tamarack

Totally different subject - 4 days before the above, my supervisor when I began (Jan 5, 1976)as a forester was at the crew camp next to the Canadian border in far northwestern Maine. He woke up on the 17th to see 3" of snow.

No destructive sunshine here - blue skies, seasonal temps (high a couple degrees BN, low a couple AN) with a bit of breeze. Maple buds opening, along with black cherry.

April numbers: Avg max: 52.4 +0.3 Highest, 72 on the 27th Avg min: 30.4 +1.5 Lowest, 14 on the 8th Mean: 41.4 +0.9 Precip: 4.00" -0.06" Wettest day: 1.18" on the 30th. Storm tried hard to avoid the 7th consecutive BN month (10th of 11) but fell just short. Snow: 2.4" -2.5" (But right on the median) 2.0" of 22:1 fluff fell 9:15-10;45 PM on 4/7, reported on the 8th as my 4/7 obs came at 9 PM. SDDs: one, on the 1st. The 2" fluff was intact at 7 AM for 4/8 cocorahs, but was gone long before my obs. Very average month in many ways - temp within 1°, near avg precip and median snowfall. The warmest and the lowest were within 1° of the 28-year medians (both below). Available sunshine was 43%, on the average for April. We had no powerful storms, a tune that's played for quite a while, but did have a garden-variety TS late evening of the 16th. For 8-10 minutes there was about 2"/hr rate. Half of our Aprils have had at least one thunder day.

Spur. There were supposed to be all hens when a couple dozen was purchased 4-5 years back, but 2 were roosters, so the dominant one (Houdini) ruled the roost, frequently pounding the other rooster, Meriodoc (and other trespassers). Both are now deceased.

I still have a scar from a rooster attack in May of 2024. Was taking some veggie scraps to the grandkids' flock in SNJ, all the hens came as a swarm and "Houdini" (kids name all the birds, of course) wasn't tolerating competition for ruling the hens. Its 2nd attack was repelled when I (carefully) flipped the rooster onto its back, after which it scooted next to the pen and crowed a dozen times - "I won! I won!" Then I noticed the blood running into my shoe.

Exactly the same here, 0.40" thru 7 AM and 0.78" 7 AM thru 9 PM. (Another 0.01" of DZ overnight, but that goes in the May bucket.) Month finished at 4.00" - 7th consecutive BN month and 10th of 11, but only by a whisker. April average is 4.06".

In Maine we call those tiny screen-penetrators mingies. In local French it's 'bruleau' - 'burning'. One rarely feels single bites, but hundreds of teeny-tiny attacks earn that description.

March here was +1.8. April will finish at +1.1. Since 1999, April has averaged 44% of available sunshine. April 2026 will have exactly the same. Precip will finish about 1/2" BN - we're at 0.5"-0.6" from the current event and the best is past. Yesterday's forecast of 1-2" for today was optimistic. Month is finishing close to normal.

Why do I hate ticks? One mid-range (pinhead size) deer tick latched onto my right lower eyelid last evening, within 1/16" of the top edge. After numerous tries I extracted the little horror, but the eyelid is nicely puffed up. The bit of pain with each blink reminds me just how much I despise the critters.

Heading into our 29th summer here, all the hail that has landed in our yard (only 2,000 sq.ft., but still) wouldn't fill a one-gallon bucket. One storm might've dropped a flattened chunk 5/8" on its longest surface. (On August 30, 2007, nickels/quarters hail 6-8 miles southeast from from our place accumulated up to 4" and fully defoliated/partially debarked trees on about 2,000 acres, so that kind of excitement isn't impossible here.) Low 60s for the high here, about 10° above the forecast. 3 hours of midday PC did its work.

Since you noted the errors first (a triple play), I'm responding your way. Average: 88.4" 2025-26: 86.8" Deficit: 1.6"

Sunny 60s here with the trout lilies beginning to bloom. Snow total for 25-26 (barring something very unusual) is 6.8". That's 1.8" BN, currently the closest to my average in 28 snow seasons, with only 2012-13 (90.4", 2.0" AN) being close.

72/30 yesterday, back down to 30 this morning and cloudless. The best of mid-spring.

Sliced and diced from your post. (And I appreciate the info on climate and forecasting.) A friend was a train fan - I think there's a mag by that name - and he had multiple albums filled with various engines doing various things. Once he was a bit to close after a big snowfall and got sluiced as the plow-fronted engine roared by. When I was 5, I was headed toward train-fandom. I knew more about trains back then than now, 75 years later. Temp over 70 after a low of 30; another '40' diurnal. Cut/split some firewood and worked up a good sweat.

If there's more sun than cloud in late April, the max will probably be AN at least 90% of the time. Last 2 days' max here averaged 61, which is 4° AN. The minima averaged 26, or 6° BN. The sun is mid-August strong.

Sandy River median is 2,990 cfs, record minimum 819, current 1,050. Bring it on.

Pawpaws at our frost pocket would probably fare the same as Reliant peach, which was (almost) a total failure. Hit 17° this morning, cool for late April, though we've matched it on 4/29 (twice).

First I've read of green ash surviving. Many sources have confirmed some survival of white ash but things look grim for green and brown. In Maine (also probably elsewhere), efforts are being made to collect brown ash seeds, to fend off extirpation of this species of great importance to indigenous peoples in the Northeast. (Other than urban plantings, Maine has very few green ash.) No sign of EAB on our woodlot but it's not far away. White ash is the 3rd most abundant there, trailing only red maple and balsam fir, and brown ash is a significant component as well. I plan to have a harvest in the next few years, and would harvest all ash of sawlog/veneer quality 14"+ diameter while retaining all other ash. (The 2013 harvest included no hardwood sawlogs but took a significant volume of hardwood pulp. A second harvest would take some red and sugar maple logs along with the ash.)

I guess that means I'm not one of "those that live in the woods". (Pic from late May 2024, quince blossoms, apple blossoms in background).

Any ash trees still alive there? they're one of the latest to break bud. Only black locust might be later. Still stick season here, though some tiny sugar maple seedings have a bit of green, thanks to the sun warming the leaf litter. Had a pretty flurry 10:10-25 this AM, briefly whitened the lawn during 2 minutes of heavier snow but just a trace.

Grandkids in Gloucester County enjoyed the heat. We managed to reach 70 last Tuesday. Then yesterday brought cold rain (0.66") that ended with a coating of snow, and 24° this morning.

48 years ago, the opposite occurred in Maine. On May 29, 1978, Eastport touched 70 then the onshore breeze and fog dropped the temp to 49 at mid-afternoon. Same time, HUL read 96. Yesterday the sun at least tried soon after lunchtime. No tries today.

April here has never been early enough to threaten late frost damage, but May is different, especially in 2010. That year had 3 straight months, Feb, Mar, and Apr, as our warmest, then May 1-5 was +14 with average highs of 77. Everything was 3-4 weeks ahead of average, then May 11-13 had minima of 22/26/25. 100% kill of apple blossoms and ash shoots, serious damage to maples, beech, birch, lighter damage to oak.

Barely managed to carry pack into April, only to 4/1. Average here is April 6 and it's ranged from March 13 (05-06, only 7.8" after Jan 1) to April 24 (00-01, 55.5" in March, 48" pack on 3/31). Average days with 1"+ is 123, and for consecutive, 116. Range is 81 days in 15-16 to 163 in 18-19, consecutive 73 (11-12) and 162 (also 18-19). Earliest start of consecutive pack was Nov 10, 2018 and latest Jan 4, 2000.

We bought one 6-7 years back, specifically for A/C - the only usable wall space was 10 feet from the Jotul. $3,500 installed and with the $1,000 rebate and the $500 tax reduction, the cost was quite reasonable. Very nice to come inside on a hot day, after garden work or playing with firewood, to turn the machine on high and bask in the living room.