Just returned to work in Binghamton (first time since Th) and was shocked to see how little snow is on the ground relative to home.

Winona?

We had 2° yesterday morning and 5° this morning. Low clouds coated all the tree branches this morning making everything look even prettier.

Just because you’re not talking to us doesn’t mean we can’t keep rubbing in our plans for sledding with the kids tomorrow! JK. To THMatt’s point, we are usually jealous of you guys so we have to get our shots in when we can! Like FlyingMXZ said, that Christmas grinch rain storm really F’d our start to winter. This would be an epic start if we hadn’t had 30” of snow wiped out in 24hrs.

Good luck BW. It sounds like you might know the culprit so hopefully you now know how to address it. I feel bad for a lot of you guys. It has been a very wintry few days in the NW Catskills. +/-5in of wet snow Sunday, snow still clinging to all the trees (above about 1,500ft), new 1/2” of snow every day to keep it fresh. Cold and sunny this weekend should make for a nice weekend to play in the snow with the kids! Not quite enough to really snowmobile, but enough for the kids to buzz around the fields and have fun sledding on the hills. Hopefully we can all start cashing in soon!

The same goes for my place! I’m starting to resent winter...

Merry Christmas and congratulations to the Buffalo folks! We just endured a pretty spectacular meltdown over the past 24-36 hours. 30” of snow a week ago compacted down to about 18” by Wednesday morning, and then steady southerly winds started Wednesday afternoon and continued through this morning. The rain started in the early afternoon yesterday and washed almost everything white away. Only snow piles and drifts remain. Basement is flooded and water is running full in ditches and across the fields and lawn. Aside from damaging weather (wind, freezing rain, etc.), this had to be the most miserable Christmas Eve and Christmas Day weather possible. We picked the wrong year to give our kids a snowmobile for Christmas... Edit: I just saw that we hit 56° some time after midnight! Down to a frigid 50° at 8:48am.

Unless the 18” on the ground is wiped out Christmas Eve into Christmas morning and then the inch falls on top of the water flooding everywhere. That’s what Christmas morning is going to be for us. WTF....

It has been a beautiful wintry stretch of weather in the southern part of the state. A few days of cold to freeze the ground, then 3ft of snow, then cold with snow showers daily to keep the snowpack looking fresh. Classic winter weather that has been so lacking down here the past few years. With that said, I’m about to be reminded that it takes days/weeks and/or a fluke snow storm to build a nice wintry scene around here and just 24hrs to destroy it.

If you have already had the virus, are you still supposed to get the vaccine? Has anyone seen any evidence of more/less protection either way (vaccine vs. natural antibodies)?

I’m sorry to hear that. Hopefully it’s just mild symptoms for anybody who may get it! I’m curious how you’re handling it spreading within your household. We have 3 kids ages 3-7 and figure once one of us gets it, we’ll all have it within a week. Our house setup doesn’t allow us to just lock someone in their own area for a week or two, as if you could do that at those ages anyway.

What do you think is driving the higher rates in Erie County? That area seems to have been a “hot spot” relative to the rest of upstate NY all year. Is it as simple as people refusing to wear masks and/or going about life as normal?

a) Apparently wearing a mask IS too much to ask of the American people these days. b) I agree with both of you guys here. World shutdowns seem extreme for the level of danger of this particular virus, BUT how F’ing hard is it to wear a mask? I have been diligent to wear one in public since March, mainly for the selfish reason of wanting to keep things as normal as possible! c) I’m a registered Republican but I’m glad the freak show is on his way out of office, even if he doesn’t think he is yet. I’m just really hoping Republicans can be smart enough to field a reasonable candidate in 2024. I believe that if either party fields a semi-moderate candidate with a decent background they’ll win in a landslide, relatively speaking. Like 52-48.

Last year my 89yr old grandmother wrote a few pages about her childhood, which included growing up with essentially all products being rationed during WWII. I talked to her about how the spoiled babies in today’s society would handle that type of inconvenience. We did not realize we would get a *little* taste of it this year....

That’s interesting in itself, outside of COVID. Where did all these people go who would otherwise “need” healthcare in any other year? Have the heart attack and stroke deaths increased significantly this year because people are afraid to go to a hospital? That was a discussion back in the spring but I haven’t heard anything since then. Elective surgeries must be way down, too. Hmmm.....

Everybody at my office who has voted this morning, including myself, has commented about how many more people were at the polls than usual (all before 7am). Factor in all the mail-in ballots and this could be interesting.....

Agreed. I trust very little of what I hear on the news or read online, including this forum, but I do trust people I know stating facts about their families. It’s not guaranteed to be truthful every time, but it stands a better chance of being truthful than almost anywhere else.

BW, I’m mainly just a lurker on this forum, but you seem to have a good head on your shoulders and I appreciate your regular posts about weather and trips to the Adirondacks. I’m sorry to hear about your mother’s situation - there’s not much worse in the world than helplessly watching a parent fight a bad disease. On top of that, your wife must be very frustrated about her employment. 2020 has been rough for you. I wish the best of luck to the two most important women in your life! In relation to your wife’s employment, what are the latest statewide numbers for deaths and hospitalizations relative to positive tests? People near Oneonta are freaking out because college kids are not practicing social distancing (what a shock...). There are now 65 current cases in Otsego County, but zero hospitalizations. I can’t help but wonder if the virus has mutated to cause a less serious illness? Not one person in my social/work circle has contracted the virus in months, but I have heard, 2nd hand, of two local situations of an older person dying of other causes but the families finding COVID on the death certificate! Both families are fighting to get that changed, but you know the statistics won’t be updated to remove a few deaths. I’m not a conspiracy nut, but I am starting to wonder about how much of a role politics is playing in this pandemic. That’s a very scary situation if it’s true....

I was looking for a little CRF50/70/110 for my 7yr old but they are so overpriced on the used market that he’ll be waiting a year. I plan to keep my eyes open over the next year or two when some of these ATVs/SxS/dirt bikes are for sale with hardly any use. Hoping to upgrade for cheap. Even thought of selling my 2001 Sportsman 500 right now while the market is up, but I can’t go a winter without it....it’s my firewood hauler.

We have seen our grocery bill explode this year. Whether it’s from supply and demand, price gouging (which is basically supply and demand, right?), one thing is for sure: Most prices that increased recently won’t go back to “pre-pandemic” levels ever again. Go up 15%, maybe go back down to the equivalent of “only” a 5-10% increase?