tamarack

Sun finally emerged here, temp approaching 50. Amount of cloud from here on will determine how far into the 50s we get.

I'd put the figure at 4-5% (*) but that's still great efficiency. (*) "Please show your figures." A guess at electricity costs per household: $2,000 per year. (Ours is closer to one third that number but we're empty nesters.) That guess would put the annual production of one turbine at $3 million worth of power. I've read that the expected useful life of a commercial-size turbine is about 25 years (please correct as appropriate), thus about $75 million from that lone machine. A quick web search came up with $3-4 million per large turbine for construction and installation, thus around 4-5% of its lifetime production. (Note: I rarely make small errors in math. Ones of 10x or 100x are more common. )

My 1st, last Friday, was NBD - bit of short-lived soreness at the stick-point but only if I pressed on the spot. Farmington hospital has a smooth system, not super-huge but injecting 1-2 per minute with proper distancing in a relatively small space. Next is April 2 and I anticipate more aftereffects, per reports from others about Moderna #2.

Nearly 20 miles of them between Stratton and Rangeley - no frame-breakers but just constant fore-to-aft rocking the whole way. Couldn't affect the spectacular views along the way.

06z GFS had nice events at day 7 and day 9. Of course, we know how dependable models are at d7,d9. However, 2 days ago that model was showing zero snow for the next 16 days and I was possibly looking at my first "winter" (DJFM) month in Maine w/o measurable snowfall. Upper 20s launch point this AM with clouds, expect to be near 50 this afternoon and begin the melt. Last 2 days' low-mid 40s merely settled the snow a bit.

Thanks. Trees grow - the basis of my career as a forester. We didn't quite go far enough, even though I missed the (faded) picnic area sign and we drove 1/4 mile or so beyond and turned around. Next time.

Neither can I. Looks like SR near the left edge and Mansfield shouldn't be too far from the right edge. (If not beyond) Google Earth has MWN 61 miles from Saddleback at about azimuth 225° true. SR is 37 miles at around 210° and Mansfield 115 miles at about 255-260°. Given the respective angles left and right from MWN, Mansfield might be off the right edge. (Bearings are eyeball estimates thus none too precise.) Looks like the Mahoosucs between SR and MWN, more toward MWN. Edit: The close-up circle between peaks looks to be the saddle between Elephant and Old Blue Mountains, south of Richardson Lake and about 17 miles from Saddleback. The "gunsight" view between those summits would point toward Moosilauke/Layayette, peaks that are 90 and 77 miles from Saddleback, respectively (assuming GE is accurate.) Wife and I drove the loop home-Eustis-Rangeley-home (149 miles) today - spectacular. Unfortunately, trees were in the way of seeing the Bigelow range unobstructed from Eustis Ridge. (We didn't care to wade into several feet of snow on the unplowed picnic area and stand on a table for a better view.) Last time I was there was October of 2003. Great views of Saddleback both from the north while on Rt 16 and from the west while headed home on Rt 4. Rt 16 bumps between Stratton and Rangeley were memorable. Surprisingly saw neither deer (they get fed on the Kennebago Road just off 16 in Coplin Plantation) nor moose.

16-17 for the low with temps rocketing upward under the full sun and little/no wind. Taking the day off to drive the Rts 27/16/4 circuit through Eustis and Rangeley.

At its simplest, money is merely a convenient way to trade one's time and effort for the product of someone else's time and effort. Not all that different from bartering (except for taxes).

Temp popped up to low 40s mid-morn under mostly sunny skies. Then the clouds moved back in and it's been mid-upper 30s since then, still not bad. Took a core and found 6.25" LE in 18-19" pack with several solid crusts, the toughest from the 2/16 sleet event. Near 1/3 water is about average by this time of the year.

Based on the pic, could be some interesting skiing when those boulders emerge, especially under the lift.

I was referring to that clown map that showed an west-to-east stripe 200 miles to our south. Only "T" here overnight.

They're good at that, and more. In early 2008 our neighbor was cutting cedar across the road and 20+ deer were feasting on the foliage being put within reach. The harvest ended in late Feb, and with the cafeteria closed those critters moved across the road and switched to our apple trees. Since the pack was a solid 40"+, all those deer were able to eat every bud and twig within 10 feet of the ground except for a couple branches under the snow. Those were finished off as the pack receded. Zero blossoms that spring and the May freeze in 2010 after a warm April made it 2 years out of 3 with nothing.

Probably. However, my 0.1" might be the total for March. This week will likely drop my 18" pack by 1/3, and make the residual even more glacial than it is now.

That describes 1987 here. A messy storm at the equinox brought the pack to 20-30" with 6-8" LE in the Kennebec drainage. A week averaging 55/33 followed by 4-7" of RA at 45-50 on 3/31-4/1 and by sunset on April 1 the pack was basically all gone. Probably 8-12" water was put into the watercourses in less than 72 hours and Augusta reached 22.5' above flood stage. What a bluebird day today, upper 30s, no clouds, no wind. Tappers must be having trouble keeping up with the flow, today thru Thursday at least.

Western Maine foothills are my area, and snowpack is generally over a foot, so less downsloping and likely some tempering of the warm at 2 meters. And without rain I don't think this degree of thaw will bring any main stem rivers up to bankfull unless there's an ice jam. I've yet to see a significant NNE flood from only snowmelt, though the big ones almost always have a snowmelt component. (Some severe localized no-snow flooding from downpours/TCs does occur, as with Irene near Sugarloaf.)

Neither saw nor herd the meteor's death. However, the bolded words reminded me of when our late lamented Abby the Lab was about a year old. She and my wife were walking up our road at dusk when the tree above them unloaded - very noisily - a flock of turkeys. Abby didn't bolt but merely tried to sink into the ground and disappear. My wife's adrenalin spiked as well.

Records at Farmington co-op for Wed-Fri are 60/63/64. Low chance for threatening those up here.

Maybe because it would not even be close here - easier where 2014-15 had 250% of normal snow than here, where it was 25% AN.

Record-smashing heat is hardly boring even if it's not what we snow-weenies want. March 2016 was boring here and March 2010 was epically boring.

Missed 20" by 0.1". About 1/4" at my 9PM obs on 3/7 and another 12" by 7A on 3/8. Then I watched barely-accumulating SN from our Augusta office, maybe 2" on older snow. Was surprised to see over 7" on the board when I got home. Another 16.5" event a week later made 2018 our 2nd snowiest March. Of course I dreamed of what would've happened if we'd been dumped upon by all 4 of that month's biggies instead of just #2 and #3. Might've challenged 12/76 in Fort Kent (61.5") for my snowiest month ever.

While the results may be similar, IMO the patterns were different. Feb had lots of things to track; unfortunately after the 2nd our areas got leftovers or nothing from them. March thru mid-month is a storm desert. If we have no more snow this season (doubtful), I'd finish with the 2nd least snow in 23 winters with only 2015-16 with less, 48.2". Only need 2+" to catch 2005-06 and finish 3rd worst but the next one up (2009-10) is 14" away - I'd be pleasantly surprised if we get there.

That's more appropriate if aimed at PWM TV mets, at least when on camera. Not thrilled at seeing the 12z GFS op for AUG showing 0.01" total thru March 23.

2010 doesn't quite fit that profile, as it was about average for sun/cloud and its 6.44" precip is 2nd only to 1999. That earlier month had 7.91" and 32.2" SN, with 3 big rain events and snows of 14.5" and 14". Worth noting that only 0.30" of 2010 precip came prior to the equinox. 2010 never got especially warm - max was 64 - but also never got cold - lowest was 11 and it's our only March without a subzero morning. Contrast that with the slightly less mild 2012 in which temps ranged from 80 to -10. That 90° span is the most I've recorded anywhere/any month. (2nd place is Jan. 1979 in Ft. Kent with 40/-47.) I can wholeheartedly say this was the worst “upslope” episode of the winter. While we weren’t expecting much, all we got was a few days in the single digits and teens, a dusting and not a ray of sun. At least the snowpack is strong enough that you can walk on it without sinking for the most part, which makes it easy as we prepare for tapping. When you do sink though, it hurts lol. Mostly easy snowshoeing on the woodlot yesterday, though some places had lost that last little storm and were surfaced by polished ice from the 2//16 sleetfest. (My racquets are modified beavertails made of ash and strung with nylon - no ice-grippers.) Few deer tracks post-sleet but some bobcat prints and a scat, and considerable coyote sign.

Farmington co-op recorded only traces in March 1905 and again in 1946 - be hard to beat that, especially as they probably recorded some frozen on the 1st this year. My lowest here, and since moving to Maine in Jan. 1973, is 0.6" in 2010, also my mildest March here. I'd say 1 in 10 chance we get less than that.