psuhoffman

I didn’t claim to be any better

I agree this is likely a forum divider (again) but it wouldn’t shock me if some decent snow sneaks in closer to Baltimore then normal given the low track. There are some pretty rare ancillary circumstances. I’ve never seen a snowfall gradient like this year across our area before. I was looking at a snowfall % of normal map yesterday and across our area goes from much below normal right through the urban core to solidly above normal in the Catoctin area and along the PA line.

I can relate. Even up here despite the fact I’ve done great objectively it feels somewhat hollow because all the events underperformed to a degree. Had the 3 “big” storms this year looked like a 3-6” storm from 72 hours out and ended up 10/12/8” I’d probably feel a LOT different then the fact they looked like 20/20/12” storms from 72 hours and all trended down. I know that makes no logical sense but I feel more excited when I get a 6” snow that was only supposed to be 1-3” then a 10” snow that was supposed to be 15-20”. Don’t get me wrong I would grade this winter a solid B+ even now but had one of the big storms been a flush hit instead of a bit of a letdown it would be a A with the exact same results. I also think my perception is affected by results in the DC area since I spend so much time focused on forecasting for a s getting that area snow!

There are plenty they just tend not to brag about the median income of their county!

Y’all gots to git r on up here! Ain’t gots to worry bout nuttin. Don’t git more cultured den chasin da goat dat done get lose from dat dere neighbors farm gain!

@CAPE there is a wave developing on the front as it passes us and there is a lot of very dry air in front of it that will cool as it saturates. I agree it’s a long shot 95 SE but the only reason it’s not a straight up line of rain showers is it’s not a typical simple cold front passage.

I do fly when I have too, and increasingly as I get older and time is no longer a luxury I have...I am flying more and more. But I have driven from this general area to Colorado 3 times, Utah twice, Wyoming, Revelstoke BC, and Texas because I prefer road trips.

I have no fear of flying. I do, however, have a fear of being at 30,000 feet and suddenly NOT flying!

NEVER surrender! I do wish the snow came earlier though...this is the sad part of the winter where warm ups are inevitable and I have to fight for every day of my precious snowcover and it's like trying to hold back the tide. But my snowcover has so much water/ice content right now...if I can add a few inches Monday and freeze it up...might even be able to withstand a couple days in the upper 40s (which is what I would be based on that there) without losing it completely.

Yea my pack here is an impenetrable fortress right now. It’s got about 3” of solid concrete on the bottom and 2” on the top with like 5” of powder in the middle. If I can tack on a few inches of wet snow Monday and have it freeze up solid Monday night might even get my glacier through the warm days next week to whatever happens in that multiple wave period next weekend and beyond and make a run at a month+ of snowcover.

Toss. I need 4.5!

SW flow events kill you with the 4500’ peaks to your SW. Same thing would happen when I was at PSU.

I am THERE! You may have just picked my next trip!

They open again!!!??? I’ve always wanted too! And I love smaller resorts sometimes. A basin is one of my favorites in Colorado.

What’s really crazy is I usually do much better then places north of me once you get out of the ridge area but it’s not as crazy a difference as to the south.

Hell yea if it wasn’t so freaking middle of no where that would be on my short list of places to live. Love sugarloaf also. Favorite east coast ski resort.

Sorry man. You ok? I’ve had to cut out my daily walks the last couple days. Too much ice.

It really does. Not just in summer. I know the area you’re talking about. And compared to DC or Baltimore they are cooler in summer and more snow in winter...but I’m not kidding when I say the difference from there to here is almost as great a jump. I lived on a ridge at 860 feet just south of Westminster for 2 years before moving up here and the difference is astounding. I drive around the county a lot and the snowcover difference in winter and the temp in summer over just a few miles is crazy. this area is a micro climate within the greater Parrs ridge climate. Even the valleys between those 3 ridges do better. They are generally high valleys though with a floor around 850 and the ridges run 1000-1100 feet. But man if you get on the northwest facing slope of those 3 ridges it really does feel like you just entered a new climate zone. The NW wind is crazy with total exposure. It’s too much sometimes in storms. It’s very common for me to have 6”+ of snowcover and Westminster has none or for me to be 5 degrees cooler then even Westminster. I probably wouldn’t believe it if I wasn’t living it.

We usually get a nice breeze up on this ridge. Even just the mile into town it feels a lot hotter in summer. It’s not like New England cool but I can usually count the days that feel oppressive to be out in my yard on one hand where as in Baltimore it’s June to August 90% of the time.

Exactly. That’s another nice thing being on this ridge. We might get a week or two that’s too hot but it’s not the whole summer. Usually when it’s 92 in Baltimore it’s 84 with a cool breeze up here.

lol I get that but for me even up there they get plenty of warm weather from May to September. Might even make me appreciate it more.

Depends. If you have no ties or reasons to stay in the area then yea why move for a measly 10-20” more. On the other hand if you have a reason (family/job) that you can’t really just relocate as someone who lived near Philly then northern VA and now live here but commute to Baltimore and see the difference everyday...I can attest there is a significant difference. Along 95 you can go years without it feeling like winter at all. Where the only snow you get isn’t enough to cover the grass or melts almost immediately after. In 15 years up here that has never happened. I’ve verified a warning event every year. I get at least a week of cold and real legit snowcover every winter. Even last year, about as bad as it gets, I had a couple minor snows in December to make it feel like Xmas and then 8.5” over 2 storms and a week that felt like real winter in January. For the last 3 weeks my view looks like this... I think there are a lot of people who are rational and just want some damn REAL snow at least once or twice a winter and would be totally content with the climo here. And the commute is manageable if you don’t mind driving (I don’t). On the other hand if you are the type that wants snow all the time and the minute one storm is over wants the next bearing down this won’t make you happy. I’m somewhere in between. I’m mostly “content” but even this year it’s kinda a little annoying that all 3 of the big storms underperformed and trended worse from 48 hours. I know that’s crazy and most who got barely any snow can’t relate to feeling “meh” over 10” and it is stupid but had just one of them met expectations and been a flush hit 20” storm like they looked like from 2-3 days out up here I would be over the moon about this winter. Instead I feel content and good but not great because it sticks that every event was trending the wrong way and lowering expectations. It’s about excitement. I’d feel better about 8” from a storm that was only supposed to drop 2-4 then 12” from a storm that was supposed to drop 20”. Yea I’m crazy but it’s about the excitement level. lastly I wonder how much snow is too much. I don’t want to lose the thrill. Somewhere that gets 300”...would that become too normal? Plus most of those places the snow is upslope. It’s not synoptic. You can’t really track those unless you’re into tracking wind flow. I’ve forecasted for ski areas recreationally. It’s not the same. Nothing is like a coastal storm! That’s why I think somewhere in New England might be perfect. Their frequency of big nor’easters is higher and they get more snow, but it’s not so much that you get bored with it and they get legit storms you can track. But I dunno would get there and still be pissed when they get a bad year and I don’t have snow all the time because my expectations change based on location.

I just want the 4.5 I need to break 50...